Exploring the Possibilities of a Standardized Questionnaire for Assessing Residents’ Needs

Abstract

Creating a standardized needs assessment instrument and methodology that can be shared across the Extension system can lead to increased capacity to identify the needs of our clientele. The purpose of our study was to determine if a questionnaire originally created to assess needs in Utah could be used to identify priority areas for programming as perceived by the residents of Florida. Data were obtained from individuals who opted into survey panels administered by Qualtrics. Adapting the Utah questionnaire resulted in the identification of four priority areas and saved organizational resources by decreasing the time needed for instrument development.