2023 NRPA Agency Performance Review | 3 Data is a powerful tool, but does not, by itself, provide final answers to the question of what is best for your individual park and recreation agency. The 2023 NRPA Agency Performance Review and NRPA Park Metrics help inform conversations among internal colleagues, external consultants, partners and policymakers about the role of parks and recreation in your community. The combination of insights from this report, along with information about your community’s specific needs and experiences, will help you craft the optimal mix of facilities and programming your agency should deliver. The 2023 NRPA Agency Performance Review does not present park and recreation “standards,” nor do the benchmarks represent any standards against which every individual park and recreation agency should measure itself. In fact, NRPA does not have a set of specific standards. The reason for this is simple: there is not one single set of standards for parks and recreation because different agencies serve different communities that have unique needs, desires and challenges. For instance, if your agency has more workers per 10,000 residents relative to the “typical” agency, it does not necessarily mean you should shed staff to meet that benchmark. An agency with a larger staff may offer more hands-on programming because of the unique needs of the population it serves. Communities differ; so too should the amenities and programs offered by their park and recreation agencies. A park and recreation agency may serve a small town, a large city or an entire county. It may be a department of its local jurisdiction’s government or its own governmental entity. While most agencies deliver both park and recreation amenities and programming, some focus solely on maintaining parks and green spaces while others only offer recreational programming. Agencies also have diverse funding mechanisms, drawing from such sources as general tax funding, dedicated taxes, generated income and grants. Truly successful agencies tailor their offerings to meet the needs and demands of all members of their communities. To be successful, it is essential that park and recreation professionals know the characteristics of the residents who use their agencies’ resources — including residents’ age, race and income trends — as well as the types of programming, facilities and amenities those residents look for from their local parks. It also is vital to recognize the characteristics of those who may use those resources in the future when shaping the optimal mix of facilities and services your agency will offer going forward. Park and recreation professionals should use the 2023 NRPA Agency Performance Review with other resources, including those that may be proprietary to their specific agency, those from NRPA and others from external sources. This report also provides a list of additional NRPA resources. How to Use the 2023 NRPA Agency Performance Review and NRPA Park Metrics The first step in using the 2023 NRPA Agency Performance Review is to look at the available data. Most of the data presented in the report feature medians and data responses at the lower quartile (lowest 25 percent) and upper quartile (highest 25 percent). The data allow for insights into where your agency stands compared to “typical” agencies (i.e., those at the median values), as well as the full spectrum of agencies at both the high and low quartiles. Many metrics include the top-line figures and certain cross-tabulations by jurisdiction population or population density. More comprehensive cross-tabulations are available as interactive tables at nrpa.org/Metrics. The next step is to build a customized benchmark report based on your preferred peer group. Go into NRPA Park Metrics (nrpa.org/ParkMetrics) to filter the data by agency type, size and geographic region. You can enhance this experience even further by entering your agency’s data into NRPA Park Metrics, after which you can generate reports that compare your agency’s data against the key metrics of agencies throughout the United States. The 2023 NRPA Agency Performance Review presents data from more than 1,000 unique park and recreation agencies across the United States as reported between 2020 and 2022. Note: Not all agencies answered every survey question.
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