National Recreation & Park Association

Annual conference - the nrpa annual conference is the largest gathering of park and recreation professionals in the united states. Each year, this highly anticipated event attracts 8,300+ attendees, which includes 225+ education sessions. These sessions cover such leadership and management, public relations, planning, design and maintenance, recreation programming, and more.

Marketing and engagement - the marketing and engagement team drives the organization's overall communication, marketing, and advocacy strategy. Our goal is to recruit, connect and engage park and recreation professionals to advance our mission and to leverage our research, program and communication resources to advocate for durable investment in park and recreation systems. Through our annual park and recreation month campaign, we provide tools, resources and templates and drive public engagement in our core message that park and recreation systems are critical community infrastructure.

Certification and accreditation - nrpa has over 23,500 certified individuals in the areas of aquatic facilities, playground safety, general parks and recreation, and executive parks and recreation. The nrpa board of directors established the national certification board to administer the nrpa professional and occupational certification programs in accordance with the goals and values of the association. Each program reviews best practices through a job analysis approximately every 5 years and examinations are updated accordingly. Nrpa also has over 200 accredited park and recreation agencies (including municipal through state and military). The nrpa board of directors established the commission for accreditation of park and recreation agencies (capra) to administer the accreditation program in accordance with the goals and values of the association. The capra accreditation standards are reviewed approximately every 5 years, and the accreditation program is updated accordingly. Accreditation standards include focus areas such as agency authority, role and responsibility, planning, human resources, financial management and more.publications and advertising - nrpa reaches its members through a variety of publications, including its award-winning magazine, parks & recreation, which is read by approximately 207,000 people annually. Nrpa also works with advertisers to promote their products to members via tools such as print ads in nrpa's magazine, digital ads on the website, and digital ads included in email marketing content. Additional publications include; comprehensive toolkits, an annual report, research and evaluation reports, email marketing communications, a dedicated blog, nrpa podcast, and a social media presence.professional development - nrpa provides park and recreation professionals with learning opportunities that support professional development and help their park and recreation departments to effectively meet the essential needs of the communities they serve. What's more, nrpa consistently keeps the field up to date on conservation and resiliency efforts, health and wellness initiatives, as well as achievements in advancing access to parks and recreation centers for all. Membership dues - nrpa has 60,000 members, including park and recreation recreation professionals and advocates. Nrpa also offers exclusive member networks to support their professional needs. These networks deliver enhanced opportunities for collaborative exchanges between members and the chance to participate in multiple groups on a national level, including approximately 50 network meetings a year. They also provide opportunities for members to engage in leadership roles and give back to the field of parks and recreation. Another professional engagement opportunity is through nrpa connect, an online professional networking tool that allows park and recreation professionals to connect across the country. Members receive information, ask industry questions, and get insight into trends in the field from their peers and subject matter experts. Nrpa connect holds over 4,000 member-shared resources.public policy - national recreation and park association has been a resource for park and recreation professionals to support belonging, well-being and joy in their own communities. We know when park and recreation agencies are well-funded and able to provide high-quality services, everyone benefits. Through our public policy work, we seek to drive durable investment in parks and recreation as critical community infrastructure.research and learning - nrpa is an ultimate resource for best practices, case studies, and comprehensive data that are national standards for park and recreation professionals and the wider communities they support. Our service and publication offerings include evaluations of direct services and programs (including both capital and operational investments by park and recreation agencies), nationally representative surveys of park agencies and the general public who engages with parks and recreation, white paper reports on special topics (e.g., the economic impact of parks) often done in partnership with leading scholars and subject matter experts, peer-reviewed academic journals on park and recreation topics managed in partnership with routledge taylor francis group, and training and technical assistance on industry-leading data, research, and evaluation practices. For example, nrpa park metrics is the most comprehensive source of benchmarks and insights for park and recreation agencies nationally since its launch in 2009, allowing agencies to build custom reports and compare their agencies' characteristics to others (e.g., numbers of residents, acreage of parkland, programmatic offerings, staff size, revenue, and much more).