Community Recreation and Parks: Striving for Service Excellence

Abstract

With respect to recognition as a professional field of work, community recreation and parks is still continuing to strive for full recognition by society as a profession. Over the past 60 years, this field has defined competencies required of practitioners using many different tools but have yet to define core competencies overall for the field regarding organizational service excellence, nor ways and means to consistently, comprehensively assess these competencies with member organizations while using a common governance body. Common practices or quality tested standards remain elusive at the organizational level and there is no specific representative body with the right to govern-a regulatory authority to oversee the quality assessment of professional work. A professional body of practice must have commonly used standards to instill confidence in other professionals, consumers, and funders. The Service Excellence Program (SEP) is an assessment tool designed for municipal recreation and parks departments and other recreation organizations and also rises to the challenge of being a program that can assist with professional development and recognition. Developed by Alberta (Canada) Recreation and Parks Association (ARPA) and RETHINK (West) Inc., SEP is described as a comprehensive and purposeful, yet practical program to define, assess, and improve organizational performance using ten organizational competencies that address excellence in programs, facilities, parks, community building, and leadership and management. Each competency has related practice guidelines and quality indicators. The action plan guideline measures results for the municipality or organization. SEP proactively supports the recreation and parks sector to take responsibility for moving forward by reviewing, assessing, and enhancing their service excellence using reflection and implementation of improved approaches to deliver plans, programs and services. In essence, SEP provides an awareness of the comprehensive 'field', expectations and indicators which are the achievements to celebrate. Staff, elected officials and community stakeholders will have increased confidence that recreation, sports, fitness, active living, arts, culture, heritage, community building, parks programs and services do make a difference and are being delivered effectively; SEP shows this field is a critical investment in achieving quality of life that delivers individual, social, economic, environmental benefits personally and in our communities.