July 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 21

government; and heighten awareness
of a participating member's own
and their group's potential political
potency in supporting the park and
recreation agency.
The Importance of
Social Interaction
Even when intentions are good, the
inertia of the status quo combined
with the expediency of administrative
convenience may result in inflexibility
and a lack of responsiveness.
Sometimes, professionals assume
they know the needs of their
clienteles without soliciting regular
detailed feedback from target groups.
Coproduction forces regular direct
communication and may enhance
responsiveness to a user group's
changing needs and preferences.
Every community has enthusiasts
whose specialized experience and
skills in specific recreation activities
exceeds those available among an
agency's personnel. Typically, organizations
regularly turn over their
leadership. This enables leaders to
avoid the burnout that sometimes
afflicts agency staff who have longterm
responsibility for a particular
program. The group's ownership of
the service and the authority that
empowers its leaders to direct the
service for this relatively short period
encourage the injection of high energy,
new ideas and creativity.
Enduring friendships are made
through
engaging jointly in
projects with others in a person's
leisure, work,
milieus.
Coproduction
spiritual or civic
requires
individuals to work with others
to plan, organize, fundraise, lead
and deliver a service. This requires
intense social interaction. When an
agency directly delivers a service,
individuals may derive some social
benefit from using it. However, they
are deprived of the opportunity
to experience the deeper, intense
relationships that may evolve from
the interaction that coproduction
necessitates. From this perspective,
a policy of direct-service delivery,
rather than coproduction, may be
counterproductive.
John L. Crompton, Ph.D., is a University Distinguished
Professor, Regents Professor and Presidential Professor for
Teaching Excellence in the Department of Recreation, Park
and Tourism Sciences at Texas A&M University and an
elected Councilmember for the City of College Station
(jcrompton@tamu.edu).
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July 2021 - Parks & Recreation

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