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Short instructor-led online workshops that provide timely, relevant, and convenient access to content needed to maintain a competitive advantage in today’s workplace.

Essentials of Conducting a Needs Assessment

Learn to identify solutions to address needs.

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Learning and performance improvement professionals must effectively identify needs before their solutions can be effective. This program offers a pragmatic, evidenced-based approach for justifying results and proving success while serving individuals and your organization. It covers the framework and alignment that make data collection methodologies and approaches useful.

Online3 sessions, 4.5 hours total
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Program Overview
Learning Objectives
Topics
Who Should Attend

Program Overview

Contrary to popular thought, a “need” is a gap in results, not a lack of “wants” or resources. A needs assessment, when designed and implemented well, is a powerful tool for clarifying problems, identifying appropriate solutions, and reducing the risks and costs of choosing the wrong solution before documenting needs. During this workshop, you will learn how to:

Distinguish means from ends.
Classify various levels of results and determine how to align them.
Identify performance gaps between “what should be” and “what is” at every organizational level.
Conduct a causal analysis.
Apply the process for aligning the best solutions for the types of needs identified.
Gather relevant and complete data to develop effective products that address measurable needs.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this program, participants will be able to:

Recognize the difference between means and ends.
Align an organizational elements model with a solution.
Appropriately define means.
Conduct a mega-level needs assessment, with the systemic perspective of an organization or society.
Conduct a macro-level needs assessment, starting with organizational gaps in results.
Conduct a micro needs assessment, focusing on performance gaps of individuals, teams, and departments.
Conduct a quasi-level needs assessment, such as a training needs assessment.
Apply various analysis tools (causal analysis, costs-consequences analysis, and methods-means analysis).
Align needs assessment to monitoring and evaluation.

Topics

Module 1 - Introduction to Needs Assessment
Module 1 - Introduction to Needs Assessment

In this introductory session, we will discuss how to recognize the difference between means and ends, practice aligning an organizational elements model (OEM), and appropriately define “means.”
- Means vs. Ends
- OEM
- What is Ideal Vision?
Module 2 - Conducting a Needs Assessment
Module 2 - Conducting a Needs Assessment

In this module, we will explore the 4 types of needs assessments—Mega, Macro, Micro, and Quasi—defining them and explaining the process for conducting each.
- Mega (focus on organizations and society)
- Macro (focus on organizations independent of societal context)
- Micro (focus on individuals, teams, and departments)
- Quasi needs assessments (focus on the training needs assessment)
Module 3 - Linking Needs to Solutions
Module 3 - Linking Needs to Solutions

In this final session, participants will learn how to conduct a causal analysis, looking at the root causes of the gaps identified during a needs assessment. We will also learn the processes for costs-consequences and methods-means analyses.
- Causal analysis of gaps in results
- Cost-consequences analysis for ROI
- Methods-means analysis for system analysis
- The link between needs assessment and evaluation of solutions

Who Should Attend

This program is for learning professionals who are internal or external consultants charged with improving learning, instruction, or performance. Whether a novice or an expert, this program will give them skills to effectively identify and align needs at all levels of the organization.

Here's how our programs drive results.

Meet Our Facilitators

We've got the best in the industry

Roger Kaufman

Roger Kaufman, PhD, is professor emeritus, Florida State University and distinguished research professor at the Sonora Institute of Technology (Mexico). Kaufman is the recipient of a U.S. Homeland Security/U.S. Coast Guard medal for Meritorious Public Service. He has also been awarded the International Society for Performance Improvement’s (ISPI) top two honors: Honorary Member for Life and the Thomas F. Gilbert Award. He is a past ISPI president and a founding member, and is the recipient of ASTD’s Distinguished Contribution to Workplace Learning and Performance recognition. Kaufman has published 40 books and more than 275 articles; his latest book is Needs Assessment for Organizational Success (ASTD Press).

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Roger Kaufman

Roger Kaufman, PhD, is professor emeritus, Florida State University and distinguished research professor at the Sonora Institute of Technology (Mexico). Kaufman is the recipient of a U.S. Homeland Security/U.S. Coast Guard medal for Meritorious Public Service. He has also been awarded the International Society for Performance Improvement’s (ISPI) top two honors: Honorary Member for Life and the Thomas F. Gilbert Award. He is a past ISPI president and a founding member, and is the recipient of ASTD’s Distinguished Contribution to Workplace Learning and Performance recognition. Kaufman has published 40 books and more than 275 articles; his latest book is Needs Assessment for Organizational Success (ASTD Press).
Facilitates the following:

Essentials of Conducting a Needs Assessment|

Ingrid Guerra-Lopez

Ingrid Guerra-López, PhD, is an associate professor and director of the Institute for Learning and Performance Improvement at Wayne State University and currently serves on the board of directors of the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI). Guerra-López’s research, teaching, and consulting focus on improving human and organizational performance through needs assessment and evaluation, with particular focus on performance monitoring and evaluation systems. She has published six books and more than 40 articles. Her book, Performance Evaluation: Proven Approaches for Improving Program and Organizational Performance, is one of the most widely used evaluation books in instructional systems and performance improvement graduate programs at universities.

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Ingrid Guerra-Lopez

Ingrid Guerra-López, PhD, is an associate professor and director of the Institute for Learning and Performance Improvement at Wayne State University and currently serves on the board of directors of the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI). Guerra-López’s research, teaching, and consulting focus on improving human and organizational performance through needs assessment and evaluation, with particular focus on performance monitoring and evaluation systems. She has published six books and more than 40 articles. Her book, Performance Evaluation: Proven Approaches for Improving Program and Organizational Performance, is one of the most widely used evaluation books in instructional systems and performance improvement graduate programs at universities.
Facilitates the following:

Essentials of Conducting a Needs Assessment|

Dates & Locations

Online

Dec 03-17, 2013

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Pricing

Member Price : $395

List Price : $695

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