For an enhanced digital experience, read this story in the ezine.

We are counting down the weeks to the 2024 NRPA Annual Conference in Atlanta. It always surprises me how quickly a year passes! During this past year, we have been leaning into our 2024 theme — “Where You Belong” — and this month continues that focus. I’m particularly excited that we can showcase our Equity in Practice Certificate Program. The certificate program, like our other professional development offerings, is rooted in research and data. Keeping our feet firmly planted in research and data-driven programs has been a hallmark of NRPA since our earliest days. And, as I write this, I am excitedly launching the search for NRPA’s first Chief Research and Impact Officer, a leadership role that will be dedicated to growing our research, evaluation and impact practice.

Those of us in this field deeply understand that park and recreation spaces and services deliver powerful benefits to communities. Unfortunately, that’s not enough to move the needle on funding and advocacy. We also know, through the countless stories, pictures and memories that our communities create in our spaces, that our work changes lives. But those stories aren’t enough either. We also need the research and data — the evidence — to help us prove our case and help us demonstrate that an investment in parks and recreation is truly an investment in stronger, healthier and more resilient communities. We need all three working together — your knowledge and experience, the personal stories of our community members, and the research and data — to make the strongest possible case for durable investment in our work.

I am very proud of the work that NRPA has done throughout the years in research and evaluation. I’m equally proud of our partners who have supported and strengthened the knowledge and information available to the field. Partnerships with academic institutions, like University of South Carolina, George Mason University, Penn State and North Carolina State; nonprofits, like Trust for Public Land and the Urban Institute; and members of our Business Council, like PlayCore, have made an indelible impact on the field and our advocacy. And, still, we must do more. We must continue to make the case, build that body of evidence and show all our constituents — from the families using our playgrounds to the policymakers funding our work — that we deliver truly unmatched benefits.

Creating this new role is an important step in that direction. What you can expect to see from NRPA in the months ahead is a clearer link between our research and our community-level impact, better tools for using research and data in your communications and advocacy, and key methods for understanding how we are performing when it comes to delivering on those powerful park and recreation benefits. You also can expect us to grow our critical partnerships over time and strengthen relationships with our pipeline academic institutions and our allies in the business and nonprofit community. Our aim in all this is to better serve you and strengthen the field.

Stay tuned for more on this important search and what it means for NRPA and our future.

Kristine Stratton is NRPA's President and CEO.