Best Practices in CommunityDevelopment & RecreationRTM 300•What are best practices?•How are they determined? •What are the implications for recreationorganizations?•What are the implications for communitydevelopment and recreation?Key Questions•Sometimes referred to as Best Practices,Exemplary Practices, Business Excellence.•Benchmarking is a management tool thatinvolves the pursuit of best practiceexamplesBest Practices•Historic practice•Business practice‚Xerox Story‚1979‚Competition’s machinesBenchmarking•Xerox: “a continuous, systematic processof evaluating companies recognized asindustry leaders, to determine businessand work processes that represent ‘bestpractices’ and establish rationalperformance goals” (Cross & Iqbal,1995,p.4; Zairi, 1998, p.13-14). Benchmarking Definition•"Benchmarking is the process ofidentifying, understanding, and adaptingoutstanding practices from organizationsanywhere in the world to help yourorganization improve its performance." •Benchmarking is a process of thinking,evaluation, and planning.Benchmarking•worldwide use:‚ across various communitiy sectors/ gov/ ed/ industry •significant benefits:‚improving quality ‚increasing speed of service ‚improving processes‚understanding customer requirements‚setting internal standards‚influencing strategic decision- making process‚managing & deploying resources more effectively‚improving personnel management‚changing leadership style within the organization.Jarrar & Zairi (2001) - global survey of 227 organizations in 32 countriesBenmarking Survey •Internal versus competative benchmarking•Who performs the program service verywell and has process practices that areadaptable to your own organization? •Who is the most compatible for you tobenchmark with? •Will they be inside or outside your field? Benchmarking involves Others•Sharing of information because of thesensitivity of proprietary information (Camp,1989; Spendolini, 1992). •Non-controversial issues such as facilitymanagement, human resource practices,and industrial policy issues are oftenbenchmarked.•Common goals and professional supportCommunity orientation versus CompetitionA Challenge of Benchmarking•A comprehensive benchmark study or aninformal information gathering expedition? Information Gathering•Professional conferences?•Professional networks?•Email List Serve?•Web site postings?•Phone call?•Site tours?•Books and articles?What do you think?Informal Systems•Four steps‚Plan‚Do‚Check‚Act‚The model is presented in a circle, which means thatbenchmarking is a continuous process.•Rigor of evaluation instruments and toolsDeming Cycle / Edward DemingFormal Information Gathering Steps•Oklahoma Tourism and RecreationDepartment conducted a comprehensive evaluation studyof the Oklahoma state parks system from 2003 to 2004•Washington D.C. Department of Parks andRecreation: a benchmarking analysis of urban park districts isone of the major components of its 2005 Master PlanA few examplesRecreation Agencies•California Recreationand Parks Society Benchmark Report•What system would you put into yourprofessional development plan?•What are the benefits of the more formalbenchmarking or best practices study?Discussion Topic•Reference: ‚Yating Liang Department of Health, Physical Educationand Recreation at Missouri State University - articleCPRS.•Other