Parks and recreation is one of the many services provided by local governments. With over 9,000 park and recreation departments spread throughout the country, these services are enjoyed by a wide cross-section of the American public. 

While there are a variety of ways local park and recreation services are supported, they are predominantly funded by allocations from local governments’ general funds as determined by elected and appointed officials.  As such, park and recreation services are reliant on how they are perceived and prioritized by local government decision-makers. Unfortunately, little is known about how local elected and appointed officials view these services.

To better understand the perspectives of this critical group, researchers at Penn State University are conducting a nationwide study of local elected and appointed officials’ views of park and recreation services. Consider taking 10-15 minutes to provide your thoughts on local park and recreation services within your community. Responses to this survey will be kept confidential and will only be reported in aggregate form.

Begin the survey.

Survey data will be compiled into a report for the National Recreation and Park Association. The report and summary of findings will be shared with ICMA and its members. 

This study has been approved by The Pennsylvania State University Institutional Review Board (IRB) STUDY #5299. Individuals with questions about the study can contact Andrew Mowen, PhD, principal investigator, at amowen@psu.edu. Questions about or issues with the online survey can be sent to Austin Barrett, research project manager, at austin@psu.edu.