For this assignment, you will conduct a needs assessment using key informants. The purpose of the needs assessment is to identify the most pressing needs of a given target population within either an organization
Needs Assessment of a Group in an Organization or Community
(Due Week 5: 9/20/26; assignment should be submitted to Bb by 11:59 PM EST)
For this assignment, you will conduct a needs assessment using key informants. The purpose of the needs assessment is to identify the most pressing needs of a given target population within either an organization or community setting. The results will be reported as a formal paper. The required sections of the paper are found below.
Section 1: Target Population, Setting & Population Overview
· Identify your target population and setting (e.g., community or organization).
· Provide a population overview based on empirical evidence.
o The population overview should be an informative summary regarding the target population that educates the reader on the prevalence of the population as well as their needs, challenges and strengths as identified in the empirical literature.
o A minimum of three peer-reviewed journal articles published within the past 10 years are required.
o Creditable websites that provide information on prevalence of populations and social issues may also be included. Check with the instructor if there are questions about the creditability of the website/source.
o Three to five pages.
Section 2: Identify, Recruit, & Interview Key Informants
· Identify three key informants.
o Key informants for this project may be employees/staff at an agency (agencies) that serve the target population and/or members of the community that interact with your target population.
o Justify the inclusion of each key informant by providing details that describe their relevant educational/professional/personal background. Names do not need to be used.
o You are not permitted to interview service users/clients for this project. Failure to attend to this, or any of the other instructions in this assignment, may result in earning zero points.
· Describe how you ethically recruited the key informants.
o Citational evidence that refers to your textbook and/or the relevant section of the NASW Code of Ethics is required.
· Develop and present your interview guide.
o The purpose of the interviews is to gain a greater understanding of the most pressing needs for your target population.
o The interview guide is a list of three to five questions that you plan to ask each key informant (the same questions are used for each interview) so that you elicit information relevant to the needs of your target population.
o Questions should be informed by what you know about your target population from your population overview.
· Provide the full transcripts from your interviews.
o Interviews must be recorded and transcribed verbatim.
o Email exchanges cannot be used in place of face-to-face interviews.
o Interviews should last approximately 15 minutes.
o The transcripts from the interviews will be used in the Qualitative Data Analysis activity. Students are responsible for retaining a copy of your transcripts.
Other Assignment Requirements
· The paper must have headings corresponding to each of the required sections.
· The maximum length for this paper is 7 pages.
· All aspects of the paper should conform to the 7th edition of the APA manual.
· No use of first (e.g., I, me) or third-person (e.g., the researcher).
