Needs Analysis Session
Scottish Community Development
Centre
November 2007
Session Outcomes
• Increased awareness of staff on the purpose,
range of approaches, tools and techniques
used within needs analysis
• Current needs analysis approaches/methods
are identified and reviewed
• The current skills of staff to conduct needs
analysis are identified
• Recommendations for an overall needs
analysis framework and approach are
identified and agreed
Session Outline
• Presentation on needs analysis
• Establishing the baseline – what do we know
already?
• Identifying the gaps – what do we still need to
know?
• What methods and resources will we use?
• Identifying skills and training needs
• Recommendations for an overall framework
The purpose of needs analysis
• All stakeholders have a clear and thorough
understanding of the needs and issues
experienced by individuals, families and
particular groups within communities; so that
they can contribute towards achieving social
justice with maximum efficiency, effectiveness
and equity.
What does it involve?
• Research - careful study and investigation
• Maximum stakeholder involvement –
acknowledging different perspectives and
agreeing priority needs based on social justice
and equality
• Pooling of resources – being efficient and
maximising finite resources
• Achieving change – first step in an outcome
focused approach
Resource or need led approach?
RESOURCE
> PLAN > ACT
Or…
INVESTIGATE > ENVISION > PLAN
> RESOURCE > ACT
What’s its content?
• Description of the ‘community’
• Key demographics
• Mapping of existing provision – no of
agencies/providers and range of services
delivered, identifying community assets
• Methodology used in identifying need
• The results – return rates/findings
• The analysis – our interpretation of the data
collected and agreement on priority needs
Methods, tools and techniques
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Desk based research
Mapping/scoping exercises – knowing the baseline
Surveys and questionnaires
Semi structured interviews
Focus groups/community panels
Training needs analysis
Rapid appraisal/Participatory appraisal
Community conferences
Other useful information
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Community consultation exercises
Ongoing contacts with existing service users
Internal and external evaluations
HMIE reports
Range of service plans
Relevance to existing imperatives
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LEAP
HMIE
Delivering Change
Working and Learning Together
What are the benefits?
• Facilitates decision making and therefore…
achieves efficiency, effectiveness and equity!
• Community participation is an empowering
process – this contributes to achieving
desirable outcomes
• Helps build important skills in research
• Builds our knowledge and understanding of
community need, issues and aspirations
What's our baseline?
•What quantitative and qualitative
information do we have at present?
•Who gathers this and how is it gathered?
•Have key stakeholders been missing in
identifying need?
•What does the current information tell us
about community need/issues/aspirations?
Identifying the gaps
• What information do we still need?
• Where can we find this?
• Who can help us find this information – who
are the stakeholders we can involve in the
process?
Methods, tools and techniques
• What methods, tools and techniques will we
use to get the information we need?
• How participatory can we be in gathering
information?
• Do we need to think about timescales?
• Are there any constraints which affect the
methods we select?
Resources
• What resources do we have at our disposal?
• Do we need access to further resources to
conduct the analysis we ideally want?
• Who can contribute resources – partners’
contributions, including the community?
• Do we need to revise our methods in light of
the resources we have or are likely to have?
What skills do we need?
• What skills and expertise exist within the teams to
conduct a needs assessment and analysis?
• Do we require access to training to adopt the
approaches/use of tools we think will work best?
• Who can provide the training required and how can
this be resourced?
• Do we need to set up peer support/mentoring
mechanisms?
Towards an overall framework
• What recommendations can we make to form
a consistent approach to needs analysis across
the authority?
• Should we adopt different methods in
different areas, if yes why, and to what extent?
• What do we want the framework to look like?
Next steps
• Issues and concerns:
- Do we need to note any issues which will
affect taking the process forward?
- What specific concerns do we have which
need to be addressed?
- What involvement do you want in informing
the working group?
- Are there specific actions you can identify
which will facilitate the process?