January 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 8

EDITOR'S LETTER

BY PHIL HAY WARD

PRESIDENT AND CEO

Information, Please

OR THIS MAGAZINE TO PROVIDE YOU with maximum quality and quantity of
content requires starting with substantially more information than we could ever
use. After all, that's what editors do: select and condense so you don't have to. Like a
good Hollywood movie, though, much good stuff ends up on the cutting room ﬂoor for lack
of available space. That used to be more of a problem than it is now.
Take our last page, for example. The outdoor recreation industry
factoids on page 64 are ﬁne and good as they are, all interesting and
instructive. But by using the provided web links in the print, digital,
and web editions of the magazine, you can access the original resources behind these statistics. Each data point can be an entryway
into an entirely new world on any given subject. Many other articles
in this and past issues of the magazine provide the same opportunities for accessing more on any given subject. Additionally, the bios
of most authors in the magazine now have their email addresses
should you need even more information or guidance to better understand their articles.
Our cover story this month delves into the origins and uses for such
information. Universities, vendors, governments, associations, and
private consultants all generate myriad research. Some of it costs,
but much of it is free to the public. Mainly, though, there's more research available to parks and recreation than most people appreciate.
Author Andrea Lynn describes an interesting phenomenon in
parks and recreation research: Only a small portion of the information generated by all these sources ever makes it beyond a small circle of users. It's an opportunity not lost on the experts Lynn interviewed for the story. It's also a common lament
expressed by the eight up-and-coming researchers proﬁled in a companion article to the
main cover story. As Jason Bocarro of North Carolina State University says, " Researchers
are recognizing (or at least they should be!) the need to better translate their research to
wider audiences. The translation/dissemination piece of research will be an increasingly
critical part of the research process in the future. "
At NRPA, we're proud of a three-year-old initiative that accomplishes this very thing.
Check out the special supplement beginning on page 33 that provides a summary overview of the latest results from PRORAGIS-your online comparative database of parks and
recreation operating and GIS trends. With three years of data, NRPA's research department
has been able to articulate trends in the ﬁeld that are sure to help you in your work. We'll
leave you with one thought and ongoing request-PRORAGIS is only as good as the participation it receives from agencies. The greater the participation, the better the results.

Editor

Parks & Recreation

VICE PRESIDENT,
OPERATIONS

Lauren Yost

PHILIP HAY WARD

Barbara Tulipane, CAE

| JANUARY 2013 | WWW.NRPA.ORG

EDITOR

Philip Hayward
phayward@nrpa.org
MANAGING EDITOR

Elizabeth Beard
ebeard@nrpa.org
ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Danielle Taylor
dtaylor@nrpa.org
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January 2013 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2013 - Parks & Recreation