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Session Title: Using Needs Assessments to Improve Early Stage Project Planning Decisions: Data First, Decisions Later
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Panel Session 297 to be held in Sunset on Thursday, Nov 3, 10:45 AM to 11:30 AM
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Sponsored by the Needs Assessment TIG
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| Chair(s): |
| Maurya West Meiers, World Bank, mwestmeiers@worldbank.org
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| Abstract:
The earliest decisions on projects are among the most critical in determining long-term success. The early decision phase - in which vague concepts are transformed into initial project plans - sets the stage for a variety of actions that will eventually lead (if all goes well) to desirable results. This "front end" of the project life-cycle is, however, often inadequately defined and supported in comparison to the subsequent project management activities. Needs assessments, including a variety of associated tools and techniques, can help provide the strategic linkages necessary for successful decisions during this early phase of any project. In this session the panelists will discuss needs assessments in relation to their essential, and often unique, role in guiding early decisions in project planning. Specific tools for both collecting information and making decisions will be described, and case examples will be discussed.
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Mind the Gaps: Needs Assessments and Decision-making
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| Ryan Watkins, George Washington University, rwatkins@gwu.edu
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As a potential project sponsor or other stakeholder, before project proposals are written or possible project teams are fully assembled, the early decisions you make are critical to the success of the project. Making good decisions about what to do is not easy, nor should the decision-making process be minimized or an after-thought. Needs assessments can play an important role in guiding the necessary decisions at the "front-end" of any project or program, leading to improved monitoring and evaluations results later on. This presentation will focus on how needs assessments can be used to guide decisions and the important role they play in most every project, whether we formally recognize them as needs assessments or not. The panelist, a professor of education and developer of www.needsassessment.org, has a forthcoming book on needs assessment and has conducted needs assessments in organization, state, national and international contexts.
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Putting Needs Assessment Into Action
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| Maurya West Meiers, World Bank, mwestmeiers@worldbank.org
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This presentation offers practical tips for professionals who want to use needs assessment tools to collect information, make decisions, and achieve results. It will provide both a foundation for applying needs assessment processes in guiding early project decisions, as well as a number of useful tools for a variety of situations. Case examples (from international development contexts) will be described and practical tools (such as focus groups, pair-wise comparisons, dual response surveys, etc.) will be discussed in the context of needs assessments that guide decisions. These tools have a variety of possible applications for use by professionals interested in M&E, needs assessment, organizational development and other related fields. Needs assessment resources (e.g., tip sheets on the tools discussed) that the panelists have developed will be shared and can be found at www.needsassessment.org. This panelist has taught needs assessments in international settings and has a forthcoming book on the topic.
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