For those among us (ahem) “mature” enough to remember … this title probably brought back memories of weekend morning cartoons. The action figure G.I. Joe used to say this at the end of every show –
Now that I am older, I suspect the writers of this show may have been influenced by the American inventor and engineer, Charles Kettering who said, “A problem well defined is half the solution”.
Here at EvaluCore, we are always talking about Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), but even though WE think this is the quintessential element of your programme, M&E is truly only operationalized with implementation. Therefore before we get to implementation we must think about the conceptual stages of the programme. Yep, the conceptual phase, - you know where all the ideas begin - that is where we are going to give some attention today because we grudgingly accept that the M&E of your programme can only be as good as the definition of your problem. The FACT is, it is the conceptual stage of your programme that dictates your evaluations and identifies what you will monitor.
That is why we are exploring needs assessments because a needs assessment’s whole purpose in life is to create a well-defined problem (aka 'need') for your programme to (effectively) address. Simply put, a needs assessment is a systematic process that provides information about social needs or issues in a place or population group and most importantly, determines which issues should be prioritized for action. (Smart, 2019)
I have a pretty good idea of what you are probably thinking...
When it comes to identifying problems, I know, I know - you have several years of experience and “see it” every day. … But do you know as much as you think you do? - To you, and as far as you are concerned, the problem is glaringly OBVIOUS. Therefore, given your limited budget, restrictive timelines, and overwhelming needs, a formal needs assessment is often skipped. However, while your hands-on experience will absolutely be necessary to consider during programme design, on its own, it is not robust enough to build a programme on.
On the other hand, the needs assessment is a strategic, documented and evidenced-based approach that allows us to get an insightful view from the very beginning!!! A needs assessment may seem like a waste of time and resources in the short term, but not doing one leads to a bigger waste in the end.
If we don’t seek to appraise the nature and conditions of the needs (gaps) we are trying to address, including some baseline measurement and an understanding of what has already been or is being done by others, despite your best intentions, the programme plans will lack specificity, leading to ambiguous impact and a likely duplication of efforts and inefficient use of resources.
Let’s get it right from the start, or at least, start making it right as of now if you have started already. Knowing what a needs assessment is and why it is important is a start, but that my friends, is only half of this battle. ;) .
Stay tuned for the next blog in this series where we delve into HOW to do a needs assessment. If you simply cannot wait until next week though, feel free to reach out to us at admin@evalu-core.com for an in-depth consideration of your programme needs.
#ProblemSolving #NeedsAssessment #ProgramPlanning #EvaluCore #ProgramDesign #MonitoringAndEvaluation
References
Smart, J. (2019). Needs assessment. Australian Institute of Family Studies. https://aifs.gov.au/resources/practice-guides/needs-assessment
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