Needs Identification and Assessment HPR 322 Chapter 5

Needs Identification and Assessment HPR 322 Chapter 5

Perhaps the most important thing…. o Needs assessment/program philosophy assignment due date October 15, 2013 Program Name, Vision (optional), Mission, Needs Assessment, Goals and Objectives o A lot of information to cover to help you prepare the assignment.

Why do a Needs Assessment? o Understand the behavior of the consumers o Become aware of interests, opinions, attitudes, habits, desires, knowledge of leisure, abilities, limitations o What services and facilities are currently available? o What is the current use by consumers?

Evaluative questions. . o Who is to be served? o What strategies should be used to serve them? o How will programs be organized and implemented? o What results will be achieved? (What are the Goals and Objectives? ) n See Figure 5. 1 pg 129

Basic Concepts to consider for effective programming o Needs o Wants o Values o Attitudes o Needs identification o Needs assessment

Needs - Physical, Psychological or Social Imbalance o Physical/Physiological - Needs for Food, Water, Sex , Sleep o Psychological/Social - Companionship, Social Interaction, Safety, Love, Self. Esteem, Self-Worth, Self-Actualization, Recognition, Power, Achievement o Individuals and Communities, Regions, Nations and Societies have these Needs

Play is a Universal Need o "Man does not cease to play because he grows old - he grows old because he ceases to play. " George Bernard Shaw o Leisure needs occur when people lack the opportunity for play, access to leisure spaces, opportunities for meaningful social interaction, freedom, and the opportunity to choose; "to experience leisure"

Conceptual Frameworks for Needs o Maslow - Not great to use for leisure needs - Some overlapping in the heirarchy - operationally awkward when referring to leisure needs - pg 144 o Brill, 1973 - Total Person (Holistic) pg 145 n n n Emotional, Physical, Social, Intellectual, Spiritual Also difficult to use when planning programs Leisure providers must consider interests, abilities, wants, values, attitudes, gender, age, cultural background, resources, etc. Table 5 -6 pg 145

Wants o Desire - Perceived to be needed o Not necessary to sustain life or wellbeing o When individuals want to participate in a leisure activity they perceive that it is beneficial o "Wanting to" and participating in an activity may not meet a need but may be beneficial

Values - Principle, Guideline, Standard of Quality o What an individual or community considers to be worthwhile o Value judgments determine relative worth o Status, Emotional, etc o The degree to which they are dedicated to pursue it o How much are they willing to sacrifice or pay to pursue it?

Attitude - Feeling or State of Mind (like leisure has been described) o Like values - Emotionally charged, Complex, may or may not be linked to actual behavior or actions o Understanding how individuals feel about their leisure can tell us what they would like to do in their leisure

How do we determine what is needed? ? ? o Use one or more than one way n Telephone survey n Written survey n Online survey (cheaper if possible to do)Could use Facebook or other social networking Focus Group Interview Town meeting; board/member meeting “Suggestion Box; ” comments received on evaluations of other programs; unsolicited communications n Client assessments in Therapeutic Recreation n n

Preferences? o What do you think is most effective? Why not? o How would you prefer to be contacted? o What type of contact are you most likely to respond to?

Timely information o As mentioned before, the needs assessment is helpful to do BEFORE planning programming n Determine participants’ (or potential participants’) needs, wants, values, availability, priorities, limitations, constraints, etc. o For the purposes of this assignment, we did not following that sequence because it is an assignment and you will be designing the assessment tool and not implementing it

Timely information cont’d o Realistically, you will probably have some idea of what programming you can offer before any needs assessment: n Limitation due to facilities and equipment n Limitations due to staff, instructor expertise n Limitations due to participant characteristics or demographics o “Real World” needs assessment might specify available options – if you have limitations, it is probably wise to do so.

“Need” vs. “Want” o Back to earlier discussion – is recreation ever a “need? ” o “Creating” needs – like advertisers do o Recreation, public or private, is competing for $ and time Use OUR Recrea tion

Developing a Needs Assessment – example from Edginton, et al, text o Identify scope and depth of opportunities available o Identify activities in which individuals say they participate o Identify activities which individuals do not currently but would like to participate o Identify what facilities and programs should be developed

Developing, cont’d o Determine what individuals believe is the present effectiveness and efficiency of the entity in providing services o Determine what factors influence initial and repeat participation in services and facilities offered by entity o Identification and definition of barriers that prevent participation in services and facilities operated by the entity

Developing, cont’d o Identification of demographic information useful in predicting leisure behavior n Keep on top of trends, e. g. , older adults more and more interested in active and challenging activities o Identification of “psychographic” (lifestyle) variables useful in predicting leisure behavior of area residents (e. g. , lots of golf in south Florida; interest in evening programming in areas where most residents work all day)

Developing cont’d o Identification of current time use of residents of the area with an eye toward understanding patterns of leisure time use n Might turn up a need for ‘leisure education, ’ programming that helps people develop awareness of, interest in, skills related to leisure, etc.

Broad vs. Specific o Our project is just one program within an organization, so the assigned assessment only refers to that program o Don't make your assessment too broad for your assignment purposes

What do we want to find out? Some thoughts…. o Who – name, address, sex, age, etc. of interviewee o Family status, family information o Day/time availability or preference o Level of financial commitment (how much would you be willing to spend for this program? ) o Current participation patterns (maybe)

What do we want to find out? More thoughts…. o Owns or will purchase equipment if needed o Willing to travel how far for programming o Access to transportation, if needed and means if applicable (if they rely on the bus, does the bus schedule work with your program? ) o Desired length/duration of program n Generally assume holidays may be a problem. n Some seasons are better (summer vs. school year) n Time of day dependent on other life issues