Return to search form  

Session Title: Mainstreaming and Supporting Needs Assessment in a Large Organization

Panel Session 369 to be held in Chesapeake Room on Thursday, November 8, 11:15 AM to 12:45 PM

Sponsored by the Needs Assessment TIG

Chair(s):

Maurya payday loan  West Meiers payday loan ,  World Bank,  mwestmeiers@worldbank.org

Abstract: The panelists will discuss their experiences putting into place a system and tools to enable teams in a large organization to build needs assessment into their training and technical assistance projects. The session will focus on how to structure a process of learning about needs assessments, how to provide the resources necessary to implement needs assessment broadly within an organization, and how to communicate the benefits of needs assessment to a variety of stakeholders. Tools, methods, and practical examples will be highlighted.

Creating a Multi-dimensional Learning Series to Build Awareness, Skills, and Enthusiasm About Needs Assessment Maurya payday loan  West Meiers payday loan ,  World Bank,  mwestmeiers@worldbank.org Maurya West Meiers will discuss how an evaluation team within an international development organization - the World Bank Institute - encouraged providers of training and technical assistance to incorporate needs assessment into their projects by crafting an integrated series of learning experiences on needs assessment. This session will highlight the importance of understanding what needs assessment is, communicating the benefits of needs assessment, and explaining how a systematic approach can make needs assessment easier. Ms. West Meiers manages the monitoring and evaluation training program for the World Bank Institute Evaluation Group and conducts strategic evaluations of learning programs, including a recent major review of the framework for World Bank staff learning. Publications include 'Fiscal Decentralization in an Era of Globalization: An Evaluation of the World Bank Institute's Decentralization Program' and 'An Impact Evaluation of the Sound Bank Management Program and Banking System Development Program in the Former Soviet Union'.

Needs Assessment for Program Strategy and for Learning: Methodology and Practical Tools Ryan payday loan  Watkins payday loan ,  George Washington University,  rwatkins@gwu.edu Ryan Watkins, Associate Professor in the Educational Technology Leadership Program at George Washington University, will discuss methodologies for needs assessment, with particular attention to considerations for conducting needs assessments that feed into program strategy decisions, and for needs assessments to inform learning activities. Hands-on tools, such as sample questions, instruments, and an online knowledge base, will be emphasized. Professor Watkins teaches and conducts research on needs assessments, instructional design, e-learning, performance technologies, and research methods. His books include Performance by Design: The selection, design, and development of performance technologies (HRD Press, 2007), 75 E-learning Activities: Making online courses more interactive (Wiley/Jossey-Bass, 2005), and Strategic Planning for Success: Accomplishing high impact results (Wiley/Jossey Bass, 2003). He frequently contributes to the Performance Improvement Journal and the Performance Improvement Quarterly.

Dissemination and Consultations to Foment Implementation of Needs Assessment in an Organization Joy payday loan  Behrens payday loan ,  World Bank,  jbehrens@worldbank.org Joy Behrens will discuss issues to consider in crafting a dissemination strategy to encourage learning and practice of needs assessment in an organization. She will describe the dissemination methods used in the World Bank Institute (WBI) example and the rationales for implementing or combining particular methods. Ms. Behrens manages the process for evaluating participants' reactions to training activities sponsored by WBI, and other recent projects include a strategic review of WBI's country program briefs, collaboration on WBI's Level 1 Evaluation Toolkit, and collaboration on Advancing a Reporting and Results Framework for the World Bank's External Training. She is particularly interested in qualitative analysis and communication of evaluation results to catalyze organizational change. Past work includes evaluations of welfare reform programs and consulting on systems reform efforts within public social service agencies.