Evaluate and Distinguish Your Agency

by David Markworth, CLP

Should you evaluate your agency? The answer is a resounding yes!.

Developed over several years by a joint committee task force of the Illinois Association of Park Districts (IAPD) and the Illinois Park and Recreation Association (IPRA), the Distinguished Agency evaluation process was introduced to park and recreation agencies throughout the state in 1993. Now in its fourth year, thirteen agencies have successfully completed the entire evaluation process and have achieved "Distinguished Recognition" status.

Should an agency desire to participate in this program, it will mean additional work for the administrative staff of the agency. Also, there is an element of risk involved because maybe we're not as good as we would like everyone to believe. The key issue should be, however, are we as good as we ought to be in the delivery of leisure services to our community?

All of us working in park and recreation agencies take great pride in the quality of leisure services available throughout the state. We frequently hear that we are years ahead of our peers in other parts of me country. This evaluation tool is just another tool that places Illinois park and recreation agencies on the "cutting edge" of delivery of services affecting the quality of life in our communities.

The goal of the Illinois Distinguished Park and Recreation Agency program is to improve the delivery of leisure services to the residents of Illinois through a voluntary comprehensive evaluation process. Through this process, the quality of life for all Illinois residents should be improved, and those agencies that provide this quality service will be recognized for their level of services.

The program was developed to assist leisure agencies in accomplishing this goal of improving their delivery of leisure services. The program identifies measurable and commonly accepted management standards which allow an administrator and board to objectively assess their agency's performance. At the very least, this process can be a self-evaluation study by which an agency can see how they measure up to these standards and compare to similarly sized agencies. If, after this self- study, the agency feels that they met most of the standards and want to take the next step, the agency would request that a peer evaluation be conducted by a team of professional and lay members representing both IAPD and IPRA.

Of the thirteen agencies that have successfully completed the process, all have reported that the benefits to their agency have been measurable and well worth the time put into the process.

According to Glen Ekey, retired executive director of the Naperville Park District, "The process developed a sense of pride in our staff when we realized that we really were doing a quality job. Many times we think our management procedures, programs and facilities are of high quality but until you are able to have a group of peers objectively confirm that, you never really know. Additionally, it is often difficult to convince your own elected officials or the public of this fact without some type of outside objective evaluation. The process was definitely worthwhile."

If an agency is interested in obtaining more information about this program, the Distinguished Park and Recreation Agency Standards Manual is available for purchase from the IAPD office. The manual contains a detailed explanation of the program and the steps needed to complete the self-study. The manual also contains an explanation of the 165 measurable standards and criteria which form the basis of the evaluation process. The standards are divided into the following six catego-

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ries: General Management, Finance and Business Operations, Facilities and Parks, Personnel, Leisure Services, and Legal.

Because all the standards within the Legal Section are mandatory and must be complied with completely to be eligible for passing this evaluation, only the other five categories are used in the scoring process. An example of several of the mandatory items in the Legal Section would include such things as compliance with the Open Meetings Act; having a policy on sexual harassment; and complying with the Freedom of Information Act.

For purposes of scoring, each of the five other sections is worth 100 points. The final cumulative score for all five sections is then compared to an established standard for that sized agency. Because larger districts will most likely have more staff and be more sophisticated in their administrative procedures and operation, the larger the agency, the higher the score needed for passing. As an example, it would not be realistic to expect an agency with less than five or ten full-time employees to be able to produce the same quantity of recreation programs or maintain as many parks and facilities as an agency with fifty or more employees. Yet, based on their comparative size, both agencies may be providing the same high level of leisure services that fully meet their own community's expectations given the resources which are available to them. For this reason, for scoring purposes, agencies are divided into four categories based on their most recent EAV. The larger the agency's EAV, the higher the number of points needed to meet the standard set for passing.

Frequently an agency will want to know how their score compares to the other districts evaluated. It should be pointed out, that an agency is only compared against the standard score for that sized agency, not against the other agencies within that category. Other than to the staff and board of the evaluated agency, the final numeric score is never released for comparative purposes. It is only publicly recorded as a "pass/fail" score.

Should an agency not have recorded a high enough score to be designated as "Distinguished," when the evaluation team has completed their study they are given a 30-day grace period to come into compliance. If an agency has properly prepared for the evaluation team's visit, this may only involve having to properly provide documentation of what they may have been doing all along.

As explained in the standards manual, each item must be documented. An example is being able to show when the board approved a policy or ordinance, either as shown in the board meeting minutes or as verified on the document itself.

To participate in the Distinguished Park and Recreation Agency Recognition program is relatively inexpensive. The only fixed costs associated with the process are the purchase of the standards manual ($75) and then being responsible for refreshments costs for the four- to six-member visitation team the day of the evaluation. Additionally, if several of the evaluation team members are required to provide their own transportation to the evaluation, and possibly as a result of the distance traveled, have to provide overnight accommodations, the agency would pay those transportation and overnight accommodation costs as well.

How do you get started?

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The easiest way is to join the more than 100 park and recreation professionals and agencies throughout the state of Illinois that have ordered the manual to date. Review the manual and complete the self-evaluation. Assess where you are as an agency.

But, remember: as committee co-chairman Jerry Oakes from the Arlington Heights Park District said this past January at an educational session at the annual conference, "To do the process correctly, it will most likely take an agency close to a year to be able to collect all the documentation and implement those items which are needed to be in compliance. However, the process is certainly worthwhile. I believe that the program promotes greater credibility within the community for those agencies which have achieved this Distinguished Recognition."

How long is the onsite evaluation and what actually happens during the visit? The onsite evaluation of the agency will be a thorough one day visit which typically begins at 8:00 a.m. or 8:30 a.m. and is completed around 4:30 or 5:00 p.m. The evaluation team will be comprised of four to six individuals representing staff and board members from other Illinois park and recreation agencies. The visitation team will consist of at least one lay board member and one agency chief executive officer. On the day of the visit, this team will meet initially with the agency staff and anyone else the agency feels is important to be in attendance, for an informal orientation and coffee prior to starting the actual work. Then the team will begin to review each section in detail with the appropriate agency staff. The whole team will review the first section entitled General Management and will be asking that the staff produce documentation for each of the criteria listed that proves they comply with each item.

When this first section is complete, the team will likely split into two groups. While half of the team stays and reviews the next section. Finance and Business Operations, several members of the visitation teams will tour some of the agency's parks and facilities. Based on the size of the agency and the material submitted prior to the visit, the members who tour the facilities will select a representative number of facilities and parks to visit. This will include at least the administrative offices and maintenance center. The team members who conduct the tour, are looking for compliance with specific criteria related to facilities such as: compliance with ADA requirements; posting of legal notices like EEOC and meeting notices; accessibility of general agency budget and operational information to the public; organization and availability of records including plans, plats of survey and meeting minutes; and compliance with the Freedom of Information Act. This team will also be looking not only at the quantity, but also the condition and cleanliness of facilities and parks.

When this tour is completed, the whole team meets again and reviews the Facilities and Parks Section as a group. Typically, by now it is approaching midday and a short break is usually taken for an informal meal. Based on how quickly the evaluation is going, this may be a working lunch. The evaluation team will then continue and begin reviewing the next two sections. Personnel and Leisure Services. The last section covered in the afternoon is the Legal Section. As stated earlier, this section must be in full compliance for an agency to pass.

When all the sections have been reviewed, the team will then adjourn into its own meeting to discuss their findings. The initial findings will be shared with the agency's chief executive officer prior to the team leaving for the day. A written report will then be submitted to the agency with the official results of their findings along with comments. If there are several items which need to come into compliance for the agency to be eligible to pass, the agency will then have 30 days from official receipt of the written report to bring these items into compliance. Following this process, should the agency pass, an official letter of confirmation would be sent to the agency and a presentation would be made at the next IAPD/IPRA Annual Conference.

To be as valuable a working document as possible, the standards manual has been updated regularly. The members of the Joint Distinguished Park and Recreation Agency Committee have always been willing to review the process and clarify any questions which may arise for any prospective agency considering applying for this program. The committee believes that for this program to be successful, they need to provide as much assistance as possible for agencies prior to the actual onsite evaluation.

If you would like more information on this program, obtain the standards manual from the IAPD office and get started. The program has certainly been a worthwhile one for the thirteen agencies who have successfully completed the whole process, not to mention the dozens who have used it simply as a self-evaluation tool. For more information on the program, contact IAPD or the joint committee co-chairman Jerry Oakes (Arlington Heights Park District).

However, if you would prefer, you may contact any of the following agencies who have already achieved "Distinguished Recognition."

David Markworth, CLP, is the director of the Des Plaines Park District.