Public purpose recreation marketing: A focus on the relationships between the public and public lands (original) (raw)
Related papers
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Historically, public park and recreation services have been funded through general funds and appropriations, with minimal amounts derived from non-tax revenue sources. Th e fi scal conservative movement, however, has spawned an expansion of nontax revenues and cost saving strategies. Th is study examines the level of citizen support for a variety of funding and cost-saving strategies for park and recreation agencies in a metropolitan region, and the factors related to citizens' opinions about such strategies. Data were collected through a mail survey of adult residents of the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania region. A total of 578 questionnaires were completed. Results showed that funding strategies involving external contributions such as donations and corporate sponsorships were most strongly supported by the local citizenry. Respondents were least supportive of park services privatization and the use of park entrance fees. Regression analysis was used to test the relationships between citizen socio-demographic characteristics, park use patterns, organizational trust and commitment, and level of support for the various strategies. Organizational trust, commitment, and citizen characteristics were signifi cantly related to a number of funding strategies. While prior research has examined the role of trust and commitment in the implementation of enterprise funding strategies (e.g. user fees), our data indicates that trust and commitment were more salient for general tax support than for other, more transactional funding strategies, such as user fees and corporate sponsorships. Respondents who perceived that their local park agencies were socially competent and who were more committed to the agency were also more likely to support taxes and less likely to support park privatization. Th ese results affi rm that a trusting and committed citizenry is a key ingredient in preventing the erosion of tax-based support and the subsequent privatization of park and recreation services. Park and recreation administrators who wish to expand their funding beyond existing tax support should take actions to foster trust and commitment across their multiple constituent groups.
Journal of Applied Communications, 2015
The purpose of this study was to address how being a public organization affected the public's perceptions of the Florida Forest Service's brand. Focus groups were conducted at different sites across the state with rural and urban residents. The major findings were that the public expected the brand of a public organization to be financially responsible (e.g., justify the purpose of the organization, avoid duplication between public organizations, communicating with the public without wasting money, and generating revenue), provide something valuable to individuals or the public at large (e.g., protecting forests, control through regulations, and aid, such as providing information), and to operate with integrity (e.g., being financially responsibly, communicating clearly with the public, and the organization being fair in balancing public and private interests). This research addresses a gap in research regarding the branding of public organizations. Because the study is limited by being a qualitative study addressing one organization in one state, future research should be conducted to address the transferability of the findings to other settings. This research furthers efforts to foster relationships between public organizations and members of the public by providing guidance for the improvement of the brands of public organizations. In the face of increased scrutiny of and competition between public organizations, the findings of this study can be used to help improve the public's perceptions of public organizations.
2015
The purpose of this study was to address how being a public organization affected the public’s perceptions of the Florida Forest Service’s brand. Focus groups were conducted at different sites across the state with rural and urban residents. The major findings were that the public expected the brand of a public organization to be financially responsible (e.g., justify the purpose of the organization, avoid duplication between public organizations, communicating with the public without wasting money, and generating revenue), provide something valuable to individuals or the public at large (e.g., protecting forests, control through regulations, and aid, such as providing information), and to operate with integrity (e.g., being financially responsibly, communicating clearly with the public, and the organization being fair in balancing public and private interests). This research addresses a gap in research regarding the branding of public organizations. Because the study is limited by ...
The Administered Public Recreation Marketing Concept
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
The article focuses on four major assumptions that underlie the alternative conceptualization of public recreation marketing. It explains (1) the redistribution system within recreation resources are allocated; (2) the organizational structure of recreation agencies; (3) the ways in which public recreation agencies interact with local governments and citizens; and (4) the code of ethics and its influence on the behavior of recreation professionals. Finally, the article attempts to integrate these assumptions into an alternative definition of public recreation marketing that is termed “administered marketing.” Key words: administered marketing, redistribution, code of ethics
2012
This paper presents data from the second phase of a multiphase study being conducted to explore the structure and function of U.S. Forest Service (FS) recreation partnerships. In Phase I, institutional commitment and urban proximity emerged as key indicators of agency capacity to effectively develop and maintain recreation partnerships. In Phase II, multiple case studies were selected to explore these indicators of partnership capacity. Interviews were conducted throughout six of the nine FS regions with personnel at each forest's ranger districts and supervisor's office. The narratives of our key informants and their representative themes help refine our emerging conceptual understanding of FS recreation partnerships. This paper describes the influence of institutional commitment and urban proximity on agency capacity to cooperate in recreation partnerships.
Segmenting forest recreationists using their commitment profiles
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: In this investigation, we explored the utility of an agency commitment scale designed to measure recreationists' attachment to public leisure service providers and their service offerings. The conceptualization of commitment that we adopted suggests that in the context of public leisure service provision, and public land management in particular, attention should be given to examining the meanings recreationists associate with the settings and facilities managed by the service provider along with their confidence in the agency's ability to manage these settings and facilities in a manner consistent with these meanings. For public agencies, the identity of the agency is often embedded in the identity of the settings and facilities managed by the agency. Consequently, the most salient element of recreationists' relationship with public agencies can be understood by examining the nature of their attachment to the settings and facilities managed by the agency. An important component of this relationship, however, lies within recreationists' trust in the agency to manage these settings and facilities in a manner consistent with their own preferences and perspectives. Fostering trust among constituents is integral for enacting management plans that impact recreationists' use of the resource.
2007
The Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area (NRA) is developing a collaborative management plan. To develop a public involvement strategy, it is necessary to assess the social conditions in the area. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship local stakeholders in the NRA have with the USDA Forest Service (USFS) with regard to the collaborative management process. Study participants (N = 12) were selected based on their knowledge about and interest in the NRA, including those dependent on the economic benefi ts and amenities of the area. Study participants were asked to describe and rate the relationship that currently exists between stakeholders and the USFS. Stakeholders were primarily focused on future economic development, and generally rated their current relationship with the USFS as positive. The current relationship between stakeholders and NRA management was found to be suitable for a collaborative management approach to NRA planning.
Attitudes Towards Alternative Management Policies for Public Recreation Lands
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
Public recreation land management agencies have been searching for ways to increase revenue. User fees as implemented by the Fee Demonstration Program have received the most attention. Corporate sponsorships and private donations have also been implemented and other options, such as partial privatization, closure of some areas, and different forms of public-private partnerships have been debated. The present paper reports results from a 2002 mail survey of randomly selected Idaho and New Hampshire households, designed to elicit public attitudes about a wide variety of management policies for public (federal/state) recreation lands. The most socially acceptable forms for raising revenue were donation boxes (61.1%), corporate sponsorships for visitor centers (61.8%) and education facilities (61.1%), and adopt-a-site contracts (81.0%). Both increased taxes and user fees faced greater opposition (about 49% of respondents) than support (39%). In addition, user fees have resulted in (reported) changes in behavior among a quarter of the respondents, and may have stronger negative impact on lowincome households and on the users of public recreation lands.
Introduction: recreation management
point was that times have changed and the agency needs to change focus to reflect the newest threats: (1) fire and fuels, (2) unwanted invasive species, (3) loss of open space, and (4) unmanaged recreation. Two of these are directly related to outdoor recreation; all four have social science dimensions and implications for recreation on public lands. So if the Chief wants the agency to address these threats, the national debate needs to include the role of recreation and social science. Although workshop sessions were designed around more traditional topics-understanding recreation visitors, recreation planning and monitoring, recreation management, and special issues-we will take this opportunity to relate what we heard at the workshop that relates to the Chief's call for a national debate. We provide an overview of some of the broad themes from the presentations and discussions that cut across all the workshop topics, and then relate the themes to the Chief's challenge. The broad themes we identified were (1) the use of partnerships, (2) the need for better information management and improved communications and research capacity, and (3) broader administrative changes in agency culture and recreation budgets and staffing. Partnerships The use of partnerships was discussed in many sessions. Not only are partnerships important for public involvement, they are important for implementing and funding tourism and recreation plans, communicating agency messages, reducing access barriers for underrepresented populations, identifying and gathering critical information, and managing recreation conflicts. For example, partnerships played a critical role in planning to link forest recreation and community development needs for tourism and recreation plans on the Humboldt-Toiyabe and the Green Mountain National Forests. Forest staff worked with local officials, community groups, and other stakeholders to identify opportunities for recreation, economic development, resource protection, and funding. Discussing a general model for linking tourism and community development, Linda Kruger and Kreg Lindberg said, "Tourism partners are the key," and the agency role is to provide leadership and be the "provider and catalyst." The role of research is to investigate the feasibility and desirability of such efforts and the link between tourism and agency goals.