Whats needs may be: using nominal groups and the Delphi technique for needs assessment.Understanding the needs of the community is essential to providing appropriate programs and services. After all, the mission statements of many parks and recreation departments indicate that programs and services are based on the needs and interests of constituents, and NRPA NRPA National Recreation and Park Association NRPA Natural Resources Protective Association (Staten Island, NY) NRPA Niagara Regional Police Association (Canada) NRPA National Rifle and Pistol Association accreditation accreditation, n a process of formal recognition of a school or institution attesting to the required ability and performance in an area of education, training, or practice. standards for agencies and academic programs address needs assessment. But how can constituent CONSTITUENT. He who gives authority to another to act for him. 1 Bouv. Inst. n. 893. 2. The constituent is bound with whatever his attorney does by virtue of his authority. needs be accurately assessed? One content analysis of NRPAnet (NRPA's listserv) found that, over the course of a year, a question regarding needs assessment was asked, on average, every five days. It's it's 1. Contraction of it is. 2. Contraction of it has. See Usage Note at its. it's it is or it has it's be ~have easy to see why there are concerns about effectively conducting assessments--response rates with traditional survey methods have been influenced by increased junk mail See spam and junk faxes. , innumerable calls from telemarketers and perceptions of time crunch (1) To process data. See number crunching. (2) To compress data. See data compression. 1. (jargon) crunch - To process, usually in a time-consuming or complicated way. . Changing technology makes it possible to assess needs in a variety of ways, but specialized spe·cial·ize v. spe·cial·ized, spe·cial·iz·ing, spe·cial·iz·es v.intr. 1. To pursue a special activity, occupation, or field of study. 2. expertise or equipment may make this challenging for many agencies. Needs assessment is covered in most recreation and leisure studies curricula. An educational goal is to help students develop needs assessment competencies that will advance, or at least keep pace with, professional practice. As educators This is a list of educators. See also: Education, List of education topics.
General
Assessing Needs Assessment Before conducting our survey, we reviewed recreation texts to identify the types of needs assessments that might be used in parks and recreation, and created a list of 15 common approaches. (See Table 1 on p. 59.) Further review of the literature and inquiries on NRPAnet, and conversation with practitioners, led us to develop a list of seven major areas in which needs assessment might be used for development or improvement. These lists provided the basis for the questionnaire questionnaire, n a series of questions used to gather information. questionnaire, n a form usually filled out by patients that provides data concerning their dental and general health. . Additional questions addressed design and administration of needs assessment, factors that influence a decision not to use a particular needs assessment approach and demographics The attributes of people in a particular geographic area. Used for marketing purposes, population, ethnic origins, religion, spoken language, income and age range are examples of demographic data. of the agency. We selected two states from each of NRPA's five regions to survey. We then asked executive directors of those ten state affiliates to help identify ten member agencies that varied in size and type of community served, and represented various geographic geographic /geo·graph·ic/ (je?o-graf´ik) in pathology, of or referring to a pattern that is well demarcated, resembling outlines on a map. geographic pertaining to geography. regions of the state. North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. was one of the ten states, and because we were going to share this information at the North Carolina Recreation & Park Society conference, we invited all member agency directors with email addresses See Internet address. to participate. Survey Says ... The most popular needs-assessment approaches are advisory boards or councils, town hall meetings and comment cards. These approaches are perceived per·ceive tr.v. per·ceived, per·ceiv·ing, per·ceives 1. To become aware of directly through any of the senses, especially sight or hearing. 2. To achieve understanding of; apprehend. as easy to use, convenient, inexpensive and requiring little specialized expertise. Other popular approaches are in-person adj. 1. undertaken by an individual in person; as, an in-person appearance s>. Adj. 1. in-person - an appearance carried out personally in someone else's physical presence; "he carried out the negotiations in person"; "a surveys, mail surveys, pick-up pick-up Noun 1. a small truck with an open body used for light deliveries 2. Informal a casual acquaintance made for a sexual purpose 3. Informal a. surveys and focus groups. Parks and recreation directors didn't did·n't Contraction of did not. didn't did not didn't do identify any major drawbacks to pickup Pickup A gain in yield made by selling one bond and buying another. Also referred to as "yield pickup." Notes: When the present yield is relatively low compared to the longer-term yields, pickups will be done by investors trying to increase the yield and duration of their surveys or focus groups. Time required was a concern for mail and in-person surveys. Another concern about mail surveys was the expense. Parks and recreation directors perceived the value of the information received through mail and in-person surveys to be great enough to offset their drawbacks. Telephone surveys and nominal Trifling, token, or slight; not real or substantial; in name only. Nominal capital, for example, refers to extremely small or negligible funds, the use of which in a particular business is incidental. NOMINAL. Relating to a name. groups are less popular needs assessment approaches, although they're they're Contraction of they are. they're be used by a substantial number of parks and recreation directors. Drawbacks of telephone surveys are cost, time and expertise needed. Again, the value of information received appears to offset these drawbacks. No substantial drawbacks were associated with nominal groups, which suggests that those who use it find it a valuable needs-assessment tool. It appears that fewer parks and recreation directors are familiar with the nominal group approach. Online surveys, newspaper surveys and the Dephi technique are seldom used. Concerns about the expertise needed to design and administer To give an oath, as to administer the oath of office to the president at the inauguration. To direct the transactions of business or government. Immigration laws are administered largely by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. online surveys limit their use. The value of information received through newspaper surveys doesn't does·n't Contraction of does not. offset the cost. The Delphi technique (programming, tool) Delphi Technique - A group forecasting technique, generally used for future events such as technological developments, that uses estimates from experts and feedback summaries of these estimates for additional estimates by these experts until reasonable consensus is seldom used, but those who use it associate no significant drawbacks with it. These findings suggest that nominal groups and the Delphi technique could be used advantageously by more parks and recreation professionals if they had a better understanding of these approaches. Nominal Group Technique The nominal group technique is a decision-making method for use among groups of many sizes, who want to make their decision quickly, as by a vote, but want everyone's opinions taken into account (as opposed to traditional voting, where only the largest group is considered). The strength of the nominal group technique is that it gives everyone a voice in planning while minimizing opportunities for a few individuals to dominate the process. This technique can accommodate large numbers of participants as well as small groups. It provides professionals with clear data about participants' primary concerns in a short time. The key to conducting a successful nominal group is following a step-by-step process. Step 1: Selecting Participants. All interested parties can be invited to participate. If a large number is anticipated, participants are divided into small groups of eight to ten, with 15 being the maximum. Each participant Participant A party of a funding. It usually refers to the lowest rank or smallest level of funding. is given paper and pencil. Step 2: Individual Brainstorming Individual brainstorming, a problem-solving method, stimulates creative thought through various techniques and exercises. Many people associate brainstorming with the fields of advertising, marketing, and creative writing, but many other professional and academic fields make . Participants are asked a single open-ended question A closed-ended question is a form of question, which normally can be answered with a simple "yes/no" dichotomous question, a specific simple piece of information, or a selection from multiple choices (multiple-choice question), if one excludes such non-answer responses as dodging a such as, "What are all the things anyone might say could be improved about the ... (e.g., youth soccer league, day camp program, recreation center facilities)?" Allow enough time for everyone to write down all their thoughts. Encourage them to write short, specific, bullet-type statements. Step 3: Round-Robin (algorithm) round-robin - A scheduling algorithm in which processes are activated in a fixed cyclic order. Those which cannot proceed because they are waiting for some event (e.g. termination of a child process or an input/output operation) simply return control to the scheduler. Listing. Each group needs someone to serve as recorder recorder, musical wind instrument of the flute family, made of wood, varying in length, and having an inverted conical bore (largest end near the mouthpiece). . The recorder needs a marker marker /mark·er/ (mahrk´er) something that identifies or that is used to identify. tumor marker , poster poster, placard designed to be posted in some public place for purposes of commercial announcement or propaganda. Advertising makes wide use of posters, as do charitable and political organizations. paper and tape. Participants are seated in a circle. Each person states one concern from his or her list. This process is repeated until everyone has shared all concerns. To avoid duplication duplication /du·pli·ca·tion/ (doo-pli-ka´shun) 1. the act or process of doubling, or the state of being doubled. 2. , it's important that participants cross off concerns from their list that have been mentioned by someone else. The recorder lists all concerns on poster paper taped to the wall and assigns Individuals to whom property is, will, or may be transferred by conveyance, will, Descent and Distribution, or statute; assignees. The term assigns is often found in deeds; for example, "heirs, administrators, and assigns to denote the assignable nature of a letter to each. If there are multiple groups, the lists should be combined before proceeding to the next step. Each item on the complete list should have a unique letter assigned as·sign tr.v. as·signed, as·sign·ing, as·signs 1. To set apart for a particular purpose; designate: assigned a day for the inspection. 2. to facilitate ranking and discussion. Step 4: Individual Ranking of Priorities. Give each participant five index cards. Ask them to choose the five items from the complete list they're most concerned about and to record the corresponding letter on their index cards. Participants then rank their concerns, with 5 being most important and 1 being least important. They're to write the rank on each index card. Participants then rearrange re·ar·range tr.v. re·ar·ranged, re·ar·rang·ing, re·ar·rang·es To change the arrangement of. re their cards in alphabetical order. Step 5: Tabulating Ranks. The recorder works through the complete list of concerns in alphabetical order. As the recorder calls out a letter corresponding to a concern, participants state the rank they gave it. All rankings are written down and totaled for each concern. (See Table e on pp. 60-61.) Step 6: Discussion. Top priority concerns begin to emerge from tabulating the rankings. If there's clear consensus about priorities, discussion will be brief and serve as the final step in the process. If there's disagreement or questions about priorities, ask those who ranked an item "5" to explain their reasoning. Others may need additional information about an item. Following discussion, a second round of ranking and tabulation tab·u·late tr.v. tab·u·lat·ed, tab·u·lat·ing, tab·u·lates 1. To arrange in tabular form; condense and list. 2. To cut or form with a plane surface. adj. Having a plane surface. is done. Items that were low priority on the first round can be eliminated from consideration. Following the second round, there should be greater clarity Clarity is the property of being clear or transparent. Clarity can refer to one's ability to clearly visualize an object or concept, as in thought, understanding, and the "mind's eye", as well as the traditional notion of visual perception, that is, with the about top-priority concerns. The recreation professional now has a short list of priority issues that can be incorporated in the planning process. The Delphi Procedure The Delphi method The Delphi method is a systematic interactive forecasting method for obtaining forecasts from a panel of independent experts. The carefully selected experts answer questionnaires in two or more rounds. is most often used to determine priorities, set goals or establish future directions. As with the nominal group technique, the Delphi provides professionals with a format for exploring opinions and reaching a consensus. Panelists voice their opinions, examine the opinions of other panelists and then re-evaluate their original opinions. The process is similar to that of the nominal group technique except that the data collection process takes place by mail (electronic or postal Postal can refer to:
Step 1: Select Appropriate Experts. An appropriate panel consists of knowledgeable and practical people who are connected to the issue being examined. For example, if the issue is effective programming for at-risk at-risk adj. Being endangered, as from exposure to disease or from a lack of parental or familial guidance and proper health care: efforts to make the vaccine available to at-risk groups of children. youth, those who do research on this topic, parks and recreation directors from communities with successful programs and representatives of other organizations serving at-risk youth might constitute a suitable panel. Although panels may vary greatly in size, those with 15 to 30 people are recommended. A panel of this size provides sufficient information, whereas larger panels may generate more information but increase the difficulty of, and time required for, analysis. Panelists should have a clear understanding of the process and of the time commitment they're making. To keep the procedure moving, the investigator must analyze an·a·lyze v. 1. To examine methodically by separating into parts and studying their interrelations. 2. To separate a chemical substance into its constituent elements to determine their nature or proportions. 3. and process requested information in a timely fashion. One way to accomplish this is to provide a specific return date on all questionnaires. Step 2: Create and Distribute the First Questionnaire. The questionnaire typically consists of a single open-ended question about the issue. For example, if the issue is improving programs for at-risk youth, the question might be, "What elements should be addressed in high-quality recreation programs for at-risk youth?" Panelists are asked to identify as many relevant elements as they can. Depending on the number of panelists and diversity of ideas, 100 or more elements might be identified. (See Table s on pp. 60-61. The data in this and the other tables are for illustration only.) Step 3: Create and Distribute the Second Questionnaire. The second questionnaire is comprised of all elements identified in the first questionnaire grouped according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. theme, such as "intervention A procedure used in a lawsuit by which the court allows a third person who was not originally a party to the suit to become a party, by joining with either the plaintiff or the defendant. ," "cultural differences" or "age issues." Panelists are asked to rate the importance of each element in programs for at-risk youth. A 4-point scale is used, in which 4=extremely important, 8=very important, 2=somewhat important and 1=not important. The investigator calculates an average score for each of the elements and retains those with the highest means for the third questionnaire. (See Table on p. 68.) In some instances, it may be useful to send the list of identified elements grouped by theme with a request for panelists to add to, or clarify (company) Clarify - A software vendor, specialising in Customer Relationship Management software. Nortel Networks sold Clarify to Amdocs in 2002. http://amdocsclarify.com/. , original statements. Then panelists are asked to rate the importance of all items on the following round. The additional round will increase the time needed to complete the procedure. Step 4: Create and Distribute the Third Questionnaire. The final questionnaire contains the items retained from the second questionnaire. The investigator must decide what the cut-off cut-off Anesthesiology The point at which elongation of the carbon chain of the 1-alkanol family of anesthetics results in a precipitous drop in the anesthetic potential of these agents–eg, at > 12 carbons in length, there is little anesthetic activity, is for retention, but generally the list should be 20 or less to enable panelists to complete the final step. Panelists are asked to rank the items in order of importance. If there are 20 items on the list, the most important should be ranked "1" and the least important should be ranked "20." The investigator compiles the responses and calculates the average score for each item. The item with the lowest average would have the greatest importance. The item with the highest average would have the lowest importance. (See Table 5 at left.) Although the goal of the Delphi is to achieve consensus, true consensus is rare. More accurately, the results reflect the majority opinion of the panelists and provide recommendations the investigator can use to evaluate existing programs and develop new programs for at-risk youth. When selecting a needs-assessment approach, it's important to consider the characteristics of the population and the type of information desired. Using multiple approaches should confirm and clarify the information received. When multiple approaches are used, recreation professionals can be more confident that their decisions regarding programs and services reflect the desires of the community. Every needs-assessment approach has its strengths and weaknesses. The recreation profession with more options for assessing needs has the advantage in collecting reliable information.
TABLE 1: USE OF NEEDS-ASSESSMENT APPROACHES
Frequent or Occasional Use by at Least 70 Percent
of Park & Recreation Directors
Advisory Boards/Councils 91.2
Town Hall 76.7
Comment Cards 70.3
Frequent or Occasional Use by at Least 50 Percent
of Park & Recreation Directors
In-Person Surveys 64.9
Mail Surveys 62
Social Indicators 61.8
Focus Groups 59.4
Pick-Up Surveys 56.1
Frequent or Occasional Use by at Least 30 of Park
& Recreation Directors
Telephone Surveys 40.7
Nominal Groups 31.5
Frequent or Occasional Use by Less Than 30 Percent
of Park & Recreation Directors
On-Line Surveys 24.2
Newspaper Surveys 14.4
Delphi Technique 6.1
TABLE 2: SAMPLE TABULATION OF RANKS (NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUE)
Question: What are all the things anyone might say could
be improved about the youth soccer league?
A. Better officiating 3,2,3,1 9
B. Better sportsmanship from parents 5,5,5,5,4,1 25
C. Better sportsmanship from players 3,3,4,2,1 13
D. Smaller fields for younger players 1,1 2
E. Longer games for older players 2,1,3 6
F. Offer a post-season tournament 5,1,3 9
G. Better quality uniforms -- --
H. Mow the playing fields closer -- --
I. Create an Ali-Star team 5,1 6
J. Decrease emphasis on winning 1,3,5 9
K. Make sure coaches know the rules 5,5,5,3,2,4 24
L Coaches build character of players 5,5,5,1,5,3 24
M. Better quality practice and
game balls -- --
N. No games before 10 AM on Saturdays -- --
O. Longer season 2 2
P. Don't conflict with other youth
sport schedules 3,3,1,2 9
Q. Offer indoor season 2,2 4
R. Shorter season -- --
S. Require equal amount of playing time 5,5,1,2 13
T. Smaller teams 4,1,3,2 10
U. Opportunities to play out of
town teams 1 1
V. Limit to one game per week 3,3,3,1,2, 12
W. Allow more practice time -- --
X. Train coaches 5,5,4,2,5,3 24
Y. Have an awards banquet 1,1 2
Z. Communication with parents 5,4,5,2,1,3 20
AA. Offer specific skill clinics 3,3,2 8
BB. Don't keep score 3,1,2 6
TABLE 3: SAMPLE ROUND DELPHI 1 RESULTS
What elements should be addressed in high-quality recreation
programs for at-risk youth?
1. Create a sense of belonging for participants in the program.
2. Provide a balance of activities including physical, mental,
emotional and spiritual components.
3. Provide tutoring to help youths develop learning skills.
4. Bring educational opportunities into the recreation
environment; bring them to youths.
5. Provide job and skills; training programs.
6. Include opportunities for youths to volunteer in the program
and community.
7. Report success stories to other participants.
8. Provide summer employment opportunities for participants.
9. Make sure all staff and volunteers are good role models to
participants.
10. Meet participants where they are, recognize their needs.
11. Incorporate conflict-resolution sessions.
12. Include educational components such as health awareness,
substance abuse prevention, personal development.
13. Promote academic excellence; make education important and
desirable.
14. Provide plenty of activity, keep them busy.
15. Promote positive mental attitudes.
16. Involve other community service agencies (police, health,
education, social services, etc.).
17. Provide a safe environment.
18. Address issue of teen pregnancy.
19. Take participants out of their comfort zone.
20. Incorporate a wilderness element.
21. Totally immerse them in the program.
22. Incorporate basic life skills: self-confidence, self-discipline,
judgment, responsibility.
23. Give participants opportunities to engage in appropriate and
productive roles.
24. Teach values.
25. Provide elements of challenge.
26. Plan programs based on anticipated outcomes and impacts.
27. Focus on resiliency in participants.
28. Plan ahead.
29. Involve participants in the planning process.
30. Involve parents and guardians in the planning process.
31. Provide real-life applications.
32. Use teachable moments.
33. Involve the community in as many aspects as possible.
34. Use peer mentoring.
35. Teach learning skills.
36. Include leisure education; build positive leisure skills.
37. Include lots of variety in programs and activities.
38. Make participants feel needed.
39. Use recreation as a hook to draw them into other programs.
40. Focus on early identification and intervention.
41. Set clear goals, have purposeful programs.
42. Prevention, prevention, prevention.
43. Make programs accessible, provide transportation.
44. Provide appropriate equipment and environments.
45. Teach social skills.
46. Recognize the various cultures participants come from and
develop programs appropriately.
47. Build social relationships.
48. Must be an ongoing effort.
49. Provide incentives for youth to participate.
50. Promote to target market with catchy slogans and acronyms.
51. Provide scholarships.
52. Be responsive to population's needs.
TABLE 4: SAMPLE DELPHI ROUND 2 RESULTS
Rating Averages of Top 20
Create a sense of belonging for participants
in the program. 3.57
Provide a balance of activities including
physical, mental, emotional and spiritual
components. 3.65
Make sure all staff and volunteers are good
role models to participants. 3.91
Make programs accessible, provide transportation. 3.22
Incorporate basic life skills: self-confidence,
self-discipline, judgment, responsibility. 3.13
Give participants opportunities to engage in
appropriate and productive roles. 3.66
Involve participants in the planning process. 3.89
Involve parents and guardians in the planning process. 3.65
Involve other community service agencies (police,
health, education, social services, etc.). 3.74
Plan programs based on anticipated outcomes and
impacts. 3.60
Include leisure education; build positive leisure
skills. 3.32
Set clear goals, have purposeful programs. 3.63
Incorporate conflict-resolution sessions. 3.41
Provide elements of challenge. 3.11
Include opportunities for youth to volunteer in the
program and community. 3.02
Recognize the various cultures participants come
from and develop programs appropriately. 3.55
Promote academic excellence; make education important
and desirable. 3.33
Must be an ongoing effort. 3.92
Include lots of variety in programs and activities. 3.67
Provide a safe environment. 3.41
TABLE 5: SAMPLE DELPHI ROUND 2 RESULTS
Ranking of Top 12
Final Average
Rank Rank Elements
1 3.22 Plan programs based on anticipated outcomes and
impacts.
2 3.41 Set clear goals, have purposeful programs.
3 4.33 Make sure all staff and volunteers are good role
models to participants.
4 4.92 Create a sense of belonging for participants in
the program.
5 4.98 Involve participants in the planning process.
6 5.32 Involve other community service agencies (police,
health, education, social services, etc.).
7 5.88 Provide a balance of activities including
physical, mental, emotional and spiritual
components.
8 5.93 Incorporate basic life skills: self-confidence,
self-discipline, judgment, responsibility.
9 6.44 Give participants opportunities to engage in
appropriate and productive roles.
10 8.10 Incorporate conflict-resolution sessions.
11 8.78 Make programs accessible, provide transportation.
12 8.63 Must be an ongoing effort.
Kim Kim orphan wanders streets of India with lama. [Br. Lit.: Kim] See : Adventurousness Siegenthaler, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Health, Leisure and Exercise Science at Appalachian State University History Appalachian State University began in the summer of 1899 when a group of citizens of Watauga County, NC, under the leadership of D.D. Dougherty and B.B. Dougherty, began a movement to establish a good school in Boone, NC. Land was donated by D.B. , in Boone Boone. 1 City (1990 pop. 25,186), seat of Boone co., central Iowa, on the Des Moines River; inc. 1865. It is a railroad and industrial center with plants making machinery, steel fabrications, and plastic signs. , N.C. Kevin Riley  This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling.You can assist by [ editing it] now. , Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the same department. |
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