Needs assessment in Scotland: collaboration in publichealth

The National Health Service reforms revitalised the national emphasis on the publicʹs health and health needs assessment. In Scotland, in contrast with England, there was no central investment in the development of methods and programmes for needs assessment in the context of the new NHS. To achieve a concerted effort, therefore, a self-help network—the Scottish Needs Assessment Programme (SNAP)—was created by the Scottish Forum for Public Health Medicine. This paper describes its evolution to the point where it is now supported as part of a national network of information for purchasing.