I would add one aspect to the definition of environmental scan.  In simple
terms I consider this to be a look a tthe external environment -what ever is
going on around you (your organization) that impacts upon your issue or
agency.  This could include changes in community demographics,
socioeceonomic trends, new resources in your community, loss of previously
valuable resources or agencies, government policy, changes in funding
structure, shifting attitudes in the public etc.

The needs assessment, as others have noted, focuses on the people who
impacted directly by the issue at hand, and is a means of determining what
would be helpful to them to better meet their perceived needs.

Joyce Fox

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