THE SIX STEPS THAT CAN BE USED BY EXTENSION OFFICERS IN CONDUCTING THE NOMINAL GROUP PROCESS IN EXTENSION ORGANIZATION

Nominal group process can be used to generate possible items and set priorities in conducting a needs assessment. The data are generated in a group setting; verbal communication is minimized during the process. For instance, a chairperson of a farmers' association invited their extension officer to facilitate a meeting of selected members assembled to determine the activities for the following year. After learning that the farmers could read and write their native language, the extension officer suggested that the nominal group technique be used to assess needs for the association.

Stating of question or problem

This can precede the group session and involved clearly stating the question or problem to be addressed by the participants. The question addressed should be: What activities should the association carry out the next year?

Generation of ideas

The participants should sit round a table facing each other and asked to spend the first several minutes in silence, writing their ideas on a piece of paper. This silence allowed the participants to generate ideas uninterrupted and without being dominated by aggressive members.

Presentation of ideas

After they had finished writing down their ideas, each member presented one idea from his or her list in a round-robin fashion. The chairperson served as the recorder and wrote the ideas on a flip chart in front of the participants. The chairperson then lists the ideas in concise phrases without attempting to change the wording or judge the ideas. The listing continued in order until all the participants had presented their ideas. The ideas suggested included organizing a farm fair, conducting an agricultural tour, acquiring an office for the association, increasing membership, and starting a farmers' market in a neighboring town.

Clarification of ideas

The farmers should be encouraged to seek clarification of any of the ideas listed. They should be allowed to express their reasons for agreement or disagreement about each item, but argument should be discouraged. This step ensured that the ideas listed will be clarified without high status or aggressive members dominating the process.

Rating of priorities

At this stage, the farmers should be asked to choose three of the most important ideas from the list and rank them in order of priority. The rating should be done on small cards which, after being collected, were shuffled to ensure anonymity. The votes should then be tallied and the results disclosed on a flip chart in front of the group. The three highest rated items should be: starting a farmers' market in a neighboring town, conducting an agricultural tour, and increasing member ship in the association.

Discussion and voting

In the last step of this process, the farmers should discuss the vote, made additional clarifications, and voiced their agreements or disagreements. Following this discussion, the farmers should also decide that they would only start a farmers' market and work to increase their membership.