Good needs assessments are critical for good programs
Posted on February 18, 2010 at 10:42 am
Needs assessments help determine if there is a need, what the need is, and if any other organizations are already working to meet that need. Without first conducting a needs assessment, funds could be wasted on the wrong type of activity or an activity that wasn’t necessary or appropriate.
A project done without a needs assessment
A few Thanksgivings back a church in my city decided to provide Thanksgiving dinner for the hungry in their community. They collected donations, got volunteers cook and serve the meal, and sent vans around to collect homeless people to bring them to the dinner. On the surface this appears to be a great idea. Unfortunately, because they did not first find out if there was an actual need for a Thanksgiving dinner they ended up wasting the time and money of another organization.
The organization that was affected provides food for the homeless on a daily basis and had also invested in a Thanksgiving feast. All the homeless that were regularly fed by this organization were picked up and shipped to the church’s meal. This organization invested money and staff time in preparing a meal that few showed up to eat.
Had the church done a needs assessment first they would have discovered that there was no need for a Thanksgiving dinner. If they still wanted to put on the dinner they should have coordinated with the other organization to share costs and manpower.
The difference between a need and an unmet need
Just because it looks like there’s a need, doesn’t mean that other organizations or the government are not already working to meet that need. Before starting any assistance program it is important to determine who else is working to solve the same problem.
Although organizations often portray themselves as the only entity in the area providing any assistance, that is rarely true. Most people assumed that Myanmar would have few if any organizations providing social services. However, it was discovered after Cyclone Nargis that there were actually over 500 community organizations in the country doing just that.
Most places have a variety of organizations working to meet local needs. This could include community organizations, churches, national or international aid organizations, as well as the local and federal government. In my community there are numerous programs already in place to meet the needs of the hungry. Without doing any research into the subject I can list the following programs:
- Several community food banks provides groceries and produce, food sent home with students in their backpacks, and hot meals
- The LDS Church has several bishop’s store houses and farms which provide groceries and produce to needy members
- A catholic service organization provides hot meals and a food bank
- The state funds food stamps
- The federal government sponsors free and reduced lunches for school children
- The city is making community garden plots available
What to look for in a needs assessment
Needs assessment do not have to be technical, and even all-volunteer organizations can and should conduct a needs assessment. The following are some of the key steps for a meaningful needs assessment:
- Contact organizations offering similar programs to find out the extent of their coverage, what other organizations are offering related programs, what they think the unmet needs are, and what programs would complement or supplement the programs they are already doing
- Contact local professionals such as principals, doctors, or government workers to find their opinion of the programs already in existence, what they think the strengths and weaknesses are and what they see as the unmet needs.
- Talk to people being helped by these programs as well as people that still need assistance to find out what they think their needs are and how they think an organization can best provide further assistance.
- Take the time to research the different ways to meet the stated needs. What programs have been tried, what have their successes and failures been, is there any research into the actual impact of these programs?
- Find out if there are any best practices and standards to follow when providing the type of program the organization is considering.
Require a needs assessment before funding a program
Only after all of these steps have been followed should an organization develop and seek funding for a program. Initiating programs without first ascertaining actual need risks duplicating the work of other programs, wasting donor dollars, or funding programs that do not have a positive impact. Needs assessments are important. Donors should always require a thorough assessment before funding or volunteering for any program.
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This comment from ALNAP – which is a great resource for lessons learned and meta-evaluations – was worth including here. I’ll soon be posting on the problem of assessment fatigue which he addresses in the comment.
The ALNAP State of the Humanitarian System report found that “Needs assessment remains a key weakness within the system… However evidence points to progress in both quality and quantity of assessments, and in the development of new tools and methodologies to improve their usefulness.
Donors interviewed for the study felt that there were some signs of improvement in assessment practice in terms of reliability and consistency, but remained concerned about there being too many multiple assessments and a lack of comparability at the global level.
The full report can be viewed here: http://www.alnap.org/pool/files/alnap-sohs-final.pdf
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Related posts:
The problem with Stop and Droppers
Get to know industry standards and best practices
Best practices often lose out to quick and cheap programs that please donors
« How do you know if an organization deserves your donation? • CDA’s Lessons on Disaster Response »
The ALNAP State of the Humanitarian System report found that “Needs assessment remains a key weakness within the system… However evidence points to progress in both quality and quanitity of assessments, and in the development of new tools and methodologies to improve their usefulness.”
“Donors interviewed for the study felt that there were some signs of improvement in assessment practice in terms of reliability and consistency, but remained concerned about there being too many multiple assessments and a lack of comparability at the global level.”
The full report can be viewed here: http://www.alnap.org/pool/files/alnap-sohs-final.pdf
Interesting read. Your insights are also highlighted this week at Robert Swope’s D3 blog. You can read his weekly roundup where this blog is mentioned at http://www.robertswope.com. Keep up the great work!
In my opinion is important know who has to make the assesment, because small organitations has not got resources for this task. It is difficult that a organitation goes to another to ask if they cover all the needs. It is difficult also ask people what they need. Sometimes it is obvious. Usually it is said from the managers.
Very good theme but a little ingenuous optical.
Angel,
I will argue with you that regardless of the size of the organization they need to invest the time to do a needs assessment before beginning any program. Needs assessments do not have to be expensive but they do have to be done. Relying on the suggestions of managers is not enough.
I have seen first hand how assumptions about needs lead to numerous problems in the field for both aid recipients, the government, and other organizations. It is far too easy to accidentally duplicate or undermine the work of other organizations or the government.