U5D1-28 - Determine and Analze the Steps for the Case Study Project. Please follow all instructions and Reading material provided.
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In this example, the questionnaire initially served to assess the concerns and needs of students and parents (needs assessment). The initial results were then used as a baseline measure to which results from future surveys would be compared to assess progress (evaluation).
Example 2: Police–Community Relations
A community uproar occurred over police brutality following an altercation between two intoxicated community members who were arguing with two police officers. An ensuing riot accentuated the poor rapport the police had with the community. To improve its image, the police department was prepared to make any changes recommended by the findings from a community needs assessment. From its inception, the needs assessment was designed to act as both an assessment and an evaluation tool. The main concern of the study was the community’s perceptions of police activity, which were evaluated through individuals’ impressions of (a) officers’ concern for the public’s welfare, (b) responsiveness to calls for assistance, (c) courtesy exhibited by officers both in person and over the phone, (d) appropriateness of actions when officers intervened in disorderly conduct or criminal behavior, and (e) observations of inappropriate or undue force used by police.
The plan was to assess the need for better community relations by developing measures in each of the five outlined areas. Then, based on the results of this initial assessment, the goal was to develop internal department training initiatives and programs for community outreach. After 1 year of instituting changes and programs, another assessment would be made to assess the same needs and concerns of the community and, thus, to evaluate the impact of the programs implemented.
Exercises For each of the preceding examples involving needs assessments, do the following: 1. Indicate whether the needs assessment is complex or simple and point out the characteristics that make it
so. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of changing the level of simplicity to its opposite (e.g., time, people involved, resources expended).
2. Identify who requires the needs assessment, why one is believed necessary, and how much importance the findings have, as well as the extent to which they will be used.
3. Point out possible limitations of the different types of needs assessments (e.g., the validity and reliability of self-perceived judgments by respondents).
4. For each example of needs assessments listed, answer these questions: a. What ideological or conceptual theory(ies) or assumption(s) are being posed? b. What literature should be reviewed at the outset? c. What services are likely to be suggested by a needs assessment?
TWO
Sociopolitical and Economic Considerations “John, I just don’t get it. Why are we not requesting more state and federal funds for the large population we have that live in poverty and have so many social and health needs? There is money for health disparities, particularly for minority populations! Doesn’t the city realize that over 60% of the residents of this city are Latino and that over 80% of the children in our elementary schools are Latino non–native English speakers? How can they ignore the findings from the Census showing that 40% of adults over age
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W
25 are unemployed or that 50% of families meet the federal poverty guidelines? It’s true that even with these Census figures, we know little about the needs for services among Latino families. Without more data, we cannot apply for state or federal funding to address their service needs. Even the governor’s office called 2 weeks ago to tell us that we in City Hall are foolish for not doing a comprehensive needs assessment of the Latino population so we can access the funds to meet their service needs, which we as older adults will rely on to bring in the tax revenues that will pay for our services when we retire. I just don’t get it!”
hy would a city agency delay in seeking to conduct a needs assessment when the data are likely to help bring in funds to address concerns of Hispanics, as the vignette suggests? Or why do we have so many
populations that are economically and socially vulnerable and that desperately need help, yet have relatively few government agencies that wish to document their plight and use the information to request funds to help? Below is a sampling of just some of the vulnerable populations we have in the United States that somehow may not be important enough to grab our attention and generate the public resolve to assess their needs, let alone address them:
According to a report by Campaign for Youth Justice (2007), the United States incarcerates over 7,500 youth per day in adult jails. While only 1% of underage youth are in adult prisons, they account for 21% of victims of inmate-on-inmate sexual violence. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Task Force on Community Preventative Services issued a report concluding that transferring youth to adult criminal justice system increases their exposure to violence and is counterproductive (McGowan et al., 2007). It is estimated that in 2007, 1.7 million youth had incarcerated parents (Schirmer, Nellis, & Mauer, 2009). Research suggests that 70% of such youth have serious psychological and emotional problems (Jose- Kampfner, 1995; Myers, Smarsh, Amlund-Hagen, & Kennon, 1999). While it is estimated that about 12% of females in the general population have symptoms of mental disorders, more than 61% of females in federal, state, and local jails show such symptoms (James & Glaze, 2006). According to the Pew Hispanic Center, the United States had approximately 11.9 million undocumented residents in 2008 (Passel & Cohn, 2008). According to Chavez (1986), the undocumented population is a “class within a class” (p. 350). They tend to have substantially lower incomes, less education, and less access to health care than the rest of the population. A third of the children of unauthorized immigrants and a third of undocumented adults live in poverty (James & Glaze, 2006). Researchers suggest that the stress of being undocumented can lead to higher rates of mental health problems, such as depression and substance use (Sullivan & Rehm, 2005). A survey by the Department of Housing and Urban Development found that in 2010 there were about 650,000 homeless. A little over a quarter of these were over the age of 50 years. Homeless persons were likely to have a disabling condition, such a serious mental illness, substance abuse, or HIV/AIDS, and be a domestic violence survivor (USHUD, 2010).
What do these populations have in common? Yes, it is true that they are all considered vulnerable and have needs. But what else makes them similar? What does the public think about them? A 17-year-old murders an elderly person in a home-invasion burglary, and the crime is reported in the news. How do the public and media react? Do they care that the prosecutor will seek to try the boy as an adult? Public funds are tight, and a proposal is made to cut or eliminate funding for prison programs, such as for education or recreation services. Is there an uproar in the public and media? What about when children of undocumented parents are reported to suffer from severe anxiety and fail to concentrate well in school due to fear that their parents will be sent back to their country of origin? If parents are deported and separated from their US-born children, is there indignation? Or what about concern over the homeless elderly with mental and substance abuse problems? Do we care about them, or do we find it easy to blame them for taking substances to begin with? Does it matter that we have about 28,000 homeless over the age of 61? As a public, are we really concerned about them? The tragic answer in most cases is no—we are not alarmed or interested.
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A 23-year-old father of two who is an undocumented immigrant sees someone abduct a 6-year-old. He chases the abductor with his car until he forces him to crash into a pole. He risked his life to save the frightened girl. His heroism is widely reported in the city. There is a sudden city-wide appreciation for the man and sudden sympathy for the undocumented. It just so happens that the city has received a proposal to conduct a needs assessment to better understand the housing and health needs of day laborers, many of whom are believed to be undocumented. The city overturns its initial decision to deny funding to the proposal and instead funds it.
A 31-year-old homeless man saves a woman being attacked by a knife-wielding man. After stopping the attack and after being stabbed several times, still running after the attacker, the homeless man drops to the ground and waits about 1 hour 20 minutes before passers-by call for help. Unfortunately, it is too late. The whole incident was captured on surveillance video and drew a lot of media attention, and public sensitivity to the plight of the homeless rose. Even if temporarily, the image of the homeless as being dangerous and a nuisance was set aside in favor of seeing what could be done to help this population.
These two incidents are important to consider in terms of their impact on the public and the media. Such incidents demonstrate the power of the media, true, but more importantly for our purposes, they demonstrate the possibility that social and political attitudes can change given the right information and context. This is important, since many human service agencies serve the poor, the disenfranchised, the vulnerable, and those that society does not esteem as it should. All human service agencies operate within a social and political context and with constraints that are brought about by these contexts. What is important is that helping agencies tap into the power of effective communication and persuasion. The purpose of this chapter is to sensitize the reader to these intangible yet important constraints. Social, political, and economic influences are real, even if not commonly discussed, and they should be considered when planning a needs assessment.
Determining Your Sociopolitical Environment All communities reside within a sociopolitical context. There is never full agreement on the need for human services. There will always be those who feel that we should not provide for the needs of any group, regardless of need and suffering.
Why should we be concerned with those who have substance abuse problems? After all, did they not decide to take substances in the first place? No one forced them to do so. So why should anyone be concerned about substance abusers?
Similarly, why should we be concerned with the homeless? Why don’t they work and take care of all their needs themselves? Aren’t most of them able-bodied?
Even victims of violence can be subjected to this kind of thinking: Wasn’t it their fault to hang around violent persons in the first place? Let them meet their own service needs and find their own shelter.
Gauge your own reaction to these provocative statements and views. While some hold these views, many others hold opposing views and do advocate for services and programs for a variety of reasons. They have their own justifications. Here are examples of some justifications for intervening in the same social problems.
Of course we need to be concerned about those addicted to substances. Substances change you without you being aware, and before you know it, you are not the same person anymore. You are not yourself after taking substances. People addicted to substances need help from professionals who can break the hold of substances so they can regain their real selves.
Homeless people never intended to be homeless. Most lost their jobs and means of supporting themselves and their families. Shame and guilt have led some to forget their pain by drinking or by taking substances. Any of us can be homeless and can find ourselves out there in the streets. We need to help them so that they can be happy and productive citizens.
When we see people hurting or in need, we need to help them because we can and we care. People do not plan on being victims of violence. That is why we call them “victims”—because they are victimized by
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those who let them down, take advantage of them, or wish to hurt them. We need to help both the victim and treat the perpetrator so that we stop the victimization.
For any social problem, there is a range of opinion in the community about how we should understand the problem and how willing we should be to support the provision of services and programs in order to address it. The key is to become aware of the views of the community. Read newspaper articles or view televised reports on problems and perceptions of populations. Become aware of common views in the community. Find out who tends to hold certain views. Politicians are infamous for simplifying complex problems. They seem to offer simple explanations and solutions to problems that they themselves know are complex, but they feel they have to simplify issues to get elected. Economic downturns historically lead to increased blame of others, particularly of vulnerable populations such as immigrants. The anxieties of communities during economic crises—when jobs and homes are lost and many feel vulnerable—lead to a desire to find quick and simple solutions, and blaming a marginalized group is quick and simple. This is typically not the best time to argue for sympathy for disenfranchised individuals or vulnerable groups in need of services, although such people are also hurt by a struggling economy.
While needs assessments typically focus on assessing problems, they can be used to assess community views on the provision of particular services and programs. If human service agencies know of a community’s sensitivities regarding populations and/or the provision of services, then questions could be included in a needs assessment assessing these attitudes. For example, let us assume that an agency wishes to help day laborers, who are largely immigrants, with housing, nutrition, and health services and the media seem to reflect anti-immigrant sentiments. The agency may wish to include in its needs assessment questions on community views toward precisely whether the services it hopes to prove are needed and wishes to provide, as well as to assess views toward the populations in question (e.g., immigrants and/or day laborers). You may already know that there is strong anti-immigrant sentiment, and so through the needs assessment, you may want to test out sympathies toward various ways of talking about these populations. Here is an example of an assessment of views and sympathies toward various versions of the same group in need, in this case, day laborers:
Using the 5-point scale, please indicate the extent to which you agree with the various statements (Totally Agree to Totally Disagree with Not Sure being the middle response):
1. We should help people who have clear need of housing, food, and health services. [This question assesses the simple concept of helping others with needs for housing, food, and health
care.] 2. Day labor workers are those who congregate every morning and wait to see if people will hire them for the
day for manual work. These are good people whom we need to help out when we know they have needs. [Here you establish knowledge of day laborers and assess favorable attitudes toward them.]
3. Immigrants are hardworking, good people whom we should help when they have needs. [This assesses favorable attitudes toward immigrants and toward helping them.]
4. Most immigrants are not in the United States legally. [This assesses possible misconceptions about immigrants being undocumented.]
5. Even if they are hardworking and good people, we should never help undocumented immigrants. [This measures the extent of resistance toward helping the undocumented.]
6. Human service agencies should help immigrant day laborers with housing, nutrition, and health needs when we know they have need.
[This question assesses favorable attitudes toward providing the services that the agency wishes to provide if its needs assessment demonstrates need.]
Collecting such information on the attitudes of community residents, in this case on day laborers and immigrants, as part of a needs assessment may help the agency prepare for any resistance from the community, including from funders, against the provision of services to particular groups in need.
These same questions could also be used to ask funders about their views on the provision of services to particular groups. Funders, like government agencies, are not immune to biases. Talking to program officers in funding agencies will help you learn about their biases. Sometimes something as simple as not mentioning sensitive issues, such as the legal status of those in need, is a workable solution.
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The important point is that the assessment of sociopolitical contexts and sensitivities form a part of any needs assessment. Such questions should be asked of the community and of funders. This assessment can be formal and comprise part of a needs assessment. Alternatively, the sociopolitical assessment can be informal, consisting simply of reviewing newspaper articles, televised news reports, and/or written reports.
Whatever form it takes, an assessment of the sociopolitical context of the community should be considered before undertaking a needs assessment when there are known or suspected social or political sensitivities. It is recommended that a report—short though it may be—be written on the sociopolitical context in the community and that it be included within the larger report of the broader needs assessment.
Economic Considerations
A community health center in an Appalachian city has been overwhelmed since the beginning of the recession with significant increases in the number of uninsured and unemployed who present with a myriad of health conditions. These include diabetes, heart disease, cancer, pulmonary disease, and allied conditions. The health center has had a 100% increase in patients coming to the clinic. It conducts a needs assessment to determine the proportion of the community that relies on the clinic for primary care, as well as the proportion that depends on the clinic for specialty care or urgent care.
Findings from the needs assessment are compelling. Widespread need for additional resources is evident, justified, and very much in need. The findings are presented to local, state, and federal agencies, but while the need is evident, additional funds are not provided. On the other hand, this agency did not experience cuts in its budget as did other human service agencies in the same area during the same period. Government and private foundations were dealing with unprecedented reductions in revenues.
This vignette points out the limitations of needs assessments. It is true that without data, resources are very difficult to keep or receive. However, there are limits to what is possible. Those conducting needs assessments need to take these limitations into consideration. In the example just given, the government had absolute limitations on its ability to meet clear needs for health services due to funding shortfalls. We can call these limitations absolute funding or economic limitations. Sometimes funding agencies just do not have the funds needed for what is being proposed—period.
However, other economic limitations are not absolute but rather are called commensurate funding limitations. Commensurate funding limitations are economic limitations due a mismatch between the proposed services and the funds that are available. That is, the size of the project or services being proposed is not realistic given available funds.
In the previous example, there were absolute limitations, or no funds, to pay for any additional health services. However, let us suppose that $100,000 were available and a health clinic conducted a needs assessment that covered needs of residents in its service area, also called the catchment area, with respect to heart disease, diabetes, cancer, respiratory disease, and related diseases. Understanding that funding of its grant proposal was limited by a budget of only $100,000, the clinic suggested in its proposal that the money be spread equally across the various locations of need, regardless of whether the areas could be seen as having higher or lower priority. Most funders receiving such a funding request and plan are not likely to favor funding at all, because they would question the wisdom of not prioritizing particular needs. If funding were focused on the area of greatest need, there would at least be a meaningful impact in that area. The point here is that economic realities dictate that needs assessment findings be used to propose realistic programming based on funding limits.
Sometimes in a situation of funding limitations, the opposite is the case: Needs assessments are too small in scope, and the data generated from a needs assessment are too narrow given an agency’s programming plans. Let us suppose that a community agency recognizes the need for a counseling and treatment center as well as for a shelter to serve victims of domestic or intimate partner violence (DV, IPV). The agency’s main programming activities are currently in the realm of violence prevention programs for youth, and it is primarily involved with youth diversion programming—keeping youth busy with such things as sports and recreational activities. Its funding proposal presents findings from a needs assessment conducted a few months back focusing on youth and youth violence. Among the findings is an assessment of the exposure of adolescents to community violence. However, the agency also includes in the grant proposal findings based on a few questions in the needs
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assessment on youth experience with violence at home, which reveal that over 70% of youth have at some point witnessed parents yelling, hitting each other, or throwing objects at each other. Even though the needs assessment shows high rates of youth exposure to community and home violence, funders are not likely to fund the proposal because there are not enough data on rates of IPV and DV in the service area. Showing high youth exposure to community and home violence is not the same as showing high rates of DV and IPV or the same as showing felt need among residents for a shelter and treatment counseling center. In essence, this needs assessment is too narrow in its focus on violence, and there is a mismatch between the violence being reported and the violence of focus for new programming.
Securing Funding Opportunities in Light of Economic Realities Considering economic realities means being realistic about what you can and cannot accomplish with a needs assessment given the funding that is available. This involves knowing your agency’s strengths and capacities, but also its limitations. For example, say your agency has a history of working to meet the nutritional needs of the isolated elderly by doing home visits and taking them meals. Even if you feel a sympathy and passion for helping foster children, it would be difficult for you successfully to compete for grant funding to start an independent living skills training program for adolescents since you lack a history of working with foster youth. Economic realities include understanding the funds that are available, the intended outcome of funds being offered, the appropriateness of your agency to compete for designated funds, and realism about how proposed services will result in intended outcomes.
Funding Opportunities As we consider funding limitations and opportunities, perhaps it would help to introduce terms related to
funding opportunities, such as grants. Availability of funds is typically announced through grant announcements, requests for proposals, and requests for applications. Grants are offered through public funding and private funding.
Grant announcements refer to any written notice of the availability of funds. These funds can be private. Private funds typically come from private foundations, such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in New Jersey. Private foundations can be local, regional, or national. Local-only agencies that are either located in the catchment area or that focus their activities within a specified city, or sometimes even within a specific neighborhood, can compete for funds from local foundations. Regional foundations encompass a greater geographic area; an example is the James Irvine Foundation, which funds projects only in the Bay Area in California. Just like private sources, government agencies can be local (e.g., municipalities), regional (e.g., counties), or national (e.g., National Institutes of Health).
It is important to know the foci and preferences of funding sources. Some foundations, like the Alliance Healthcare Foundation in San Diego, fund health services and projects primarily in San Diego County. However, even if your focus aligns with that of the funder, you may be disappointed to find that your project was not funded because you were competing with too many equally worthy agencies that also wanted to work in a particular neighborhood. Funders typically want to spread their funds to programs across their geographic area of interest. You avoid such disappointment by talking to project officers who serve as liaisons between the funding agency and agencies proposing services and programs.
When funders publish funding announcements, they may do so as simple announcements, program announcements (PAs), requests for proposals (RFPs), or requests for applications (RFAs). Program announcements mean that the funder, typically the National Institutes of Health, has identified a general area of interest for which it seeks proposals, such as autism spectrum disorders. When responding to PAs, applicants have greater latitude to respond with applications that relate to the general theme or focus. PAs also indicate more flexibility with respect to the dates applications will be accepted. Typically, organizations issuing PAs fund projects for anywhere from less than 1 year to 5 years.
On the other hand, requests for applications are more narrow in focus and indicate specific dates when applications will be accepted. While narrower, RFAs do allow some latitude in the focus of applications, since different divisions or parts of the same agency commonly collaborate to sponsor an RFA. For example, an RFA may invite applications for research on the reasons for autism, on autism treatment, and on community
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perceptions of autism and autism spectrum disorders. These topics may involve various national institutes, and, depending on the project, one or several institutes may consider the proposal for funding if they find it relevant to their mission.
Finally, requests for proposals are even more narrow in focus and are more prescriptive about how one must apply. In relation to autism, for example, an RFP may solicit applications on culturally sensitive and relevant autism treatment programs for minority populations. Unlike RFAs, RFPs usually stipulate a specific date, rather than a range of dates, when applications will be accepted.
Knowing What Funds Are Available Probably the first thing any agency seeking funds seeks to find out is the amount that a funding agency
offers. It is like what many children do when they get a birthday card from a relative like a grandparent. Do they say, “Wow, let’s read what Grandma says in the card!” No way! They don’t even read the card! They open the envelope, turn the card upside down, and shake out its contents—which they hope is money. Similarly, agencies do the same when they get a funding announcement. They quickly look at how much funding is being offered. It sounds simple enough. However, often grant announcements may offer varying amounts of funding up to a limit. Most agencies have the impulse to request and justify the highest amount possible. However, if you seek the maximum amount of funding, then your proposal must make it obvious that the amount sought is logical and justified given the scope and activities of the project. Do not pad the budget with items and costs that are optional or not logical. For example, funders will look askance at your proposal if you ask for funds to do a qualitative needs assessment that involves interviewing 10 people—2 days of work plus time to write up the results—yet are asking for $150,000.
Make Sure the Project Focuses on Intended Outcomes Read the grant announcement very carefully. Make sure you understand the intent of the funding initiative
and its intended outcome. Do funders want you to make a difference in the lives of those partaking of the services and thereby reduce their likely participation in violence, or is the intent to reduce rates of violence in the community, or is it to develop a model violence reduction program that can be replicated? Only by reading the grant announcement carefully will you know, and even then, know that funders sometimes fail to write their intent clearly. After reading the grant announcement and developing an idea of what you wish to propose, contact a program officer at the funding agency to make sure you understand the intent of the funding initiative. Do not be surprised if, after you talk to the grant officer, you have an Aha! moment in which you understand better the intent of the initiative and its purpose. But even after hearing the intent of the funding initiative from the official, make sure you share with that person what you intend to do. Ask if he or she feels your proposed project fits within the intent of the funding initiative and ask for advice on enhancing your proposal.
Program officers and other funding representatives (e.g., funding agency board members) are human beings; therefore, you need to develop rapport with them. The better the relationship you develop with representatives, the better the feedback and mentoring you will get from them. Internal things are undoubtedly going on within the funding agency to which you are not privy that may bear on the types of proposals that will be favored. Sometimes certain terms, such as evidence-based or health disparities or community-based, are “must-mention” terms because they are currently in vogue.
As soon as you think you know what you will propose, write it down in the form of a concept paper. This is typically a one- to five-page description of what you propose to do, those whom you will include in your effort, and the outcome you hope to achieve. This is what you will typically show to a program officer or official to make sure that what you intend to do with the funds is clear and in keeping with the funding priorities. The first readers of your concept paper should be those within your agency, such as your supervisor and/or the head of the agency. You need to share plans with your own agency before sharing them with others, since your agency needs to sanction the effort before submitting it for funding.
Be Mindful of Your Agency’s Capacity
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Do not ask for funds for something that you or your agency have little experience in doing or have few staff members with the expertise to accomplish. Many very talented recent graduates from fine universities technically know how to conduct research or to build programs or to develop services. However, they usually lack the experience to do so. That is why few, if any, get awarded funding if they apply for funds right after graduating. Funding agencies typically will wait until such talented recent graduates are mentored by more experience grantees who understand what it takes to effectively undertake a project and therefore please a funder. Similarly, agencies that have limited time and experience in an area and have not built up credibility through a history of success are not likely to be favored by funders. On the other hand, even if an agency has been around since the time of Columbus and has a great reputation in the community and beyond it still has to prove itself in the particular area of focus or secure experts who have the background and reputation to accomplish the intended outcome. Securing such experts either as consultants or staff members and placing their names prominently in an application is a great way for an agency to gain credibility or for a new graduate to secure funding.
The important point is that you must be sensitive to the capacity and limitations of your agency or of yourself as the lead applicant. The person whose name appears in the primary position on the application is typically called the principal investigator (PI) or lead or principal applicant. The PI’s experience and reputation are usually critical to the application’s success. If the PI is not well-known or cannot demonstrate experience in securing funds for similar projects, then experienced consultants or co-investigators (Co-PIs) must be added to the application. Funding agencies like the National Institutes of Health allow co-investigators to be named. They then share responsibility with the PI to accomplish the outlined project.
Feasibility, Sustainability, and Clear Outcomes Feasibility is whether what is being proposed can realistically be accomplished. It relates to the
considerations discussed above of past experience and expertise of the agency and key personnel. However, here we are concerned with whether the proposed needs assessment and/or project are feasible to accomplish as planned—regardless of the talents, past experience, or developmental stage of the organization. Grant applicants sometimes make the mistake of trying to impress a funding agency by trying to accomplish a large project with less funding than is typically needed. One of the first questions that grant reviewers consider when reviewing an application is whether the project is feasible given the funding being requested and personnel slated to be involved.
Another common question is whether the program, services, or project, if successful, is sustainable over time. If, for example, a diabetes prevention program is proposed that focuses on testing and educating patients coming to a facility for primary care, then funders will ask whether the project is sustainable following the initial funding period. That is, are there other likely funding sources that will continue to support the project after its initial term?
Another concern is whether the project being proposed has the right outcomes, given funders’ expectations, and whether there are plans to assess outcomes appropriately. A program that offers the elderly an exercise and fitness program may prove to be feasible, sustainable, successful, and wonderful at getting participants to exercise. However, if funders are asking for a diabetes prevention program and the proposal does not clearly delineate how diabetes rates or at least blood sugar levels will be measured, then the proposal is not likely to be funded. Successful grant proposals are those whose projects delineate specific outcomes and present plans to measure these outcomes.
Adequate Funding for Needs Assessments The last but certainly not the least important issue bearing on economics has to do with allocating enough resources to conduct a respectable and credible needs assessment. Unfortunately, many who undertake needs assessments are either given too few resources or simply underestimate the cost of conducting a credible needs assessment. The old adage rings true here: “You get what you pay for.” However, success is not a matter of having unlimited funds but rather of applying the right resources to accomplish the job.
Resources are (a) personnel, (b) personnel time, and (c) materials and supplies. Personnel need to be trained in or knowledgeable about conducting a needs assessment. Bringing this expertise on board could mean
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engaging agency staff, contractors, or consultants. Personnel time refers to giving personnel enough time to accomplish a needs assessment. Materials and supplies include supplies, copying and printing services, statistical software, and any incentives given to participants.
Without the adequate allocation of resources, needs assessments findings are likely to be lower in validity and, hence, impact. When funding for human services and programs is scarce, funders want a firm and definite and reliable answer to the question, “Can you prove to me that these services or programs are really needed, wanted, and will have the desired impact?” Only by investing the right resources to conduct a well-thought-out needs assessment will you be able to argue that your project is worth funding.
Conclusion This chapter discussed factors that we sometimes fail to talk about that bear on our ultimate goal of using needs assessment data to justify the development of new services or programs or support the continuance of existing ones. Social and political factors are real, and they determine whether wonderful ideas that are clearly justified and backed up with empirical data will be supported or not. It is easy to be pessimistic about the subjective nature of decision making, but on the other hand, the same forces that lead to bias can be used to sell and support empirically justified programs and services. Knowledge is power, and knowing of these social and political forces allows us to plan strategies to overcome such obstacles and indeed harness them to help others through effective programs and services.
This chapter also presented economic factors that are sometimes ignored that determine whether needs assessment data can be used to support programs and services. Much of the discussion about economic issues did not deal directly with the process of conducting successful needs assessments. However, needs assessments are used primarily to determine need for services and programs that require funding for their implementation. Knowing that such factors as an agency’s experience in an area are critical for securing funding will allow those conducting needs assessments to collect information that is likely to be useful in developing programs and services.
Finally, sufficient resources need to be allocated to the task of undertaking a needs assessment. Resources to undertake a needs assessment include personnel, time, and supplies, among other items. The quality of a needs assessment determines its validity, its influence, and its eventual impact. Contracting out this task to experts from area universities may be more cost-effective than hiring or training personnel. On the other hand, hiring or training staff creates a research capacity in-house that can be used in the future for ongoing assessments and for other data-gathering activities, such as evaluations.
We now move on to discuss other issues that seldom ares discussed in needs assessment books or any research methodology textbook, because these are difficult to discuss and to know how to manage: social, gender, and cultural factors. Along with this chapter, Chapter 3 prepares the professional to undertake an effective and realistic needs assessment.
Exercises
Social and Political Factors For each vignette below, write out the social and political issues that are likely to make a difference in
whether either needs assessments or programs and services will be funded.
Vignette 1: Gay Counseling Services
A city located in the South with about 300,000 residents has been experiencing a dramatic increase in suicides among young homosexual males. Over 75 young males have committed suicide over the past 8 months, and there is concern that increased public protest against homosexuality by the evangelical community is linked to this tragic phenomenon. A community health center would like to develop a counseling program for homosexual males to alleviate their stress.
1.