What Is the Primary Focus of a Needs Assessment?

Needs assessment is a process of measuring the extent of a particular target population's need in relation to a certain service. It's a way by which providers of that service, which can vary in several ways, may best service that population. The primary focus of needs assessment is defined by the methods of conducting the assessment, each of which lead to a more specifically defined direction for the service.

Purpose

• The focus of needs assessment changes by the type of service being tested. Needs assessments are used in a number of fields, from healthcare and drug abuse services, to education and finances. The primary focus of each assessment is to see whether there is sufficient need within the targeted population for a particular service or program. In the same way that an assessment test tells teachers the subjects in which a particular student is strong and in which subject they need extra help, needs assessments examines what needs there are within a population and how they can best be met.

Grouping

• Often needs assessment is determined through carefully targeted focus groups. A small sampling of people from a certain population are interviewed for how the service may best be provided for them and the larger population they represent. The responses of the focus group as to what their population, meaning them and people like them, most need then set the course for how the service is delivered. The information from the focus group also helps set priority for what needs should be met first and which should receive less attention. In this sense, the assessment determines whether or not this service is required.

Interviews

• Needs assessment is also conducted through intense individual interviews. Interviewees are chosen by a strict, selective criteria based upon their personal experiences and then serve as representative of a larger population. The interviews are conducted in-depth to best capture the specifics of what services or programs are needed, how much of it, how best to deliver for maximum effectiveness and which needs should be addressed first. Through a series of interviews certain patterns arise which help identify needs that must be addressed first.

Meetings

• Often needs testing is also developed through larger meetings with the specific community involved. The meeting format is left open, allowing any member of a certain target population to participate. While it may be possible to receive a broader portrait of that population's needs, community meetings don't allow the same in-depth attention of interviews nor the carefully planned direction of focus groups.

Surveys

• Surveys are used as a more massive form of means testing as it doesn't require a group of people to gather together at a specific time or place but rather allows members of the targeted population to provide information at their leisure (within certain limits). The information on the survey is then compiled into a larger set of data than is available through more individual methods. In this sense, there is a better view of what programs or services are needed, but not as much detail into how it may be most-effective once the program or service is available.