VCE Situation Analysis

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VCE Situation Analysis

• Virginia Cooperative Extension

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VCE Programming Model                                                                                                         
Contact Dr. Nancy Franz Extension Specialist, Program Development(540) 231-6941nfranz_at_vt.edu Content Last Updated January 2008
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Situation Analysis

• Determining Critical Issues for Extension
  Programming to Address

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Why Do Situation Analysis?

• Extension programs should address needs
• Discover where needs exist and with whom
• Involve communities in their own change and
  problem solving
• Provide public accountability
• Determine changes in situations

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VCE Situation Analysis

• Step 1 Organize for Action
• Step 2 Develop a Unit Profile
• Step 3 Assess Needs from a Community and
  Resident Perspective
• Step 4 Interpret Data and Decide on Program
  Direction

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Step 1 Organize for Action

• Identify key players including ELC members,
  Extension staff and volunteers
• Train and orient all key players on the situation
  analysis process
• Layout the time frame for the participants to
  develop the situation analysis plan

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Develop a Situation Analysis Plan

• List tasks to be completed in developing the
  situation analysis
• Assign tasks to appropriate person/group
• Decide on methods to be used to collect
  information
• Discuss whether all areas in the community are
  covered are there gaps where information needs
  to be collected?

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Step 2 Develop a Unit Profile

• Collect demographic and economic data for the
  unit
• Gather quantitative data from a wide variety of
  sources
• Create a demographic snapshot for program
  planners and unit residents
• Provide unit baseline data to gauge program
  effectiveness

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Analyzing Unit Profile Data

• Present these data to citizens and identify
  potential issues and topics to be addressed by
  Extension.
• This discussion should focus on how the data is
  changing over time and/or the comparison of these
  data to other standards (i.e., national, state,
  planning district, or other unit data).

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Step 3 Assess Needs from a Community/Resident
Perspective

• Compliment the unit profile by exploring
  challenges and opportunities from a community and
  resident perspective
• Focus on what issues and educational
  opportunities people perceive as important
• Allows the ELC to get in touch with the community

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Key Guiding Questions

• Which issues listed in the past situation
  analysis should continue to be addressed by
  Extension to meet local needs?
• Which aspects of these issues should Extension
  focus educational opportunities on next year?
• What issues not included in the past situation
  analysis should Extension address next year and
  which aspects of these issues?

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Other questions for community/residents

• What positive characteristics are you observing
  in the community? What negative?
• What issues are most pressing?
• What strengths and resources are in the community
  to address these issues?
• What barriers prevent addressing issues and
  problems?
• How can Extension help to address issues and
  problems?

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Methods

• Issues Forums
• Focus Groups
• Key Informant Interviews
• Community Survey

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Issues Forums

• Public meetings where people express their
  opinions and perspectives
• Facilitated by a moderator
• Follow an agenda
• Last 2-4 hours

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Issues Forums - Advantages

• Citizen participation
• Communication between program providers and
  clientele
• Easy and inexpensive
• Flexible

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Issues Forums - Disadvantages

• Requires good facilitation
• Input is limited to those who attend
• May generate more questions than answers
• Unrealistic expectations

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Focus Groups

• A focused discussion among 6-8 people
• Facilitated by a moderator
• Last 1-2 hours
• Need to conduct 4-5 for situation analysis
• Not intended to reach consensus

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Focus Groups - Advantages

• Great in generating ideas
• Stimulates thinking and dialogue
• Findings are easily understood
• Fast and relatively inexpensive

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Focus Groups - Disadvantages

• Can be easily misused
• Requires a skilled moderator
• Analysis is time consuming
• Difficult to generalize findings

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Key Informant Interviews

• Information gathered from people who hold key
  roles in the community
• Elected officials, community leaders, agency
  administrators/staff, community professionals
• Usually done using personal interviews

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Key Informant Interviews - Advantages

• Opportunity to collect data from people with
  different perspectives on issues and problems
• Helps identify opportunities for partnerships
• Can be implemented by volunteers
• Easy and inexpensive

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Key Informant Interviews - Disadvantages

• Information can be biased
• Relationship between interviewer and interviewee
  can influence data
• Can alienate people not involved
• Interviewer must be trained

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Community Survey

• An instrument administered to community residents
  to obtain their perspectives on issues and
  problems
• Typically administered to a sample of residents
• Most comprehensive method

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Community Survey - Advantages

• Can collect a lot of information
• Moderate to low cost
• Information is relatively unbiased
• Can generalize information to the community

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Community Survey - Disadvantages

• Time consuming from start to finish
• Low response rates
• No control for a bad instrument

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Step 4 Interpret Data and Decide on Program
Direction

• What are the issues identified?
• How should the issues be prioritized?
• What is Extension presently doing?
• Are any important issues missing that Extension
  should address next year?
• Are any of the issues outside Extensions
  mission? If so, who will handle them?
• What advice does the ELC have for Extension on
  addressing/ not addressing these issues?

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Making Priority Decisions for Determining Program
Direction

• Who else would be involved in addressing this
  particular issue and is currently programming in
  this area?
• Is Extension currently addressing the issue, and
  if so, how and through what program?
• Is Extensions present program fully addressing
  the issue?
• Can more impacts be sought?
• Does the issue warrant new programming?
• What resources are needed to offer programming
  which fully addresses the issue?

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Situation Analysis Suggested Time Line

• By September 15, 2008
• Agents review the most recent unit profile and
  update data
• Agents review their units most recent situation
  analysis and determine which stakeholders and
  stakeholder groups will review and update the
  analysis
• By October 15, 2008
• Agents involve stakeholders in updating situation
  analysis for the current year.

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Situation Analysis Suggested Time Line continues

• By November 15, 2008
• Agents summarize, analyze, and prioritize issues
  from stakeholder feedback to guide next years
  programming.
• Agents present the updated unit profile and
  prioritized issue analysis summary from
  stakeholder groups to the ELC (if needed).
• By November 30, 2008
• The unit agents, based on feedback from the ELC
  and others, determine five community issues from
  a list provided by VCE State Program Leaders to
  guide their work for the year and determine at
  least one issue to address as a team.
• Agents led by the UC write and submit through
  their PAP, a personal and unit plan of work for
  the calendar year to address the issues
  identified through the updated situation analysis.

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Situation Analysis Suggested Time Line continues

• By December 15, 2008
• The UC submits a final updated unit profile and
  situation analysis listing the five top issues to
  be addressed and information on each of these
  issues to their District Director and District
  Program Leader

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Credits

• Information provided or edited by Mike Lambur,
  Pam Gibson, Nancy Franz, Joe Hunnings, and Cyndi
  Marston