Benchmarking Reports

Benchmarking Reports Benchmarking allows park and recreation professionals to position the profession better with policy makers, collect data to improve agency operations, stimulate strategic planning, forecast industry trends and identify best practices.  There are three benchmarking reports available 1) Playground Safety Inspection, 2) Low Impact Aerobics Instruction for Adults 55+ and 3) Making The Connection: Youth Development Staff Training.  The reports are $13 each for members, $23 for non-members (for order form click here) or call 916/665-2777).  Free to members who download them from the Web site.

CPRS embarked on the benchmarking studies as part of the park and recreation professions strategic plan Creating Community in the 21st Century. Benchmarking was identified as a means to measure performance or processes against the best performers in the industry and to create performance standards derived from those top performers. Outcomes from benchmarking include: enhancing an organization's goal setting, stimulating strategic planning and forecasting industry trends.

Making The Connection: Training Youth Development Staff.  This report analyzes those programs the exhibit best practices in the area of training youth development staff. The goal of this staff training is to teach staff about the core elements of youth development for incorporation into youth services and programs.  Members can download here.

The Low Impact Aerobics Instruction for Adults 55+ report analyzes four different organizations in the areas of logistics, marketing and customer service, staff and training, documentation, performance measures, and evaluation. Results from the questionnaires are also included in the report.  Members can download here.

The Playground Safety Inspection report analyzes five different organizations and identifies their best practices in relation to policy, training, documentation, corrective actions, performance measures and evaluation. The report also gives the results of an extensive questionnaire given to each benchmark participant.  Members can download here.