Rejuvenating Neighborhoods and Communities Through Parks—A Guide To Success www.NRPA.org National Recreation and Park Association © 2011 All Rights Reserved 65 Outputs Assessment At one time, public parks and recreation relied a great deal on outputs as a way of evaluating their programs and services, emphasizing “what we did” rather than “what we helped to make happen ” Today there is more focus on the review and assessment of actual outcomes or results, especially when the goal is to ensure the long-term sustainability of a park project Some of the desired outputs or indicators that reflect the progress of a park project as it seeks continued viability might include: • Number of new partnerships • Number of new funding sources identified • Funding from grant or foundation sources • Number of contacts with the public and potential partners • Support provided for stakeholder groups • Funding for maintenance and operation rather than further development or expansion An Example of Progress Based on Process Outcomes Sunny Side Parks and Recreation Department Project name: Partnering for Paradise Park Overall project goal: To renovate Paradise Park so that the renovation brings positive and meaningful changes to the community that are sustained over time Process goals: To empower a core group of interested people to expand the number of people involved with this park renovation project Inputs (What people did) Activities (The results) Outputs (May include dates or numbers) Three interest leaders from the community held 3 joint meetings with others from the 3 neighborhoods Staff and 3 original community leaders organized and facilitated an expanded meeting of the interested parties Three meetings were held in the 3 different areas on (insert dates and times) Open space technology was used to identify issues and then other people or community groups who would be interested in this effort People attending – 62 People volunteering – 28 Three of the more important issues were identified by those in attendance A mailing list was developed that included 12 other community groups and 32 additional people to be invited to a visioning session 3 weeks from now Process Follow-up The 31 participants, including the three original community leaders, were recognized in a newspaper article and flyer distributed through local newspapers and in local public areas The open invitation to the visioning session was included in the article and on the flyer A suggestion: “Process follow-up” should be noted throughout the process goal planning form as a reminder about communication, milestones, recognition, and celebrations
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