Exercise 5: Identifying Group Needs

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                         EXERCISE FIVE 
                     IDENTIFYING GROUP NEEDS

This is a simple technique that has worked in new and old groups as
well as workshops made up of people from a number of different
groups.  It's a good idea to run through the practical reasons for
doing the exercise as it relates to your specific group.  It's very
important in doing any exercise to explain the reasons for doing it
so that people can buy into the exercise and its outcomes.

1. Break up the workshop into small groups of three or four people. 
It's a good idea to do this by counting off from one to four so
that friends or cliques don't end up together.  This can also
encourage generation of a wider variety of ideas.

2. Each group selects a recorder whose duty it is to record the
results on newsprint.

3. Each group selects a spokesperson whose duty it is to facilitate
the group and to explain the results to the workshop as a whole.

4. The task of each member is to share one specific need that
he/she thinks the group has that might be addressed in a workshop. 
It could also be something an individual would like to learn in the
workshop.  Encourage everyone to stay with the issues at hand.

5. Then consolidate and decide on one need that will represent the
group when the spokesperson reports it back to the workshop.  It
may be helpful to encourage people to select the one need, or
develop a new one.   

6.  Bring the groups back together and have each spokesperson
explain what their groups came up with and why.  These group needs
could be prioritized so that they could be dealt with in other
exercises.  Most important, they should be used and dealt with
because the process has raised expectations that the group will not
forget.

7.  Discussion:

     þ    did any of the groups have any problems coming to a
          decision for their group?
     þ    did you notice the process that was used to reach a
          decision?  How could it have been improved?
     þ    would it have been as easy in a large group?
     þ    what does this say about the role of committees in your
          group?



CREDIT: Robert C. Biagi, Cooperative Extension, University of
Massachusetts, Amherst.

• Lois M. Frey, UVM Extension, RR #4, Box 2298, Montpelier, VT 05602, (802) 223-2389, email: lfrey@sover.net
• "Group Development: Creating Group Effectiveness" by Duane Dale, DFD Associates, 99 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138-3402 (moving to 764 South East Street, Amherst, MA 01022 after 8/1/98);
• Bob Biagi, 142 Cherry Lane, Amherst, MA 01002 (413) 549-1412;

Comments to: crs@uvm.edu
Reviewed as of 4/20/98