QUANTIFYING LOCAL & NATIONAL NEED Jaye Foster Joint Commissioning Manager London Borough of Barking & Dagenham DAAT

NEEDS ASSESSMENTS WHAT ARE THEY? WHY DO WE DO THEM? HOW DO WE DO THEM? WHO SHOULD DO IT & WHO DO WE INVOLVE?

WHAT IS A NEEDS ASSESSMENT Needs assessment has been defined as the process of measuring the extent and nature of the needs of a particular target population so that services can respond to them (Hooper 1999). Needs assessment is, therefore, a valuable tool for informing the planning process & it is not about; trying to fix the needs of local & national populations into commissioned service provision. All commissioning of services should be informed by a regular needs assessment.

WHY DO WE DO NEEDS ASSESSMETNS Needs assessment is key to ensuring that the required range and capacity of services is available and accessible to populations in a local area. A good needs assessment process will: identify the needs of a target population in a particular area; help to prioritise those needs to ensure better planning of local services and more effective allocation of resources; develop an implementation plan that outlines how identified needs will be addressed. The outcome of a needs assessment should be that drug users and their families have their individual assessed needs met, or met more effectively. Where appropriate, it should also address the needs of families or carers.

THE COMPONENTS OF A NEEDS ASSESSMENT The process of needs assessment should ordinarily involve the following components: a review of the existing sources of information relevant to your target population a profile of existing services and description of client profile the views of your target population the views of relevant practitioners and service providers analysis and interpretation of the results in order to draw conclusions taking action through prioritising the identified needs, appraising the options for meeting those needs, and implementing an action plan including allocation of resources. monitoring and evaluation to check that the changes you have implemented are having the desired effect of meeting the needs of your target population.

Annual cycle of needs assessment Translating needs assessment into planning and implementation requires a coherent, ongoing cycle of questioning, interpretation, evaluation & appraisal

NTA More treatment, better treatment, fairer treatment Commissioning is a strategic activity, based on assessment of need that makes best use of available resources and drives up quality & outcomes

DIFFERENT WAYS TO ASSESS NEED IN DIFFERENT POPULATIONS WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT WAYS YOU COULD ASSESS NEED IN DIFFERENT POPULATIONS?

DIFFERENT WAYS TO ASSESS NEED IN DIFFERENT POPULATIONS Analysis of local data & statistics Focus groups 1 to 1 interviews Questionnaires & Surveys Previous research Current research Outreach Service User Involvement

WHO SHOULD BE INVOLVED Those who know about the issues relating to the target population: service providers or practitioners; people with research expertise in the area Those who care about those issues: representatives from the target population, from family or carer groups, or from the wider community those who can make changes happen: managers of appropriate partner organisations / agencies; service planners and commissioners.

DIP Data Manager GO Crime & Drugs Representative DAAT Information Manager JCG Chair Joint Commissioner Shared Care Lead DIP Manager Carer Representative/s User Representative/s Statutory Service Provider/s Non Statutory Service Provider/s Public Health Representative Partnership Chair NTA (DRM) The approach is about consistency of process – with content to reflect local circumstances and arrangements

CONCLUSION There is no single best way of assessing the needs of a particular target population in a local area. The methods that you use will be completely dependent upon who your target population is, and what you want to find out about that population. They should give you a greater understanding of local populations needs and service user outcomes. Services should be commissioned & developed to meet the needs of local populations.

CONCLUSION Needs assessments should be refreshed annually. Data and its analysis do not make decisions, it simply allows you to investigate, and in turn generate a series of questions which then need challenge and discussion before a final judgment is made on what the need is & what should be services should be commissioned to meet those needs.