Need

From EvaluationWiki

A need is something without which a person, group, organization, etc., will not function satisfactorily, that is, a need is something necessary for an entity's proper operation. It is an objective property of the entity, as is obvious in cases like the human need for Vitamin C, and an engine's need for lubricant, and hence completely different from a want, which is a felt deficiency but often completely ignorable with benefit. The two may happen to overlap, but many biological and horticultural needs are not felt at all as a want; and many wants are not needs. There are also artificial needs, such as the need for a drug addict for a fix; clearly this is a need (as well as a want) since withdrawal symptoms are severely dysfunctional, but it is also clear that there is sometimes good sense in the remark that a fix is the last thing the addict needs, i.e., the need is in some sense artificial and indeed better not met, unlike other severe needs such as hunger and acute wound pain. See also treatment need, performance need. Notice that this definition is completely unlike the common one which describes a need as the extent to which the available supply of something falls below the ideal level, a definition according to which you need an income of a million dollars a year, since that would clearly be ideal. A needs assessment (a.k.a., needs analysis) is a systematic study of the performance needs of a group of entities being studied; and it provides us with one of the most important values in much evaluation, against which we measure the achievement of an evaluand, such as an educational or health intervention. Example; the need for fluoridation of water in order to prevent dental caries.