PRR 389 Exam 1 – answer guide
1. GPRA= Government Performance and Results Act
SCORP=Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan
LWCF= Land and Water Conservation Fund
NEPA= National Environmental Policy Act , accepted National Environmenatl Protection Agency
GMP= General Management Plan
GAO= General Accounting Office
ORRRC= Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission
2. In order of definition - evaluation, planning, research , also accepted analysis for the last one
3. Any reasonable steps : Define the system/problem, identify goals and objectives, gather information, generate alternatives, evaluate alternatives, select and implement, monitor.
4. Comprehensive planning: extensive inventory phase, long time horizon (10 years or more), general public interest as client
Incremental planning : prepare memoranda, issue papers, a political approach, issue or problem orientation, reactive rather than proactive
5. Patton & Sawicki 10 tips: Focus quickly on central decision, criteria, avoid tool-box approach, deal with uncertainty, say it with numbers, make analysis simple & transparent, check the facts, advocate positions of others, give client analysis, not decisions, push boundaries of policy envelope, no such thing as complete analysis.
6. Iterative means C – steps are done and redone in a cvircular fashion
Planning concerned mainly with C – the future
Public involvement should take place – E – all of the above
Public involvement program should emphasize C- two way communication
7. Applying Howard/Crompton scheme to MSU campus recreation programs
Support publics – those who provide financial or other support to the program –state, legislature, Board of Trustees, President, ASMSU, students (pay fees), alumni
Supplier public – those who supply materials and services – equipment manf. like Nike, Adidas, Zamboni,…
Employee public – workers in the program – coaches, IM/athletic program personnel, referees, student workers,…
Consumer public – those who use the program – students, faculty, student families, alumni (use as spectators)
Agent public – agents who usually represent consumers – ASMSU, sports clubs, student union reps, alumni association, Title IX coordinator
Sanctioning public – state legislature, Board of Trustees, Intercollegiate Athletic Council, …
8. Segmenting a market means dividing it into two or more distinct subgroups so that separate programs can be directed at each group. The market here is the potential consumers of a good or service – not the programs or resources. Some examples below using the MSU Campus recreation programs as the organization/program. Note the segments are the people, not the programs.
Demographic/Socioeconomic : students, faculty, alumni (Different fees and priviledges for each). men vs women (distinct programs), Greeks, international students (special programs)
Geographic : on-campus or off-campus students (special programs to accommodate each), If you use IM-East vs I-M west, it isn’t the facility that provides the segmentation, it is the groups of students whose needs are being served – those living in dorms or attending classes on east vs west side.
Psychographic : Frequently used in designing promotional appeals/ads to attract distinct segments. Weight room programs might appeal based on body image, physical fitness, or other motivations. Segments are the people that these appeal to. I-M program appeals to , Greeks, student clubs, etc. designed to foster social goals and group identity/pride within dorms – a psychological appeal.
Product-related : These are segments that distinguish consumers based on differences in how they use a given product or service. One popular segmentation is “heavy-half” or volume-based segments (season pass, frequent fliers), others are unique to the particular product – e.g. segment exercise/fitness program customers into those who prefer fitness/exercise machines vs weights vs aerobics.
9. Process evaluations identify how and why a program works. They are the most difficult to conduct & usually the most useful.
Formative evaluations generally use more qualitative than quantitatrive methods, are conducted prior to program implementation (as the name implies).
Summative evaluations are the most likely to include quantitative performance measures are conducted after a program is running and can be used to “kill” a program.
10. Strategic Plans and Annual Performance Plans are the two kinds of plans specified by GPRA.
Strategic plans are broader, establish goals and objectives for the next five years, are updated every 3-5 years. Annual performance plans are completed each year. These provide specific annual performance targets and evaluate success in meeting them. The annual performance plan is tied to the annual budget process, outlining how resources will be allocated to achieve the stated objectives.
11. Effort measures inputs to program – At least one full time interpreter at each NP is an effort measure
Performance measures quantity or quality of program outputs – Sleeping Bear increasing visitors by 10% is an output measure
Adequacy measures the degree to which a program meets the need – Serving 25% of Big Brothers/Big Sisters target population measures adequacy – yes, it is a special case of performance measures.
Efficiency asseses benefits relative to costs of the program – Reducing costs of State Park camping from $25 to $15 per camper night is an efficiency measure.
Equity measures the “fairness” or the distribution of program costs or benefits across population subgroups – b)- 50% of program partic from low income households and f) different cost recovery for residents vs nonresidents both address notions of equity or fairness - who benefits vs wo pays.
12. Divide acres of parkland by population (in thousands) to get acres/1000 popln. Lansing –15; Detroit 7.5; Mason 12.5. Lansing and Mason are above 10 acres per thousand and therefore meet the standard. Detroit isn’t. At 10 acres per thousand, Detroit would need a total of 20,000 acres of parkland (10* 2,000 thousands). It has 15,000 so needs another 5,000 acres.
Many students either divided population by acres (reverse) or simply divided population by 1000 to get 200, 2,000 and 20. The standard is an acres per thousand measure so you must divide acres by population to compare with the standard of 10.
Philosophy statements: These were generally well done. Many students, however, are thinking fairly narrowly about individual programs rather than more comprehensively about a system of programs, providers and facilities that serve the broad range of recreation needs and wants within a community or state vs the somewhat narrower perspective of a single program or provider. A comprehensive view requires a philosophy about involvement of various publics, handling tradeoffs among different programs and interest groups, and considering the roles and interrelationships between public and private providers, federal, state and local, etc. Even if planning for a single organization or program, a comprehensive view suggests some attention to competition, complementarities, partnerships and other issues that go beyond the individual program or organization – for example, this is the external environment part of a SWOT analysis. Most of you acknowledged the close ties between planning and evaluation. A practical aspect of this is when evaluations should be done, how much, which parts of program, etc. GPRA provides a framework that you can agree with, critique, or embellish. The formative-summative debate at Trochim website provides some good fodder for clarifying your own philosophy.