1. Collecting Citizen Input Management Learning Laboratories Presentation to Morrisville, NC January 2014

2. A needs assessment is a scientifically reliable statistical study to gain an understanding of the community-wide recreation needs, attitudes, opinions and behaviors of the constituency served by a recreation service provider.

3. A Needs Assessment is NOT Public meetings NOT Mailer going out with utility bills NOT Asking people questions at the swimming pool NOT Getting input from friends and family NOT Something that has not been done systematically

4. Study Goals Determine the effectiveness of the Recreation Department in promoting the programs, services and facilities available to the residents of the City. Provide residents the opportunity to communicate their current recreational interests and future recreational and facility needs. Determine if residents are willing to financially invest in the future of parks and recreation. Evaluate resident’s level of participation in recreational programs, events, facility memberships and visits to recreational facilities. Gauge the level of satisfaction residents have with the services currently being provided by the Recreation Department. Distinguish current users and non-users of recreation services and evaluate the factors that may prevent or preclude residents from participating in programs, attending events and using facilities. Gather information about the residents of the City that would assist staff in delivering recreational services that exceed expectations.

5. Questionnaire Design MLL QuestionBank Focus Group Meetings Sampling Mail Data Collection Web-based Data Collection Data Represents Population Data As Snapshot Data Analysis Report and Decision Making

6. How to Ask the Questions Questionnaire Development Focus Group Discussions These meetings help to produce area specific information about the needs and concerns of the community

7. How to Ask the Questions Questionnaire Development Questionnaire Formatting Considerable effort is spent in producing an instrument that is not only pleasing to the eye but easy to fill out as well Cover Letter The letter accompanying the questionnaire is carefully written to have the maximum impact

8. How to Ask the Questions Sampling Population Definition The community to be surveyed is carefully defined in terms of residency requirements location, and other specific criteria Sample Selection A random sample is selected from the defined population. Random means that every member in the population has a chance of being selected

9. Data Analysis and Reporting Conduct basic and trend analysis of the data Conduct necessary cross-tabulations Conduct comparative analysis with data from any prior studies conducted in the City Provide tables with all the data analyzed at the aggregate level Provide final report with recommendations primarily based on the data collected in the study Provide the final data set as an Excel file Provide on-site presentation of findings Provide on-going support for up to 12 months with data queries

10. Deliverables Printed reports for all the different components of the study Description of survey methodology in the report to demonstrate the scientific method used in the study Detailed analysis of the results of all questions Recommendations supported by data including marketing recommendations Web ready report On-site presentation of findings and recommendations All data sets returned to the client Public presentation package to include electronic versions of the presentation, report, executive summary, and any other study-related material RecStor analysis of first and future data sets