Step 1 : Assess Needs

1. Step 1:Assess Needs

2. Step 1: Assess Needs Objectives of this training session: • Understand why it is important to assess knowledge needs in your program. • Explain the purpose and use of common KM assessment methodologies. • Review process for implementing knowledge needs assessment plan for your health program.

3. What Is a Needs Assessment? A technique for: • Assessing the current capacity of knowledge management systems and processes • Determining the current preferences and information-seeking behavior of your primary user group or audience • Identifying gaps and priorities to address in order to meet knowledge management needs of audiences

4. Why Conduct a Needs Assessment? Can help KM practitioners improve the quality of decisions and performance outcomes by aligning KM activities with the needs and gaps that emerge from a needs assessment. More specifically, you can: • Develop evidence-based and needs-driven programs and policies for your users/audiences • Address knowledge gaps and improve knowledge exchange systems and processes

5. Five Key Tasks for Completing Step 1 • Identify the health problem that KM can help solve. • Define the audience of your needs assessment. • Decide what key questions you want to answer. • Select and implement appropriate methods to answer your questions. • Analyze and synthesize the needs assessment findings.

6. 1. Identify the Health Problem • What is the health problem that your program is trying to solve or the goal that you are trying to achieve? • Who is involved in solving it? • What is currently occurring compared with what should be happening? • Are there knowledge-sharing implications?

7. Example Health Problem • Goal: Scale up HIV testing and initiation of antiretroviral therapy across a region • Who is involved? Regional network members • What is currently occurring? Network members are implementing innovative interventions to reach ambitious country targets over the next 5 years • What more could be happening? Accelerate progress if members shared best practices and lessons learned with each other

8. 2. Define the Audience • Are you gathering information on health care providers or program managers? • At what level of the health system does your audience operate? • Are there specific issues about this audience that makes it more important to assess their knowledge needs than other audiences? • Does this audience have substantial barriers to accessing and using knowledge to inform their work? • How do the potential audiences relate to national, regional, and local priorities for improving health programs and outcomes? • Consider gender disparities in access to information

9. 3. Decide on Key Questions • Common needs assessment questions center around: • Identifying types of information that a particular audience needs • The ways in which the audience currently access information • The barriers they face accessing information

10. Sample Needs Assessment Questions • What information does your audience want? • What sources of information does your audience use? • How does your audience store, transfer, and share information? • What formal or informal communication systems does your audience use? • What are the barriers to accessing, sharing, and using health information? • What KM tools and techniques are preferred?

11. Knowledge Management for Global Health Logic Model Needs Assessment looks at the inputs and processes levels to inform strategy design and activity development

12. 4. Select Appropriate Needs Assessment Methods Start with a desk review to see if the data and information you need already exist. • Literature search • Reach out to colleagues to identify relevant reports or publications

13. Common Sources of Existing Knowledge • Demographic and Health Surveys • Service Provision Assessments • National census • Service statistics • Literature reviews • Evaluation reports of other relevant health programs • Management reports • Policy documents • Training needs assessments • Action plans

14. Collect New Data Common methods for collecting data on knowledge needs: • Environment scans • Interviews with key informants • Surveys • Focus group discussions • Network Mapping (or Net-Map)

15. Example of a Rapid Needs Assessment • PANCAP needs assessment took about 6 weeks • Methods: • Convened a few stakeholder meetings • Conducted targeted key informant interviews • Rapid online survey of partners • Type of information they obtained: • Information needs of partners for achieving the UNAIDS 90-90-90 HIV targets • Sources and frequency of information sharing • Focus of the KM initiative: Involving National AIDS Control Program managers and civil society organizations more systematically in the partnership

16. 5. Analyze and Synthesize the Findings • Quantitative data: measure phenomena in numerical form • How many? • How often? • Qualitative data: describe phenomena through words or patterns • Why?

17. Supplement: K4Health Needs Assessment Guide Published: 2011 (updated in 2013) Background: Based on K4Health’s experiences conducting needs assessments at both the global and country levels: Malawi, Senegal, Peru, Ethiopia, India Contents: • Guidance for using various methodologies • Case studies • Tools, instruments, and training materials • Tips for disseminating results