RESEARCH Time to Gauge Your Performance Take a few minutes to complete the NRPA Agency Performance Survey By Kevin Roth, Ph.D. T he new year brings hope and optimism for the future, and with that a set of goals and resolutions with which we aim to improve ourselves and the communities around us. Many of these goals focus on wellness - perhaps to be more physically active or to eat better - or lending a hand to a neighbor in need. Each of these goals and resolutions, even if not fully realized, highlight our never-ending quest to make tomorrow better than today. This quest extends to parks and recreation, and it is made possible through the gift of sharing data. By giving 15 to 30 minutes of your time, you not only will provide park and recreation agencies like yours with access to invaluable peer insight, but you also will help identify steps your agency can take to ensure that it is serving your community to the best of its ability. You can do this by making sure your agency has entered and updated its data in NRPA Park Metrics. 12 Parks & Recreation Park Metrics is the most comprehensive source of data standards and insights for park and recreation agencies across the United States. We are in the final stretch of collecting 2018 data through the Agency Performance Survey. The data collected through this survey is the basis of the annual NRPA Agency Performance Review (APR) that we will include with the April issue of Parks & Recreation magazine. The APR presents a comprehen- | J A N U A RY 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G sive profile of local and regional park and recreation agencies in the United States. There is no other industry benchmarking resource that provides you with more powerful data and insights to help you gauge your agency's performance against those of its peers. This year's report highlights the mission and characteristics of more than 1,000 park and recreation agencies. Your agency has access to a wealth of data to assist in making the most-informed decisions using peer agencies as your reference. This includes access to large agencies located in urban settings and smaller agencies that serve just a few hundred residents in a small rural town. These resources have a real impact on agency strategic planning, budgeting and staffing.