Suggested approach

1. Preparing the questions

Prepare a list of questions that cover the three areas of concern. These questions should be concise and to the point. Aside from the basic personal information, following are some examples of TNA questions that you may want to ask the participants. (Note: They are not all relevant to all situations.)

· What are the problems and issues in your community? Explain them.

· What is the community doing to respond to such problems?

· As a member of the community, what is your role in responding to such problems?

· Have you ever been a member of a particular local, national or government organization? What was your position?

· What are your strengths and weaknesses when working with an organization?

2. Data gathering

After preparing the questions, the next step is to get answers. The following are some of the commonly used methods in gathering data:

· Interview

This method encourages each respondent to answer questions exhaustively, thus ensuring the accuracy of the training needs analysis. However, conducting interviews entails a lot of workforce, resources and time.

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· Group discussion/workshop

Aside from being an effective method in bringing out needed data, the group discussion helps build rapport among participants and facilitators before the actual training. For the facilitator, this is an opportunity to get to know the participants - who among them are outspoken and who needs more encouragement. This familiarity with participants allows the facilitator to handle the exchanges during training more effectively.

One limitation of this method is the additional time and resource in gathering all the participants in one venue.

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· Filling up TNA questionnaires

Sending out questionnaires is probably the simplest and the fastest method for gathering data from the participants. However, great care is needed in formulating appropriate questions.

3. Analyzing the participants' training needs

The final step in training needs assessment is the collation, documentation and analysis of the data gathered. The result determines what specific topics you should give special attention to, what dialect or language should be used, what and how many visual aids are needed, how long each session should last, etc. In short, the result of the TNA will determine how the training will be handled - both in content and process.

One of the simplest tools for collating TNA results is to use a matrix or table (see example at the end of this activity sheet).

You can also use a descriptive way of collating TNA results by looking for common themes in the responses and using these to generate topics for the training. Some guide questions are the following:

· What are the common experiences of the participants?

· What issues or themes do they want to study?

· Why pursue such topics, how do they relate to what participants are doing?

· How do participants perceive issues or concerns? What possible frameworks do they have and want to enrich?

· What activities would help them reflect individually? together?

· What atmosphere inhibits them from speaking or sharing their thoughts?

The TNA can generate topics that people will be motivated to learn about and apply in their everyday life. Discussing themes far from participant's realities can give information but may not enhance what they are doing. Such trainings may end up as a waste of scarce resources.

Likewise, the TNA gives hints on appropriate training approaches and methods for a particular set of participants. Participants have different learning styles. Choose creative methods that are enjoyable, participatory and more importantly, able to provoke critical thinking.

After the TNA has been collated, analyzed and documented, make a system of filing or storing the data so that when it is needed in the future, it is readily available.