Managing a needs assessment is very much akin to managing any other proj- ect within an organization. Therefore, in appendix A of this book, we have included a number of needs assessment project management guides, check- lists, and resources.
To effectively manage your needs assessment, also consider the following:8
• Involve both internal and external partners from day 1. A needs assess-
ment is rarely an activity that can be completed successfully without en- gaging both internal and external partners. From internal partners that represent varied perspectives within your organization to external part- ners that characterize perspectives of communities, clients, government offi cials, consultants, suppliers, and others outside of your organization, each group plays an essential role in defi ning and prioritizing needs as well as in identifying and prioritizing potential activities to improve performance.
• Get a needs assessment sponsor or champion in top management. When it comes to a needs assessment, successful project management requires that you have a combination of responsibility (for the results of the needs assessment), authority (to make decisions), and accountability (for the accomplishments associated with assessment). Avoid situations where you are responsible and accountable but have no authority to achieve the necessary results. It is important in most situations that the sponsor del- egates to you the authority necessary to make management decisions re- garding the needs assessment.
• Establish measurable goals, objectives, and deliverables. Needs assess- ments are best managed through detailed goals, objectives, deliverables, and timelines. Use project management tools, such as Gantt or PERT charts, to guide your project from start to fi nish.9 Establish clear and
measurable objectives for each phase of the needs assessment, and then track your successful achievements. At the same time, remain fl exible. Needs are constantly changing—some are leaving (for instance, when a
related project achieves positive results, or when your organization shifts its objectives under new leadership), and others are emerging (for in- stance, when changing global economic conditions strain the limited re- sources of a developing country). Your assessment—and subsequent deci- sions—must be able to adjust to these realities.
• Lead the planning process and the assessment. Successful needs assess-
ments do not happen by chance or luck. Rather, they are led by an indi- vidual (or a team), and they require a blend of leadership and manage- ment skills. From motivating team members and guiding decisions to sharing authority and taking accountability, leadership plays an essential role in the success of any needs assessment. It is easy to get so wrapped up in managing the day-to-day activities of your project that your leader- ship gets lost.
• Balance time, budget, and quality of needs assessment results. There is no
“perfect” needs assessment; consequently your success depends on fi nd- ing an appropriate balance of time, budget, and quality of results that can be achieved. As you develop your needs assessment plan and guide that plan through implementation, refl ect on these three variables to ensure that you are not losing balance or focus. Roger Kaufman (2006) goes as far as to suggest that “anything worth doing is worth doing poorly, at least at fi rst.” In other words, a less-than-perfect needs assessment usually has more value than a needs assessment that never gets done; at least, the former gives a starting place for making improvements.
• Establish your management style. There is no ideal management style for
all needs assessments. At some times, you may have to be more authori- tarian to get things done; at other times, you may want to manage by ob- jectives (and then get out of the way so that people can be successful in their tasks). Establish your primary management style early on in the project. If you fi nd that it isn’t working for the needs assessment, then refl ect on your experiences and select another management style that may achieve better results.
• Assess your strengths and weaknesses. To manage a successful needs as- sessment, know your own strengths and weaknesses (for instance, you may be great at keeping the project organized but less eff ective in leading focus groups as part of data collection). In addition, it is useful to know the strengths and weaknesses of your assessment team members (for ex- ample, one member may be great at conducting interviews but unable to view the perspectives of others when synthesizing information from var- ious sources). Understanding and applying these factors as you assign
roles, guide decisions, and manage the daily activities is important to your success—and to the success of the assessment.
• Communicate early and often. Keep your partners engaged and active throughout the needs assessment rather than letting them become pas- sive observers (see Greer 1999). These internal and external partners in- clude the assessment team, sponsors, and others who may be providing information to the assessment or using the results to inform their deci- sions. Consequently, from the time you kick off your assessment until the fi ndings have been communicated, keep your partners involved in the information gathering and decision making to some extent. Whether it is calling them once a week to ask for guidance, e-mailing them sample questionnaires, or holding community information meetings, keeping your partners engaged requires that you do not forget about them for weeks or months at a time. After all, if you lose their interest during the needs assessment process, then it is very diffi cult to get that interest back during the implementation of recommended activities.
• Keep your focus on the results (or don’t get distracted by processes or poten-
tial solutions). Stay focused on the results to be accomplished by your
needs assessment. Frequently, you are so distracted by all of the activities (such as interviews, focus groups, team management, and performance analysis) required to complete a needs assessment that you lose focus of your intended results. Routinely review your assessment’s goals and ob- jectives to ensure that all of your decisions are guided by the performance targets. Similarly, when potential solutions (including bridges, roads, new computers, wells, dams, microloans, training, mentoring, and other improvement activities) are mentioned, don’t be distracted; stay focused on defi ning your needs as being gaps in results. In the end, the results of your decisions will be signifi cantly better if you follow through with the whole needs assessment.10