2.0 Learning Objectives
Learning Objectives
By the end of STEP 2, the student shall be able to:
- List the various ways in which a programmer can obtain information on the client
- Locate appropriate resources on the programming client (an individual, group or agency) in order to understand their recreation needs
- Define the idea of ‘need’ through the lens of recreation programming
- Rationalize why recreation, event and leisure programs must meet a client, Agency, or community need or want
…[M]ake sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? (Greenleaf, 1970, as cited in Greenleaf, 1991).
“Needs are the gap between what is and what should be” (Edginton, et al., 2019, p.170)
Needs (noun): Circumstances in which something is necessary or that require some course of action…a thing that is wanted or required (Dictionary.com, 2024).
Once a program-planner has established the identity of the individual or group they are programming, it is time to determine their programmatic needs. Programmatic needs can vary wildly depending on the nature and characteristics of the individual client, client-group or organization. Using the participant-centered approach fostered through the application of the Servant-Leadership Model (Greenleaf, 1991), recreation program-planners are expected to design, deliver and evaluate engaging, meaningful programs and events that address a physical need, an emotional need, a social need, a spiritual need, a psychological need, or any combination of these!
Performing a needs assessment answers a couple of important questions: (1) “Why are we offering the programs and services we do, and should we be offering these?” and (2) “Does the creation of the proposed program or activity somehow serve the needs of the public or the organization, and will it have beneficial impacts and outcomes?” (Edginton et al., 2019, p.169)
Conducting an effective needs assessment allows organizations (and, by extension, the recreation staff) to make informed decisions when deciding which recreation programs and services to offer. Needs assessment allows for fulfilling programmatic and service gaps and practical short and long-range budgeting.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Need versus Want
Need: Something required for survival
Want: Something nice to have but not required for survival
It is important to note the difference between a programming need and a programming want.
A community might want a wave pool with multi-level water slides when what would serve their needs better might be a standard pool. Similarly, the staff of a retirement home may want a beautifully landscaped garden space complete with fountains and a koi pond, when what the residents need is a wheelchair-accessible path to be built through the existing garden, thereby increasing accessibility.
