Date: Thursday, February 19, 2026
Hi! My name is Madhawa “Mads” Palihapitiya and I am an evaluator from UMass Boston. In my work as an evaluator supporting community-based mediation and violence prevention initiatives across Massachusetts, I’ve learned that the most valuable needs assessments aren’t the ones that produce the longest lists—they’re the ones that help partners make clear, defensible choices when resources are tight and the stakes are high.
The NA literature gives us a strong backbone: Witkin & Altschuld’s three-phase model—preassessment ? assessment ? post assessment—is still one of the most useful ways to structure NA work, especially when you need practical momentum, not methodological perfection.
Below are high-utility methods (grounded in the literature) and a few new hybrid techniques designed for real evaluator constraints: limited time, limited trust, and limited budgets.
Start with the “3-phase” backbone: Before launching a survey, ask: What do we already know for free? In preassessment, pull existing data (waitlists, caseload, HR vacancies, complaint themes, service gaps) and use it to sharpen what you ask next. That’s the point of Phase 1: maximize learning from inexpensive sources before adding burden.
1) Prioritization matrices (the “clarity under pressure” tool)
When needs are many and resources are few, use a matrix that scores each need against criteria like impact, urgency, cost, feasibility, and equity. NACCHO’s prioritization guide is one of the clearest, step-by-step references for this style of work.
Add one criterion that protects your values (e.g., equity impact or risk if unmet), so “efficiency” doesn’t quietly dominate the results.
2) Best–Worst Scaling (BWS / MaxDiff)
If Likert scales produce flat results, BWS solves the “everything matters” problem by asking respondents to repeatedly choose the most important and least important item from small sets. It’s widely used to rank priorities in health and policy decisions because it forces meaningful tradeoffs.
3) Kano analysis (must-have vs nice-to-have)
Kano classifies needs into categories like must-be, performance, and attractive/delighters, which is incredibly useful when leaders ask: What do we need to stabilize first, before we innovate?
1) I²E Prioritization (Impact × Importance × Equity)
Here’s a simple hybrid technique that makes equity explicit without turning your NA into a dissertation.
For each need, collect three 1–5 ratings:
Priority score: ((Impact + Importance)/2) × Equity
Why it works: It preserves transparency (“we used your ratings”) while protecting against a common failure mode: prioritizing what’s easiest rather than what’s most consequential.
2) Confidence-Adjusted Scoring (a reality check for uncertain data)
Add one extra question after key ratings:
“How confident are you in your rating?” (1–5)
Then calculate: Adjusted score = Rating × Confidence
What you get:
It’s a tiny change that dramatically improves decision credibility.
3) Minimum Viable Needs Assessment (MVNA) Sprint (5–7 days)
When timelines are tight, run a structured sprint that still respects the three phases:
This protects rigor where it matters most: interpretation, prioritization, and use.
Try ending every NA with a Needs Traceability Matrix (one page):
It forces the shift from “needs list” ? fundable, implementable action plan.
Needs assessments don’t need to be huge—they need to be honest about tradeoffs and designed for decisions. A small shift in method (BWS, equity-weighting, confidence scoring) can turn “everything matters” into a credible, usable priority agenda.
The American Evaluation Association is celebrating Needs Assessment (NA) TIG Week with our colleagues in the NA AEA Topical Interest Group. The contributions all this week to AEA365 come from our NA TIG members. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this AEA365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on theaea365 webpageso that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an aea365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to aea365@eval.org. aea365 is sponsored by theAmerican Evaluation Associationand provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators.