Rejuvenating Neighborhoods and Communities Through Parks—A Guide To Success www.NRPA.org National Recreation and Park Association © 2011 All Rights Reserved 56 Suggestions for Making the Shift to Assessment If the organization makes a concerted effort to embrace the change to assessment, it can accelerate the learning curve The incentive for making the shift should increase once staff members recognize that the new approach can lead to greater credibility for public parks and recreation Greater credibility, in turn, is a steppingstone to future viability and sustainability Some suggestions and strategies that can be helpful to an agency undertaking this assessment change include shifting the organizational mind-set, obtaining training support, taking small steps, making sure the change is meaningful, and making use of the outcome and findings Shift the Mind-set Parks and recreation focuses on facilities and activities, but that focus must now shift from thinking in terms of activities to addressing the outcomes of those activities In other words, the new focus is not on what we do, but what a park or program helps to make happen. Park and recreation agencies mow green space, line ball fields, teach dance, and hold community events However, in assessment, the larger question is the impact or influence of these actions on the community and their overall contributions to society in general The shift to outcomes assessment is intended to align the organizational perspective of public parks and recreation with the perspectives and perceptions of stakeholders Individuals, parents, decision-makers, and the general public are greatly concerned about how an organization or particular program or service affects the well-being of all concerned For instance, • Individuals may be concerned about personal health or property values • Parents are likely concerned about the safety of their children and the relationship of play experiences to their future • Decision-makers, especially now, are focused on the bottom line, asking what programs and services can most effectively and efficiently address the important issues of their jurisdictions • The general public wants to be assured that tax dollars are being expended prudently—in useful and meaningful ways In actuality, all stakeholders are focused on outcomes: the results that any public entity helps to realize for people, community, and society Obtaining Training Support for the Agency For a staff member or a volunteer to acquire this new skill, rather than to immediately begin to implement outcomes assessment, will require training It is particularly helpful if staff and volunteers can observe the agency’s leadership wholeheartedly adopting this approach Training for outcomes assessment may be available through United Way, 21st Century Learning Center grant participants, or university extension programs After training, the implementation of this approach will require ongoing support from the agency overall Make It Easy and Take It Small Succeeding in outcomes assessment relies on selecting outcomes that lend themselves to ease of demonstration or measurement, restricting the number of outcomes measured, and limiting the number of services and locations to be assessed For instance, you would not ask a volunteer group to conduct an outcomes assessment for all the events it sponsors any more than you would request the agency’s own staff to undertake this process for all its services, programs, and activities A trial assessment using one event or several smaller programs and services—or even just one or two sites of operation—would fare better
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