Mastering The Five Ps

Evaluation strategies that are sure to uncover what you’re looking for

By June N. Price-Shingles

Continuous evaluation may be the single-most important aspect of operating a successful leisure-service agency. The worldwide onset of the pandemic has caused every profession and industry to evaluate all aspects of daily operations and adjust how programs are delivered and services are maintained. Evaluation is the systematic collection and analysis of data to address criteria to make judgments about the worth or improvement of something (Henderson, Bialeschki, 2002). Its major purpose is to make “enlightened” decisions. Most of us are continually engaged in intuitive evaluation regarding staff members, programs, facilities, policies, and participants. As you read on, think about what, when, and why you evaluate.

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Evaluation takes place in many forms and spans five specific areas known as the Five Ps: 

• Participants

• Programs

• Personnel

• Place (facilities)

• Policies (Henderson, Bialeschki, 2002).

Although the Five Ps are not mutually exclusive to leisure-service agencies, they do encapsulate what recreation providers do daily—formally and/or informally. Evaluation helps agencies make informed decisions about business operations, program design and delivery, policy revision (or creation), capital-improvement projects and purchases, as well as data for proposals and grant submissions. Ultimately, evaluation helps determine the value or worth of what we want to improve, thus enhancing the ability to deliver quality programs and services. 

Decide Who’s Doing What 

One of the more important aspects of evaluation is developing a system that identifies which individuals will be responsible for conducting the evaluations. Informal evaluations can be facilitated by administrators, staff members, patrons’ feedback, general observations during walk-throughs of facilities (i.e., pools, parks, and playgrounds), and reviews of program instruction. However, to obtain an unbiased viewpoint, agencies may periodically opt to retain a vendor to capture broader viewpoints, via a comprehensive needs-assessment, surveys, focus groups, townhall meetings, or interviews with community members. In formalized evaluations, an agency might retain industry experts or adhere to a set of standards, like those established by the Commission for Accreditation of Parks and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA). As faculty members at Chicago State University, we rely on standards established by the Council on Accreditation of Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Related Professions (COAPRT) to design and evaluate a course curriculum for the undergraduate degree in Parks and Recreation Administration.  

Once evaluations are completed, determine how the information will be used, what stakeholders or constituents need the information, what decisions and changes will be deliberated for implementation, and when will this occur. One last consideration is timing, i.e., why is it being done now? Is the information needed to pose a referendum for an upcoming election, to purchase bonds for capital projects, populate data for a grant proposal, to thwart a political agenda (although risky), or to explore new program options? 

Let’s take a closer look at the Five Ps and how to use them.

Participants

The goal of leisure services is to enhance the overall “quality of life” for community members.  Programmers implement and evaluate activities designed to provide positive outcomes and ensure participants meet their personal goals. Does the program produce the desired outcome or benefit (physical, social, emotional, or psychological) for the participant? Evaluation tools to make this determination include program-evaluation forms, self-assessment tools, performative evaluation, or any mechanism that provides participants opportunity to provide feedback. At the conclusion of any given activity/event, programmers must determine if participant goals and objectives were met prior to the next program cycle in order to make modifications where applicable.

Programs

Program evaluations review the instructor, classroom space, location, equipment appropriateness, cost, and duration—all contributing factors to retain patrons. The evaluator must determine the most important aspects for evaluation and then design tools to determine the patrons’ level of satisfaction. One of the challenges is trying to evaluate too many criteria at once. The goal is to make modifications prior to the next program cycle if necessaryand determine if both program and participant objectives were met.

Personnel

Evaluating staff takes place in many forms, such as annual review of job-specific certifications/licenses, observations, performance-based activities, self-reporting forms, and supervisor meetings, just to name a few. Glover and Glover (1981) offer four recommendations for effective personnel evaluation, focusing on improvement rather than retention or termination of staff members. Management should focus solely on an employee’s behavior, not personality. The criteria established for evaluation should concentrate on job-specific behaviors. Lastly, the focus should be on improving an employee’s performance by providing feedback and guidance, such as training and professional development. 

Places

Logs documenting usage level of amenities, such as sport fields, aquatic activities, nature and fitness centers, multi-purpose areas, gymnasiums, playgrounds, etc., are another way to measure participation rates. However, when assessing the condition of these amenities, using professional standards is a great way to evaluate spaces. If staff members have certifications, such as National Playground Safety Inspector, Certified Pool Operator, or Aquatics Facility Operator, they can evaluate their own amenities. Other standards, such as those of the American Disabilities Accommodations, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and Department of Public Health, have established criteria for facility evaluation and compliance. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) is another tool used to evaluate outdoor spaces. It enables staff members to pictorially display or map an element, such as the distribution of people around a park. Based on that mapping, decisions can be based on new landscape designs or the best area for an activity. Having staff members acquire certifications relevant to safety and risk-management is a huge value-add for an agency.

Policies

In March 2020, standard-operating policies and procedures (SOPs) were tossed aside due to the rapid, expansive on-set of the pandemic. As such, SOPs should be reviewed annually for relevancy, budgetary implications, and amendments of additions and/or deletions. Agency policies have a direct impact on the budget and the fiscal health of the organization. Comprehensive SOPs aid in the reduction of potential litigation, human-resource management, and the shoring-up of insurance policies and risk-management plans. In the end, SOPs help abate dissatisfaction or grievances by patrons and staff members, and put administrators on notice for consideration of amendments as well as the creation of new polices.  

In closing, evaluations allow organizations to obtain comprehensive knowledge of the overall wants, needs, opinions, and special concerns of the community. Mastering the Five Ps of evaluation will aid agency administrators and staff members in gathering the information needed to maintain and operate a successful leisure-service agency.

June N. Price-Shingles is the Director for the Undergraduate B.S. Recreation Program at Chicago State University in Illinois. Reach her at Jprice24@csu.edu.  

References:

Glover, R. B. and J. Glover (1981).  “Appraising performance: Some alternatives to the sandwich approach.”  Parks & Recreation, 16 (11), 27-28.

Henderson, K. A. and M. D. Bialeschki. (2002). Evaluating leisure services: Making enlightened  decisions (2nd ed.). State College, PA: Venture.