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This guide was produced through the efforts of a large number of people in different organisations, including the Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) and the Institute for Employment Studies (IES). The guide's purpose is to provide colleges with practical guidance on ways of identifying and addressing needs, liaising with external bodies to gather information on needs, comparing the profile of the community to that of a college's student body and using needs and market analysis to inform strategic planning. It is broken up into five parts. Part 1 provides an introduction to needs analysis. It looks at ways of segmenting the population, suggests ways in which needs can be classified and outlines five stages in identifying and addressing needs. Methods of analysing needs are covered in Part 2. It is comprised of two sections. The first looks at ways of assessing whether the college's student profile over or under represents particular population segments. The second examines how to assess factors that effect participation. Part 3 focuses on assembling the evidence. It covers the overall information capabilities and requirements of colleges including both internal and external information sources. The specific needs of people with learning difficulties or disabilities are discussed in Part 4. The first section examines the implications of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 as well as covering recent publications concerned with learning difficulties or disabilities. The second section examines the role of formal and informal liaison groups and offers suggestions for good practice in developing local networks. Part 5 briefly covers some strategic issues. Two simplified models for college strategic planning are offered. The way needs analysis can inform strategic planning is discussed. A short discussion on how information on needs and markets is used during planning comes next. The final section outlines ways in which the internal organisation of colleges can influence their overall approach and responsiveness to change.