Laserfiche WebLink
Measuring Progress <br />Routine evaluation of the parks and recreation system is valuable, particularly <br />when justifying requests for funds, facilities, staff time and volunteers. <br />It is also important to proactively communicate benefits provided by the park <br />and recreation system to ensure elected officials, other decision makers and the <br />public have a thorough understanding of the benefits the system provides and the <br />number of people positively impacted by the parks and recreation system. <br />Regular evaluations also have the potential for pinpointing which improvements <br />would better serve system users and identifying benchmarks for excellence. <br />Comprehensive evaluations of parks and recreation systems should include both <br />qualitative and quantitative components. Some qualitative tools, such as surveys, <br />are relatively easy to conduct and are important in gauging satisfactions, trends, <br />and need. Surveys do not tell the entire picture though. The use of quantitative <br />methods, such as counts, are important in capturing the who, what, where, and <br />when ofparks and recreation use. Counts are the most beneficial in demonstrating <br />the magnitude of usage. Finally, the evaluation system should also include an <br />analysis of the community's progress on its goals and implementation of its plans. <br />Following are types of quantitative and qualitative data that should be collected <br />as part of a comprehensive evaluation or progress. <br />> Quantitative Data <br />• Number of recreation activities and participants tracked through <br />registrations. <br />• Numberofevents, facilityusersandparticipants tracked through reservations, <br />permitting, and through usage requests by associations. <br />• Number of volunteer participants. <br />• Number of people using parks, trails, and other facilities through the <br />development of a user count program. This program might be accomplished <br />by counting cars in the parking lot, creating a neighborhood park count <br />volunteer program, or installing new technology to count trail users. <br />• Number of signature and other park master plans completed. <br />• Miles of sidewalks /trails completed. <br />• Park and trail safety — number of accidents, incidents, and crime. <br />• Evaluation of species diversity, parcel size, and connectivity in our natural <br />resource areas to guide our natural resource management efforts. <br />.. ........................................................ .............................., <br />Chapter 6: Implementation 86 <br />