Participatory Needs Assessment

Participatory needs assessment involves people collecting information and undertaking analysis on the needs of their community to establish areas of priority and how best to design and deliver programs and services to meet those needs. 

The principle behind participatory needs assessment is that services and programs designed, implemented, monitored and evaluated by the recipient population will be better targeted and therefore more effective and sustainable.  Participatory needs assessment is also undertaken post-facto to evaluate programs and examine whether it has met the needs of the people it was designed for.  Participatory needs assessment is an important component of gender-based analysis, providing an opportunity for men and women to discuss and analyse their needs and interests, what barriers prevent them from being met and possible solutions.

Early forms of needs assessment tended to focus on women’s immediate practical and material needs in terms food security, shelter and health.  Moser (1989) expanded this focus to include women’s long-term strategic needs and interests.  A focus on strategic needs and interests recognizes that women’s ability to meet their basic needs is influenced by broader gender inequities – lack of rights and equal opportunity in the home, workplace and the public sphere.  Women’s strategic needs might include changing policies to increase women’s levels of pay so that they are equal with men, legal reform to outlaw domestic violence or sexual assualt, increasing access to reproductive and family healthcare, or sensitizing and working with men to overcome discriminatory practices and attitudes toward women.  Exploring and addressing women’s and men’s strategic gender needs is in keeping with a transformative approach to gender relations, which involves working toward gender equality on a long-term basis across a range of social areas and institutions.

Like other participatory research methods, participatory needs assessment is a collaborative process between a lead researcher and the community which utilizes qualitative research methods, such as surveys, focus groups, in-depth semi-structured interviews and community forums to identify, discuss, record and analyze the diverse needs of a population.  Community or village mapping, problem analysis through the use of matrices and ranking and diagrams are other methods which may be used to aid assessment.

Participatory needs assessment of women is undertaken to identify the specific needs and interests of women within a population.  In a focus group setting, women may be asked to self-identify their own needs; whether these needs are being met; and what barriers, if any, are preventing them from being met.  Women individually and as a group may be asked to rank their needs in order of importance as well as the most significant barriers to meeting these needs, in order to prioritise and explore solutions. A broad participatory assessment of women’s needs should prompt women to discuss their needs in relation to a range of life experiences – family, work, education, health, housing, community, transport etc.  Women are not a homogenous group and perceived needs and their prioritization can vary considerably according to age, socio-economic and marital status and education levels.  Strengths of participatory needs assessment is that it is open-ended and flexible and can raise the awareness of and mobilize participants on a range of issues when discussing constraints and barriers to meeting needs.  When combined with available quantitative data, qualitative data drawn from participative needs assessment should allow for the full range of needs within a population – both practical and strategic - to be gauged, analysed, ranked and targeted solutions explored. 

Sources and online resources:

Wilson, M. (2002) ‘Participatory gender-oriented information and learning needs assessment of the youth of Alexandra’, Report for UNESCO, http://link.wits.ac.za/papers/unesco-alex-gender-needs.pdf (Accessed 28 Nov 07)

Grady, H. (et al) (1991) ‘Assessing Women’s Needs in Gaza Using Participatory Rapid Appraisal Techniques’, World Bank/IIED, (Accessed 28 Nov 07) http://wbln0018.worldbank.org/Network/PREM/PREMDocLib.nsf/6c8c7440a03ec7ae852566c60075b51c/9420ef565e03cd2e852567130004b533?OpenDocument  

Sawt-el Amel: The Laborer’s Voice (2005) ‘Arab Women in Israel’s Wisconsin Plan: A Participatory Needs Assessment’, (Accessed 28 Nov 07) http://www.un-instraw.org/revista/hypermail/alltickers/en/att-0805/Israel-Arab_Women-Wisconsin_Plan-Participatory_Needs_Assessment.pdf

ILO/SEAPAT Online Gender Learning & Information Module, ‘Participatory Exercise in Gender Analysis: Needs Assessment’, (Accessed 28 Nov 07) http://www.ilo.org/public/english/region/asro/manila/gender/modggnt1.htm