Needs Assessment Template

Transcription

1 Needs Assessment Template STEPS TO COMPLETING A NEEDS ASSESSMENT The purpose of a needs assessment is to prove there is a need. Where this fits in the overall development of an enterprise is preliminary: STEP ONE Prove the need STEP TWO Determine/Define the Market STEP STEP THREE THREE Develop Develop a Feasibility a feasibility Analysis analysis CONTINUE TO: Program design Projected operating costs Projected capital cost Projected revenue capacity Evaluate available resources

2 The needs assessment differs from the market assessment in that a need may exist where there is no market. The necessary elements of a market are that: 1. There is a need 2. There is a product or service that can meet the need 3. There is a group of people who are prepared to pay for the product or service 4. The group can afford a price that can make the delivery sustainable 5. The agency doing the assessment has access to the resources it needs to develop and launch the product or service In doing a needs assessment, what we are simply determining that the need exists. NEEDS ASSESSMENT FORMAT Here s what generally goes into a STAR Needs Assessment: Identify Agency Includes descriptions of current activities within the agency Some history of the agency s development Agency s programs Personnel involved with related services Interesting features about the agency Area served including geographical information (physical landscape, built landscape, etc.) Cultural diversity Brief introduction to any transportation services the agency delivers or has delivered Sources for Agency Descriptions: Conversations with agency personnel Agency s web-site Historical societies websites are often referenced in order to gather information related to regional development

3 Area Included DEFINE THE STUDY AREA The area is generally defined by the agency. Other areas of consideration related to area studies are: Landscape features at the street scale (topographic and geographic information) Distance between two given points (as reference for potential costs related to taxis, and fuel consumption, etc.) Sources for Defining Study Area: Agency web-site Area maps available through municipal websites Demographics ESTABLISH NUMBER OF SENIORS This information may be readily available if the area for which we are establishing the need fits within a census division area. Information will be gathered from different sources depending on its availability at each level (regional districts, health regions, municipalities, census tracts) Statistics Canada Census (Census Profiles) provides information nationally, provincially, municipally and by census tracts (where census tracts are recorded) BC Stats Community Facts & PEOPLE 36 Projections BC Stats provides community profiles based on health regions, municipalities, forest districts, regional districts, etc. Projections are available based on set jurisdictions Economic Delivery Regions (Columbia Basin, Northern Development Economic Development Agency) Community Futures Development Agencies United Way, Vancouver Foundation, Victoria Foundation Generally information related to population and demographics can be found through internet research once the agency s boundaries have been identified. If an area does not fall into a set territory census tracts should be referenced if available (in densely populated urban areas). In rural areas often electoral areas provide the most dependable information.

4 Other sources of information may include neighbourhood associations or local economic development agencies In some cases demographics must be extrapolated from existing information. When doing so the process must be explained, and sources footnoted. This method is not recommended as it dilutes the accuracy of the product and will only be put into practice if information needed is entirely unavailable. Information required includes not only how many seniors live in the area under study but also what age groups. Seniors with different levels of mobility and independence will require different services, have different travel habits, and so on. The ability to break down needs by age, and match the services to these needs will make data much less general and therefore more useful. SERVICES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION Current Transportation Services in Selected Area Transportation methods for seniors will generally fall into the following categories: Seniors will drive their own cars Translink/BC Transit/HandiDART Non-Profit agencies that provide transportation to seniors Seniors residences/assisted living/extended care facilities offering transportation for residents Taxis Private, for-profit businesses Family and friends The above sources will likely provide the majority of rides to which seniors have access. There may be others, unique to specific areas. Community service agencies usually provide this information. Often a general search of seniors transportation in the area will identify programs and businesses offering these services. The Martin Turcotte report provides nationwide enumeration. These numbers are referenced within the rides needed and rides provided portions of the needs analysis. In order to provide more detailed reports, regional or municipal mode usage amongst seniors would be valuable. Where information is unavailable at a small scale, information will be retrieved from provincial or national reports and applied to existing seniors populations. Report: Turcotte, Martin. Profile of Seniors Transportation Habits. Statistics Canada.

5 Additional sources: Local knowledge of services from agency Second tier service providers such as: United Way of the Lower Mainland, the Vancouver Foundation, or other large funding organizations General web based inquiries for seniors services (area) ESTABLISHING NEED The need for rides is determined by the number of seniors in the area to be served, and accounting for the number of trips they need to make in a day, week, and ultimately in a year. In this context a trip is one way. To go to an appointment, therefore, would require two trips in Translink s measure. Based on the number of seniors by age need for rides can be determined based on numbers provided by local references where available Reports are often available through local transit providers related to usage (available for Metro Vancouver (Translink) and Fraser Valley). For areas lacking such detailed reports further resources are necessary. ESTABLISH UNMET NEED In order to estimate how many rides are being provided from the above listed sources a number of calculations must be completed based on the number of rides needed, and then narrowed down based on the availability of other sources. For each of the sources of rides listed above we have some statistics, and can apply these to the numbers of seniors in each age category. Assumptions must be made in some circumstances. In order to avoid this use of external data would be more accurate; however, this data is often unavailable in rural regions. Affordability needs to be accounted for in these determinations. In order to assess how many seniors might access private for-profit businesses to fulfill their needs statistical data of incomes by age group is incorporated; by using Low Income Cut Off (LICO) we are able to determine how many seniors will not be able to access these services and extrapolate data based on these statistics.

6 AGENCIES CONSIDERING RIDES PROGRAMS Within the context of a needs assessment, we are cautious about providing feasibility analyses or analyses of planned programs. The needs assessments are to demonstrate a need, whereas the feasibility assessments and studies are to provide information related to possible models for each agency in order to help address the need previously identified in the needs assessment. If the agency is considering a rides delivery model, however, some cursory analysis may be provided, designed more to provide the agency with a series of questions they need to consider when moving forward. Some application of the data established in the needs analysis could be drawn into preliminary cost-perride assessments. If the agency has a specific model in mind, some preliminary costs estimates based on the information at hand could be provided, and any other information that has been developed or obtained that may provide them with support for their decision making. SUMMARY The assessment summary will provide: the shortfall between the number of rides needed and the number provided a clear and unequivocal estimate of the need for rides within the agency s service area. This is the number from which a market assessment, or feasibility assessment, will be made. BEST Better Environmentally Sound Transportation East Broadway, Vancouver, BC, Canada V5T 1W2 t: e: info@best.bc.ca w: starcanada.ca