Coastal Services Center

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What Is a Needs Assessment?

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A needs assessment is a systematic investigation of an audience(s) to identify aspects of individual knowledge, skill, interest, attitude and/or abilities relevant to a particular issue, organizational goal, or objective. To get a better feel for what this means, click the links below to view some other definitions from a variety of sources:

• American Society Training and Development
• Stuart Dalziel, Planning and Managing Training and Development #1
• Stuart Dalziel, Planning and Managing Training and Development #2
• Auerbach, 1994
• Cornell, Technology Training Services
• Cornell, Needs Assessment Tips and Techniques
• University of Virginia
• AMX, Training Needs Assessment