What Are the Basic Steps?

Assess Needs

For any program to be effective, it must fulfill the needs of its constituencies. A needs assessment can pinpoint reasons for gaps in performance or identify new and future performance needs (Gupta, 1999). Needs assessment information can be gathered using various methods (e.g., surveys, interviews, focus groups) and can be used to—

• Determine the needs of the target population.
• Gather information on previous services that did or did not meet the needs of this population.
• Identify gaps in services.

For further information and tools on planning and conducting your needs assessment, refer to the Guide to Conducting a Needs Assessment in this series.