Syracuse University workshop to focus on needs assessment and assets analysis

Syracuse University workshop to focus on needs assessment and assets analysisMay 12, 2003Kelly Homan Rodoskikahoman@syr.edu

A one-day workshop sponsored by the School of Social Work in Syracuse University’s College of Human Services and Health Professions will examine the role of needs assessment and assets analysis in organizational and community contexts. The workshop will be held June 4 from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. in Room 228B of the Schine Student Center. The registration deadline for the workshop is May 30. Fees range from $50-$85. For more information contact Claire Rudolph at (315) 443-5583 or Cindy Purdy-DeGouff at (315) 443-5550.

The workshop is designed to help participants understand how needs assessment and assets analysis support program development and evaluation. The workshop reflects on the multiple perspectives from which needs can be defined and prioritized and translates that into who should sit on a planning group. Also examined will be potential sources of information on needs and assets and strategies for gathering data. Participants are invited to bring examples of needs assessments from their own settings to use as discussion pieces.

The main presenter will be Karen Kirkhart, professor in the School of Social Work. Kirkhart currently teaches program evaluation and clinical practice evaluation in the School of Social Work’s M.S.W. program. Her professional practice includes evaluation consulting, and her current research explores the influence of evaluation on systems and the many ways in which cultural diversity impact evaluation choices, methods and understandings. She serves on the diversity committee of the American Evaluation Association and is chair of the Topical Interest Group on Evaluation Use.

The workshop is co-sponsored by the Study Council in SU’s School of Education.