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Needs Assessment Resources

Why, How, When

A needs assessment is an important part of program planning:  to enable setting needs-based priorities. It is a systematic process to determine needs, the measurable gaps between current and desired conditions.

 

UC ANR TRAINING MATERIALS

Link to Training Recording. UCCE academics share their approaches for these program areas: Community Nutrition and Health and Livestock and Natural Resources. Link to presentation slides.

Links to other recorded UCCE academic speakers sharing their approaches to conducting needs assessments:

Needs Assessment planning exercise

Need assessment worksheet

UCCE Needs Assessment Steps fact sheet

Guidelines for writing good survey questions

Considerations for Priority-Setting fact sheet

Key reference - Needs Assessment Guidebook for Extension Professionals

 

MORE UCCE EXAMPLES

Introduction letters

New advisor Introductory Letter to Mailing List

New advisor Newsletter Subscription Survey on Letterhead

Dairy needs assessment letter 2017 _FINAL

Nutrition needs assessment Cover Letter_English

Nutrition need assessement Cover Letter_Spanish

Livestock NR Intro Ltr Needs assessment survey


For focusing and developing extension and research

4-H Needs Assessment

Orchard Crops Needs Assessment

Sacramento County Director Needs Assessment Plan

Pest Research Needs Assessment

Livestock NR needs assesment poster

 

Collaborative efforts

UCCE Agronomy Program Team Needs Assessment

UCCE Dairy Advisors collaborative needs assessment overview and Dairy Producer Needs Assessment survey and poster Karle

Vertebrate pest "research needs" assessment of CA ag commodities

Lake Tahoe Basin Natural Resources Needs Assessment

Farm and IPM Advisor collaboration with CDFA to identify spray application training needs and survey using Importance-Performance Analysis


Formal reports

San Diego Growers Needs Assessment

Small-scale Livestock Harvesting Needs Assessment

Marin Cheesemaking Needs Assessment

Marin Community Garden Needs Assessment


Journal articles about results from UCCE needs assessment

UCCE Disaster Management Needs Assessment

Needs assessment for cooperative extension dairy programs in CA

What Do Youth Want to Do? A Youth Needs-Assessment Process for Communities

Assessing Volunteers' Needs and Interests to Inform Curriculum Development in 4-H

How can we span the boundaries between wildland fire science and management in the United States? Kocher et al 2012

Urban Ag Needs Assessment

 

Surveys and other tools

UCCE Sacramento Needs Assessment Survey March 2012

Money Talks Teen Program Needs Assessment Survey

Needs Assessment Surveys - UC Vet Med

Napa Weeds Needs Assesment Survey

Youth Development In Los Angeles County

Livestock and Natural Resources Needs Assessment Survey

Small Farms Needs Assessment Interview and Observation Data Collection Tool

Fire Science Consortia Needs Assessment interview and focus group Kocher and Stephens

 

Asset-based Approach

Community asset mapping example - Seaside youth map community assets - UC Delivers

References

  1. Kretzmann and J. McKnight’s book: Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing A Community’s Assets (1993)
  2. Altschuld’s book: Bridging the Gap Between Asset/Capacity Building and Needs Assessment: Concepts and Practical Applications (2015)
  3. Effective Engagement with Latino Youths and Communities
  4. Using an Asset-Based Community Development Initiative to Attract and Retain Young People - JOE_v49_2iw1

 

Delphi Method

Recording of 2024 UCCE training

Delphi Method Overview

Univ of FL example

Penn State example

UCCE example

Extension publications: Delphi Literature Review_Pinzon & Koundinya , Donaldson & Franck (p 35-36) (2016) , Lamoureaux et al. (in press) , Taylor-Powell (2002) , Warner & Harder (2020) , Warner (2021)

Research papers: Diaz et al (2019) , Diaz et al (2020) , Kumar Chaudhary et al (2020)

 

IRB approval?
In general, needs assessment surveys do not require IRB approval because they are used for internal program development purposes and not for specific research. However, if you plan to publish your needs assessment effort you will need IRB approval. For additional information see the Human Subject Protocol  resources.

 

Journal articles about how to conduct a needs assessment

Baseline Data for Your Program

A Needs Assessment Method for Extension Educators

Using Importance-Performance Analysis to Guide Extension Needs Assessment



Tipsheets

Sample size handout

Sample Size

Sampling a Diverse Audience

Random Samples

Focus Group Best Practices handout

A ranking question for a needs assessment

Using an evaluation for a needs assessment

A needs assessment strategy for volunteer development

Situational analysis building involvement and ownership

Build on existing assessments

Key informant approach

Identifying assets

Priority setting



Other Extension examples

Needs Assessments Processess, Methods and Examples ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
UWEX Hmong Educational Needs Assessment
Penn State A Needs Assessment Strategy for Women in Agriculture

 

Presentations by James Altschuld (needs assessment expert), Ohio State University
Needs Assessment A Workshop
Introduction to Designing Needs Assessment Surveys
Needs Assessment Kit panel

Books
Needs Assessment Kit (Ed., J. W. Altschuld) SAGE is the 2010 publisher of the 5 volume Kit. 

Books in order:

1.  An Overview  J. W. Altschuld (The Ohio State University) & D. D. Kumar (Florida Atlantic University)

2.  Phase 1: Getting Started  J. W. Altschuld & J. N. Eastmond, Jr. (Utah State University)

3.  Phase 2: Collecting Data   J. W. Altschuld

4.  Analysis and Prioritization  J. W. Altschuld & J. L. White (University of Louisiana at Lafayette)

5.  Phase 3:  Taking Action for Change   Laurie Stevahn (Seattle University) & Jean King (University of Minnesota)