A needs assessment is a process for documenting relevant needs either at the organizational or individual level. The goal is to attain information on performance problems pertaining to specific programs of interest. Needs assessments can range from simple reviews to complex investigations, and depend on the reason for conducting the assessment in the first place. Needs assessments are typically required for grant applications, as well as forming the basis for research proposals. In other words, what is the problem? Why do you need to conduct research?
A needs assessment can help you to find out what the current situation is, whether your population of interest is a school, district, business, or other organization. This can be accomplished through various strategies, such as focus groups, MNGTs (Modified Nominal Group Technique), surveys, open source research, and data analysis and investigations.