Maslow s Hierarchy of Human Needs Self-actualization means becoming everything one is capable of becoming

Maslow s Hierarchy of Human Needs Self-actualization means becoming everything one is capable of becoming Most basic needs have to do with physical and psychological survival Need for self-actualization Esteem needs Love, affection, & belonging needs Safety needs Survival needs An individual cannot satisfy any level unless needs below are satisfied Healthy persons strive for selfactualization A Concept of Needs Felt and Expressed Needs These are individual wants or desires Clientele are not always able to articulate felt needs into expressed needs or even preferred solutions Clientele s felt needs often are not causally linked to underlying conditions. Clientele tend to be able to identify problems and conditions rather than needs Clientele sometimes express needs irrespective to costs to others A Concept of Needs Ascribed or Assigned Needs These are identified by outsiders to the group and assigned The basis for this assignment can be normative -- below a preset standard such as the poverty line The basis for assignment could also be comparative or relative, such as the concept of relative poverty 1

Most Needs Are Value-Based Judgements!!! Values are based on Beliefs Values of Clientele Values of the County Agent Values of Broader Community Values of Funding Agencies Values of Researchers Values of State Government Values of Cooperative Extension Most Needs Are Value-Based Judgements!!! Macro vs. Micro Needs Should Programming be Prioritized by Expressed Needs or Ascribed Needs? Planning: An important first step in planning programs should be a needs assessment, which helps to: learn about present conditions in the county learn about specific needs of the learners in the county identify possibilities for new programs or improving old programs improve the access of programs to a variety of people access public opinion about goals and priorities 2

Needs Assessments Allow You to: Describe current conditions identify needs, problems, opportunities and emerging issues provide support and documentation of the need for your programming provide indicators of the severity/scope of need establish priorities for programs provide baseline or benchmark data describe the primary audience and geographic location The Needs Assessment Process There are 10 Commonly Accepted Steps in the Needs Assessment Process Step One Step Two Decision to Conduct the Assessment for Program Development Identification of Individuals to be involved in the planning of Assessment The Needs Assessment Process Step Three Defining the Levels for Analysis such as Community (collaborators), Volunteers, and Clientele and What Questions to Ask! 3

The Needs Assessment Process: Step Three Determine Questions by Listening!! Informal Techniques, Key Informant Interviews, Focus Groups Pretend you are an anthropologist from another culture Do Windshield Reconnaissance Interact With the Natives The Needs Assessment Process Step Four Determination of Time Frame and Budget Step Five Selection of Data Collection Techniques -- Don t be Afraid of Mixed Methods and Triangulation -- Consider Felt and Ascribed Needs The Needs Assessment Process Step Six Collection of Data Step Seven Analysis of Data -- Pay Particular Attention for Similarities in Ascribed and Felt Needs 4

The Needs Assessment Process Step Eight Ranking Step Nine Prioritizing by feasibility Step Ten Turn Needs Into Objectives Step Two Identify Individuals to be Involved in the Planning Ad Hoc of Advisory Committee There is a need to identify community leaders, especially in minority communities Leaders can serve as Key Informants Leaders often serve as gate keepers to clientele Leaders may be important collaborators Leaders have social Power. Social Power is defined as the process of people bringing the resources they command to attain goals they desire in relationships with other people. Power is revealed in relationships with other social actors. Legitimacy is an important element and is gained through the recognition that the person in power is acting appropriately and properly for their roles. Sources of legitimacy include: business leaders, church/religion, rational/legal 5

Step Two Identify Individuals to be Involved in the Planning There is a need to identify community leaders, especially in minority communities Three Approaches to Leader Identification: Positional Method Reputational Method Issues Method Upper Middle Lower CLIQUE Community Power Structure Community Power Structure R e li g i o n G O P F a r m e r s D e m o c r a t s B u s i n e s s Factional 6

Community Power Structure Upper Middle Lower Coalitional Step three Define Levels for Analysis and What Questions to Ask Defining Levels Determine the Scope of the Program Are there staff or volunteers? Assess professional development needs!!! Are there collaborators? Assess their needs and expectations. Does the program demand community involvement like CYFAR? Assess community (Macro) needs Don t forget the clientele ALL TEN STEPS ARE APPROPRIATE AT EACH LEVEL Step three Define Levels for Analysis and What Questions to Ask Defining Levels Determine the Scope of the Program For each level ask the questions are: What learning/professional development is needed? What changes in behavior or performance are needed? What are the benefits to be achieved if the program is successful? Is it worth the effort? 7

Key Needs Assessment Questions: What are the needs of people in this community? Is this need addressed by others in the community? What programs must be added, changed, or improved? Who supports this program? What other individuals or agencies can and will contribute? Step three Define Levels for Analysis and What Questions to Ask How do you know what to ask if you have not listened first? Ways of Listening observe public places and meetings Rely upon Key Informants and Action Informant Protocols Last try Focus Groups Step three Define Levels for Analysis and What Questions to Ask Adult Focus Groups 6-12 adults, unknown to one another, and preferably, unknown to facilitator, have an ice breaker 4-10 open-ended questions for 1-2 hour session good idea to provide incentives it s o.k. to probe generates a range of needs or problems listen for the language being used 8

Step three Define Levels for Analysis and What Questions to Ask Youth Focus Groups 4-6 participants, can know each other 4-6 open-ended questions for no more than a 1 hour session avoid yes/no questions -- have an ice breaker instruct any adults to fade into the background and keep mouths shut!!! Keep questions age appropriate often useful to separate girls and boys listen for the language being used Typical questions include: what do you love? what do you hate? what would you change? Step three Define Levels for Analysis and What Questions to Ask Focus Groups are not Random Representative Samples Survey work can Supplement Findings Advisory committees and other are more comfortable with quantitative assessments Nonetheless, An Alternative to Expensive Survey Research is to Conduct 3 or More Focus Groups and Triangulate with Advisory and Research input Step Five -- Selection of Data Collection Techniques Primary Data Collection: Re-Utilize Focus Groups and/or Key and Action Informants Collect Survey Data Telephone Mail Personal Interview Use Secondary Data 9

The Needs Assessment Process More Formal Methods of Assessment Secondary Data for problem identification a. examining community conditions and trends -- population size, growth and decline, migration, births and deaths, age,sex, and racial composition The Needs Assessment Process More Formal Methods of Assessment Secondary Data for problem identification b. Economic trends -- poverty, unemployment, income, welfare, cost of living c. Social trends -- divorces, marriages, teen pregnancies, crime, health statistics Using Secondary Data for Needs Assessments What is Secondary Data? Secondary data is information collected by someone other than yourself--cheap alternative to doing it yourself! It is a compilation of records of other organizations or agencies surveys conducted by others 10

Using Secondary Data for Needs Assessments To assess needs with secondary data, you begin by selecting Key Indicators What is a Key Indicator? Key indicators are items of data or variables which provide information about a group of clientele Key Indicators Are Used To.... Identify a group s size the census of agriculture lists the number of farmers in each county School enrollments are used for counts of youth by race and gender Describe a group s status or conditions The census identifies the number of households in poverty The census of agriculture lists the number of farms in 10 income categories Selecting Key Indicators: Which Should You Use? Variables or measures available to you Data used by subject matter specialists Variables in published research Indicators that your experience or judgement have been shown to be useful 11

Methods for Interpreting Secondary Data Cross-sectional comparisons by comparing your county with another similar or neighboring county or some other meaningful unit, such as: the state average the extension district previously established standard Longitudinal comparisons compare county data for 2 points in time What is Desired USE THE GAP MODEL WITH SECONDARY DATA GAP What Currently Exits IDENTIFY THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM Identify the MACRO NEED Identify the factors that cause the gap Segment the audience into groups with the same needs 12

Use Secondary Data to Understand How Audiences are Ranked in Society People are Stratified by education lifestyle status ethnicity race income occupation etc. These strata can be established objectively or subjectively Step Five Consider a Case Study Mapping Approach for Data Analysis Use the Elements of the Social System to Understand and Map your Audience Putting It all Together! Elements of a Social System(Loomis 1960): Beliefs Sentiments Ends or objectives Facilities Status Roles Power Norms Social Rank Sanctions 13

Elements of a Social System(Loomis 1960): Beliefs -- what audience perceives as true Sentiments -- feelings of solidarity that identify belonging to a group Ends or objectives -- what does the group want -- reason for being a group- - the purpose of the needs assessment Facilities -- what resources does the group have for obtaining ends or objectives Status Roles -- expectations for various roles Elements of a Social System(Loomis 1960): Power -- control in the system Norms -- rules for behavior -- group acceptable behavior Social Rank -- stratification Sanctions -- culturally relevant rewards or punishment Master Processes of Social Systems(Loomis 1960): Communication -- how is change transmitted Boundary Maintenance -- process of maintaining identity Socialization -- how does the group pass of their norms Social Control -- how do they get each other to behave 14

Steps Eight and Nine Ranking and Prioritizing BRAINSTORMING Used to Generate a Full List of Possibilities Possible Problems, Benefits, and Solutions are Good Jumping Off Points BRAINSTORMING Procedures 1) Record All Ideas in Full View of Participants 2) There Should be a Moderator or Facilitator Who Stimulates Ideas During Lulls by Asking Open-Ended Questions BRAINSTORMING Procedures 3) Utilize a Turn-Taking Procedure if Interaction Becomes Unequal 4) Postpone Evaluation of Ideas to a Later Session 15

BRAINSTORMING RULES 1) Expressiveness-Suggest Any Idea That Comes to Mind! 2) Non-Evaluative-Ideas are not to be Evaluated During the Generation Phase BRAINSTORMING RULES 3) Quantity-the More Ideas the Better 4) Build Upon and Extend the Ideas of Others BRAINSTORMING Variation: Brainwriting Ideas that are Written in a Short Time Period Same Rules as Brainstorming Avoids Domination by Strong Personalities 16

NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUE 1) Silent Generation of Ideas in Writing (15-20 Minutes) 2) Round-Robin Participation- Each Individual Presents One Idea from their List That has not Been Presented Already NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUE 3) A Recorder Writes Each Idea on a Flip Chart or Chalkboard, in Full View of the Group. This Round-Robin Continues Until Nobody has Anymore New Ideas 4) Each Idea Then is Discussed Individually and Clarified by the Group NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUE 5) Spontaneous Evaluative Discussion, Which Includes Criticism, Follows 6) There is Next, Silent Individual Voting On Priorities or Rank Ordering 17

NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUE 7) Sometimes the Group Decision is the Final Outcome. Sometimes the Results are Shown to the Group for Further Discussion and a Second Round of Voting NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUE Variation Two or More Nominal Groups Work Independently; Then Present Their Final Set of Ideas to the Final Group, With Joint List and Rank Ordering or Voting Occurring on the Joint List DELPHI TECHNIQUE Design Team or Agent Designs the Initial Questionnaire The Same Person(s) Redesigns the Follow-up Questionnaires The Respondent Group is Chosen as Experts or Interested Stakeholders 18

DELPHI TECHNIQUE OBJECTIVES To Determine a Range of Possible Alternatives To Explore or Expose Underlying Assumptions or Information Leading to Differing Judgements To Seek Out Information Which May Generate a Consensus on the Part of the Respondent Group DELPHI TECHNIQUE OBJECTIVES To Triangulate Informed Judgements From a Variety of Interdisciplinary Experts To Educate the Respondent Group as to the Diverse and Interrelated Aspects of the Topic DELPHI TECHNIQUE Procedures Two or More Rounds of Written, Usually Anonymous, Ratings of Options or Projections by Expert Groups Typical Questions Include the Importance of Issues, Likelihood of Outcomes, etc. 19

DELPHI TECHNIQUE Example Round 1 Provide Information Regarding the Housing Situation in Sunshine County Provide a List of Possible Solutions Ask the Panel to add any Solutions you have not Considered Ask the Panel to Rank These Possible Solutions DELPHI TECHNIQUE Example Round 2 Redesign the Survey so Possible Solutions are Rank Ordered, Include the New Possibilities Have the Respondents Rank the Possible Solutions and Provide Comments on each Possible Scenario You Discover One Expert s Assumptions are Uncertainties For Others DELPHI TECHNIQUE Example Continue the Process Until: 1) Your Respondent Group Reaches Consensus 2) You Have Enough Useful Information to Proceed in the Program Development Process 20

Program Logic in Program Development Bennet s Hierarchy Program Logic Model Social,Economic, Environmental Conditions Practices Knowledge, Opinions, Skills, Aspirations Activities Resources Planning Performance Step 10 Turn Needs Into Objectives Major objectives for your CMP should come directly from the MACRO NEED identified in your situation statement This objectives should probably be at the SEEC level and must be client based The needs assessment process should identify the major objective, even if the program is Top Down -- you must map the learners needs and situation to make the program effective 21

A useful way to think about major objectives is as a Structure of Needs Needs have structure because to meet Macro Needs you must meet Micro Needs or annual objectives first Needs are logical, orderly, and sequential in structure The program planning process must address this needs structure systematically if it is to be effective Needs Hierarchy Example REDUCE SOLID WASTE IN COUNTY LANDFILL 6) Increase Recycling (Practice Change) 5) Increase Composting (Practice Change) 4) Ability to Sort Recyclables (Skills) 3) Knowledge of What and How to Recycle (Knowledge/Skills) 2) Do Clientele Wish to Save Money and Environment (Aspirations) 1) Create Awareness of Economic and Environmental Problems (Knowledge--Low Level) Felt Needs: Tipping Fees are Increasing Ascribed Needs: County Government is Concerned the Landfill Will Close 10 years Ahead of Schedule 22