This policy brief shares the benefits, and makes a case for institutionalization of training needs assessment (TNA) as a systematic process of identifying gaps in the performance of health service providers and or related system, based on an analysis of the desired performance and the actual performance observed. Without comprehensive TNA, counties are unable to determine the priority areas for long- and short-term training and more likely to fall into the trap of biased and unsystematic methods such as intuition and patronage. Read how the use of TNA is streamlining human resource development in select counties in Kenya.