Needs Assessment and Strategic Planning

1. Needs Assessment and Strategic Planning Day 1

2. Presented by Eileen Flanagan & Marcia Nedland On behalf of NYS Division of Housing & Community Renewal

3. Introductions: • At your table: • Introduce yourself • Share ONE expectation for the workshop • Each table will then share the TOP THREE expectations during report out

4. Training Objectives • Connections • Six Steps • Design a Needs Assessment plan • Specific data sources, tools & techniques • Plan formats & options • Tools & new ideas • DHCR requirements

5. Day 1 Opening Session Overview: DHCR Requirements Needs Assessment Designing approach Six steps Practice finding data and interpreting data Common Pitfalls Day 2 Recap & questions Strategic Planning Seven components Plan Critique DHCR Requirements Agenda

6. Ground Rules • Be on time • Participate actively, don’t monopolize • Speak one at a time • TURN OFF your Cell Phone • No side orders, please • Ask hard questions • Have fun

7. DHCR Requirements: Needs Assessment Answer at least these major questions: What housing is needed (based on conditions)? What customer services are needed? What community renewal activities are needed?

8. DHCR Requirements: Strategic Plan 3-year plan that includes: • Summary of needs assessment • Mission • Outcomes, measures of success and report on results since last application • Strategic goals • Programs and services • Production goals • Resources and potential partners

9. Strategic Planning What are some attributes of a useful strategic plan? Write 2-3 thoughts, each on a separate index card. Each thought should be only a few words. Write BIG! Use marker if you have one.

10. Strategic Planning What are some attributes of a useful strategic plan? Understandable Credible Explains what you are going to do and why Management tool Basis for measuring success Process develops clarity and alignment

11. Strategic Planning What are some attributes of a useful strategic plan? Keeps you focused on outcomes Tests, affirms, corrects and codifies intuition and theory of change Keeps you attuned to market forces and customer attitudes

12. Phases of Planningand Components of a Plan Document

13. Phases of Strategic Planning Strategy Direction Understanding

14. Components of the Plan Document 7. Resources 6. Production Goals 5. Programs and Services 4. Strategic Goals 3. Outcomes and Measures 2. Mission 1. Summary of Needs Assessment

15. Engaging stakeholders

16. Needs Assessment

17. Phases of Strategic Planning Stakeholder Involvement Strategy Direction Understanding

18. Needs Assessment • Systematic • Gap Analysis • External Environment • Opportunities & Threats Current State Gap Desired State

19. Updating an Existing Plan • Review existing plans • Decide outcomes for next/new plan • Decide what parts to update • Customize your approach

20. Outside Help? • Help with what? • Be clear about needs • Look for resources – internally, externally

21. Organizing the Process • Existing studies • Budget & time line • Resources • Assign tasks & accountability

22. Examples Needs Assessment Plan Needs Assessment Summary

23. Six Steps to a Useful Needs Assessment

24. Six Steps • General Trends • Intuition = Questions • Data Collection • Refine Questions • Data Analysis • Data Interpretation & use

25. Tips before you get started… Know your geography

26. Tips before you get started… Compared to what?

27. Tips before you get started… No data is perfect

28. Tips before you get started… Look at the whole picture

29. Tips before you get started… Don’t get lost in the data

30. Information scarcity

31. Information Overload

32. Step 1: General Trends Let other people work for you

33. How do you stay informed?

34. How do you stay informed? • Knowledgeplex • Enterprise Community Partners • NeighborWorks America • Planetizen.com • Realtors & Home Builders • Government RSS feeds • SONH

35. Step 2: Intuition = Questions Value what you thinkyou know, test it.

36. Use what you know, ask questions • Use your knowledge to frame your questions. • Customers: Who? Needs? Where? • Competition: Who? What? Similarities/Differences • Market size? • Changes in market? • TEST YOUR ASSUMPTIONS!

37. Turn your intuition into research questions Write down 2-3 research questions that would test your assumptions – page 34

38. Tab 8: Resources • Page 104: Common Research Questions

39. Step 3: Data Collection Data is only useful if it answers your questions

40. Data Sources • Brain storm data source ideas • Primary vs. Secondary data • Qualitative vs. Quantitative • In-house customer data

41. What sources could answer your questions?

42. Page 35: A few Secondary Data Sources • Tab 8: page 93, way too many secondary data sources • Tab 8: pages 113 & 115, tip sheets on focus groups and interviews

43. www.dataplace.org

44. Step 4: Refine your questions Data collection often adds new questions

45. Refining Questions • Do data collection, don’t over-do data collection • Time frame for collection – initial, review, revise needs, collect

46. Step 5: Data Analysis Figure out what is meaningful about the data – usually in relation to your questions

47. Analysis gives context and meaning to data… • Comparisons – geographic (peers, regions) • Change over time • Spread, range & central tendencies • Visual tools – maps, charts, graphs • Tab 8: Page 108

48. SO WHAT? !

49. Step 6: Data Interpretation & Use This is the “so what?” phase

50. Have we learned anything that changes what we believed? • Strengthen: • Program design • Service/product mix • Implementation • Delivery techniques • Marketing & outreach