Park and recreation agencies are as diverse as the communities they serve. There is no one-size-fits-all formula as to how park and recreation professionals meet their critical shared mission: to be leaders in conservation, health and wellness, and social equity by creating healthier communities and environments for all people.

There is no simple set of standards for park and recreation agencies. What works well for one agency may not be best for your agency. Agencies serve differing populations, have different missions and mandates, and have access to different levels and sources of funding. To discover what is best for your agency, you need benchmark data to compare how your agency performs against similar peers.

That’s where the 2016 NRPA Field Report comes in. This is the most comprehensive resource of data and insights for park and recreation agencies in the United States. The 2016 NRPA Field Report is the product of agency data shared in PRORAGIS, NRPA’s benchmarking resource that assists park and recreation professionals in the effective management and planning of their operating resources and capital facilities.

Because of the wealth of data and insights available in this year’s report, we have several ways for park and recreation professionals to access the data.

1.  The 24-page 2016 NRPA Field Report features 21 graphics of top-line data findings and analysis explaining each metrics’ importance. The graphics are broken into six areas of focus:

• Park facilities
• Programming
• Responsibilities of Park and Recreation Agencies
• Staffing
• Budget
• Agency Funding

The report also includes a look at the issues that may affect parks and recreation over the next year.

2.  Easy-to-use interactive graphics allow you to dig deeper in to the data. As top-line data only gives part of the story, the interactive graphics allow you to filter all 21 sets of metrics by jurisdiction population, population density, agency budget, agency type, staff size, number of parks maintained and geographic region.

3.  Agency Performance Reports allow you to further customize the data in the 2016 Field Report. You can hone in on agency characteristics to generate metrics from agencies similar to yours.

4.  The Agency Performance Survey gives you the ultimate benchmarking experience by entering and updating your agency’s performance data in PRORAGIS. The newly streamlined survey in PRORAGIS allows you to easily input information about your agency’s performance with 30 questions. It is never too late to enter your 2015 data nor is it too early to enter your 2016 data. By entering and updating your agency data in PRORAGIS, you can run customized performance reports that place your agency’s data right next that of its peers.

We are excited to bring the 2016 NRPA Field Report and interactive tools to park and recreation professionals. The most comprehensive set of benchmarking resources for the park and recreation industry only happens because of the data your agency shares in PRORAGIS. If your agency is one of the many that already has entered its 2015 agency performance data, thank you. If you haven’t, it’s not too late. Log in to get started. If you need assistance with your login or entering your data, please contact Greg Manns or Daniel Espada.

The NRPA Field Report is just one of the many data resources that park and recreation agencies can utilize to identify issues and solutions facing their communities. In fact, data collected by the many departments and agencies of your local government can inform on the greatest needs, challenges and opportunities facing your agency.

The next NRPA Innovation Lab, Data Driven Government and Parks and Recreation, will look at how data driven government will affect the field of parks and recreation and how public park agencies can leverage that data. I hope you can join your peers in Boston on May 12-13 for an interactive discussion on how cities—and parks and recreation specifically—are using data today.

 

Kevin Roth is NRPA’s Vice President of Research.