Rejuvenating Neighborhoods and Communities Through Parks—A Guide To Success www.NRPA.org National Recreation and Park Association © 2011 All Rights Reserved 24 New York City’s Guiding Principles for Generating Insight Partnerships for Parks, a partnership between the City Parks Foundation and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, uses these guiding principles for building rapport and generating insight from neighborhoods. • Understand the community history and context. • Connect parks to community priorities. • Recognize that change can be perceived differently by different people. • Assist neighbors in becoming allies. • Use incentives to encourage collaboration. Source: Catalyst: Step One. Partnerships for Parks The Role and Importance of Logistics Logistical decisions on meetings—their location as well as the time of day and day of the week—should be made purposefully Sometimes even the slightest change in logistics can have far-reaching effects on the number of attendees, their comfort level, and the overall quality of the responses Examples of logistical factors to consider include: • Location Choice It is usually most convenient and comfortable for people to attend a meeting in their own neighborhood Some locations, such as a place of worship or a civic building, might keep certain potential attendees away Consider accessibility of the location to potential attendees (within walking distance, safety of the location, on bus line, and so on) • Time Parameters Take into consideration local customs and patterns (often related to religious practices) when scheduling the day and time of day Bracket the most convenient times to reach the intended attendees Consider work and commuting patterns in your area • Meeting Arrangements In setting up the room, avoid the “leader at the front of the room” placement if possible A circular arrangement of chairs or the ability to move chairs to form small groups is optimal Plan a way to welcome people to the meeting and ease people’s way into the room For example, designate volunteers to serve as greeters; provide name tags featuring first names only; and suggest a starting point to attendees to move them into the room Train Staff or Volunteers The individuals facilitating the meeting or conducting the on-site surveys are obviously critical to the success of this process Both training and orientation are essential for these individuals who represent your agency • Training. Training should focus on group facilitation skills Access to it may be found either in house in larger agencies, or by contacting other local organizations such as university extension services, United Way, social service agencies, and local colleges
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