April 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 18

RESEARCH
NRPA's Evaluation Resource Hub
By Austin Barrett
N
RPA produces and shares a wide variety of resources to assist
park and recreation professionals in their planning, programming,
operations and advocacy. From research reports to best
practices to key research-informed statements on why parks
and recreation is essential, these resources (nrpa.org/Research) are designed
to help your agency - and the broader profession - move forward.
NRPA's Evaluation Resource Hub
(tinyurl.com/mtst3ceu) is the place
for park and recreation professionals
to learn how to measure the impact
of their services. Through evaluation,
agencies can harness the power
of data to guide decision making,
demonstrate their value and make
the case for additional investment.
Defining Data
The resource Defining Data (tinyurl.
com/ycxyvphr) highlights the two
primary types of data: numbers
(quantitative) and narratives (qualitative).
The resource shares fundamental
information about each of
these data types while highlighting
their advantages and disadvantages.
It also details common methods
for data collection and steps to
analyze the data collected. Defining
Data is a short, yet comprehensive,
overview that will help build your
comfort level with data.
Determining Your Capacity
for Evaluation
Designing and implementing an
evaluation is not second nature for
most park and recreation professionals.
To do it right, an investment
of time and money is required. Before
getting started, it is best to do a
" reality check " and assess whether
your ideal evaluation is feasible. This
resource (tinyurl.com/uc2559e9) is
best suited for managers who want
to determine their agency's capacity
to conduct an evaluation.
Evaluating Park Use
and Quality
Developed in partnership
your community engages with
your areas/programs, gauge satisfaction
with current offerings
and provide guidance on future
needs and priorities.
* Health Impact Evaluation
Framework - With a focus on
health programming, this framework
details how to conduct a
program evaluation to determine
the benefits of park and recreation
health interventions.
with
researchers from North Carolina
State University, this resource
(tinyurl.com/3z4es84s) presents an
overview of measures commonly
used in park evaluations. It details
the " why, " " what " and " how " of
measuring park use,
safety and other metrics important
to monitoring the health and
vitality of a park area. If you are
interested in monitoring a park to
see if it is meeting the needs of the
public, this resource is for you.
Additional Resources
Beyond these three new resources,
the Hub contains other useful guides
on relevant topics. These include:
* Customer Feedback Surveys -
Learn how to create a feedback
survey and collect responses that
will yield results you can act on.
* Community Needs Assessments
- Brush up on creating
and conducting a community
needs assessment - an invaluable
planning tool that can help
your agency understand how
18 Parks & Recreation | APRIL 2 0 2 4 | PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
satisfaction,
* Data and Mapping Resource Library
- Explore a diverse collection
of relevant, publicly available databases
and visualizations curated to
assist your agency in broadening
its impact on the community and
operating more efficiently. The library
is also an excellent place to
search for data to strengthen your
next grant proposal.
* Green Infrastructure Evaluation
Framework - Dive into this collection
of tools, research-informed
analyses, worksheets and other resources
to help uncover the benefits
of green infrastructure projects.
The Future of the Hub
The Evaluation Resource Hub exists
to help grow the park and recreation
professional's ability to measure
impact and make the case for
continued support. Visit the Evaluation
Resource Hub and let us know
your ideas on topics to cover in future
resources. Email your thoughts
to NRPAEval@nrpa.org.
Austin Barrett (he/him) is a Senior
Evaluation Manager at NRPA (abarrett@
nrpa.org).
http://www.nrpa.org/Research http://tinyurl.com/uc2559e9 http://tinyurl.com/mtst3ceu http://tinyurl.com/3z4es84s http://tinyurl.com/ycxyvphr
April 2024 – Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2024 – Parks & Recreation
