As an educator, you know staff need includes educational programs (knowledge, skills, and abilities), career development, and organizational development and goals. What you might not know is to start. The best way to begin is to conduct a needs assessment — ie, a powerful, systematic exploration of what activities and goals — distinct from perceived needs or “wants”— that should be accomplished within a certain time frame.

     Conducting a needs assessment. A variety of techniques are available for conducting needs assessments. These incl