Since the launch of PRORAGIS™ in 2010, NRPA has worked with park and recreation professionals and consultants to assess all aspects of the system. We’ve examined the process for getting data into the PRORAGIS system, how PRORAGIS delivers data for an agency or a professional to use, and what we can learn about the field of parks and recreation as a whole from the data we’ve gathered. In some areas, we found PRORAGIS has worked as we hoped and expected. More importantly, we’ve identified areas where we can improve the system and experience while remaining focused on our original goal — to provide both the most comprehensive database of information related to park and recreation agency operations in existence and tools for agencies to put this data into action to improve how they serve their communities.

Survey

The biggest changes from a user’s perspective will be in the tool we use to collect operational information. Based on feedback from PRORAGIS participants, our goal was to make the survey easier to complete and narrow the scope to the questions that were most relevant to day-to-day operations of an agency. Instead of a small-agency and large-agency version of the survey, we’ve now unified the most relevant questions into a single survey for all agencies. This survey is shorter, and it focuses on questions that will provide performance management measures that are most useful for benchmarking and comparative analyses. These changes are based on feedback from PRORAGIS users who are interested in seeing more management and operations analysis from their data. The survey itself will now customize to your agency, so you’ll only be asked questions that apply to your facilities and programs. In coming years, we’ll supplement the data we collect via PRORAGIS with traditional surveys to collect important information about your agency that doesn’t require an annual update to remain relevant.

GIS

We’re excited to be moving the PRORAGIS GIS services to the ESRI ArcGIS platform. For those not familiar with GIS, ESRI GIS services are considered by many to be the industry standard. The easy-to-use tools we’ll be able to provide to PRORAGIS users through ArcGIS will make it easier to develop, manage and analyze GIS information about your parks, programs and community. We’ll continue to offer webinars and one-on-one support for our member agencies that are interested in learning more about the benefits GIS can bring to their operations or how they can use GIS tools to improve their efficiency and operations.

NRPA Target Ranges

From 1971 to 1995, NRPA published the “National Park, Recreation and Open Space Standards” as a minimum set of benchmarks to guide agencies. Despite disclaimers that these guidelines were to be used only as a basis for a more thorough and specific analysis, these standards were often cited verbatim in master plans and level-of-service recommendations. Over time, NRPA came to realize that prescribing “one-size-fits-all” standards for communities as diverse as those served by our members was not serving our agencies or their citizens well. Even though we haven’t updated these standards in almost 20 years, we still receive calls and requests for copies of these guidelines on a weekly basis. 

As a membership association devoted to serving our members, how do we provide guidance related to level of service when there’s such variability in the members we serve? We think PRORAGIS provides the answer.

Rather than using broad rules of thumb for guiding important agency decisions, isn’t it better to compare yourself to others in the industry rather than relying on dated research that may not apply to your community? While PRORAGIS has always allowed participating agencies to identify and compare themselves with other similar agencies, we’ve now made it possible to compare your agency to the field as a whole. We’ve identified the most important metrics, compiled all the data we’ve received since the inception of PRORAGIS, and produced operating ranges that give PRORAGIS users a quick, easy-to-understand snapshot of how their agency lines up against other agencies across the country. You’ll easily be able to see where you stack up against other agencies, where you’re doing a great job and where you have room to improve. Importantly, these ranges don’t come from us or from academic research — they come from you, the park and recreation professional.

If your agency has participated in the past, you’ll be seeing a custom agency report that provides your comparison to other PRORAGIS agencies in your mailbox soon. For those of you who haven’t participated, once you complete your agency’s PRORAGIS survey, you’ll also have the ability to quickly compare yourself to all the agencies we’ve collected data from, or zero in and do more focused comparisons of your operations with other specific agencies. All of these features will be accessible from your dashboard after you log in to PRORAGIS.

NRPA thanks the agencies that have participated in PRORAGIS, and all those who have provided us with feedback and criticism. These ideas and the direction for our improvements have come from you, and we’ll continue to listen, modify and do our best to provide you with the tools you need to make data-driven decisions in your agency.

Travis Smith, Ph.D., is NRPA’s Vice President of Research.