Playground Guide - 2022 - 14

Playground managers should keep
in mind that interprofessional
collaboration takes time.
acknowledge that each profession has its own way of communicating,
its own vocabulary, and acronyms that will not
be understood by other team members. A shared terminology
handbook can be created, so that all team members
can learn the different terms. This creates a shared language
between the team members of different professions, reduces
communication barriers, and creates more effective communication
between the parties. An example is the acronym
" ADA " (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990). For playground
equipment installers, playground managers, families
who have a child with a disability and child specialists, ADA
is a meaningful acronym. For the remaining team members,
ADA is a Civil Rights law that must be written out, defined
and explained, so all team members know what is meant
when someone brings up ADA during a meeting.
The third factor is strong leadership from key decisionmakers.
Once an interprofessional team is formed for a
playground project, those individuals, who will be making
decisions throughout the project, must step up and
take leadership roles. Typical decision-makers on a playground
project include the playground manager, community
leaders (e.g., mayor, trustees, board members), select
members of the community, child specialists, landscape
architects and engineers.
Roles and responsibilities these individuals must assume
include arranging, planning and holding meetings;
taking meeting minutes; developing and maintaining
a budget; obtaining all necessary construction permits,
contracts, agreements, work orders, cost estimates, construction
schedules, bidding documents and drawings;
and needs assessments. These individuals must assume
the needed responsibilities, so all required tasks are completed
in a timely manner.
The fourth factor is understanding the culture of each
agency. Individual team members must make a conscious
effort to learn the attitudes, policies and procedures of
each representing discipline within the team. This is best
described as cultural competence. Cultural competence
allows team members to successfully interact and communicate
with people from different professions. With
cultural competence, the team - when designing and
creating and building a playground - can create more
14 Parks & Recreation | 2 0 22 PL A Y GROUND GUIDE | PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
Playground Guide - 2022

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