Writing an Effective Needs Statement

Good needs statements tell the reader why a program is needed to serve a particular population or solve a particular problem, but the BEST needs statements also tell a story.

• For educational programs, think about the characteristics and demographics of the populations you are serving.  Look at the school district, neighborhood, zip code, etc.   Choose those characteristics/demographics that paint the best picture of the target populations and their needs.  Develop a theme to tell your story. Demonstrate how your program will provide benefits.
• Example:  A specific BOCES (Board of Cooperative Educational Services) in the northern tier of New York State.  Most resonating characteristics are rural location and poverty of student populations.  Needs statement thus had a rural theme that underscored how little science education poor rural students receive.  Needs statement addressed constructivist learning methods that would be utilized, building on students’ rural experiences.
• IMPORTANT:  Your proposal will be one of many that reviewers will see.  Make sure your needs statement is (1) interesting, engaging or unique, and (2) provides a good introduction to, and states the case for, the rest of your proposal.
• Needs statement should be comprised of two parts:  (1) description of need/risk factors (i.e. the target population and its need for program; perhaps factors that place target population at risk); (2) how the program will ameliorate the problem.

Part One:  Description of Need/Risk Factors:

• Statistics are available on many different levels…
  National, state, local (city, county, zip code, school district), school building.
• And from many sources:  
  Government (US Department of Education, state government, local government)
  Policy and advocacy organizations (Children’s Defense Fund)
  Foundations (Annie E. Casey)
  Journals, other publications, and databases, many of which are on-line (ProQuest, Lexis-Nexis)
  So which sources do you use?
  Try to zero in as much as possible on the population your program will serve (e.g., if your program is state-wide, focus on state sources)
  Make sure that your data is from reliable and accepted sources
  If possible, avoid unverified Internet data
• What types of indicators/risk factors/statistics should I include?
  Poverty (Title 1 and poverty statistics for schools are generally available)
  Student achievement (including drop out rates)
  Public housing
  Health (e.g., obesity, drug use)
  Lacking access to resources (number/proximity of programs, other cultural institutions)
  Crime rates, including youth crime/violence
  Demographics (ethnic/racial composition, percentage of recent immigrants, percentage of English-language learner adults)
  School capacity (overcrowding)
  Unemployment rates, including youth unemployment rates
• Explore helpful grant writing links. Click here.

Part Two:  How Project Addresses Need:

• Make a brief outline of all the needs
• When designing your program, think about how the program will address each need, and write this into part two.
• This can be done in narrative or bullet form.
• Be explicit and clear.  (Example:  “Low adult science literacy levels in the community will be addressed through an evening family literacy program.”)
• Goals of program should dovetail with how your program will respond to needs described in this section.