In recent years, the Governor’s office and Vermont's state agencies have increasingly emphasized the value of recreation to our local communities and to our state as a whole. The way we think about public recreation has evolved significantly, but the metrics we track and the data we have to inform our decision making has not necessarily kept pace.
This survey strives to rectify this situation by providing an understanding of recreation at the municipal level in Vermont. This survey is tailored to how Vermont recreation departments, commissions, and committees operate and will ask questions that are relevant to our towns. These questions primarily focus on the operations of recreation departments and committees but also ask about trails, forests, and other town recreational assets.
A Vermont State of Recreation Summary Report based on the survey responses will be available by the Vermont Recreation and Parks Association's Annual Conference in October. This overview report will not share individual town's data. Instead, the report will compile all the survey data into summary values based on the size and type of recreation agency. This data will show trends and generalized metrics that your department or committee may use to understand how you "stack up" with comparable agencies and what your strengths and needs are compared to statewide averages. While we won't provide everyone with your Town's individual data in the Summary Report, you will receive an email with your responses to each of the questions.
To fill out this survey, you will need information about your budget, employees/volunteers, and physical assets. We will want to know what programs you offer, what parks and facilities you own or manage, who you partner with, and how many people you serve. We will ask about your scholarship program, as well as how you promote your parks, programs, and facilities. We will also ask about your annual operating budget: how much it is, how it is funded, and how it is typically spent. We are also curious about the capital improvements you have recently completed or have slated for the next few years. Finally, we will ask about your future needs and opportunities: how you'd like to grow in the next five years and what resources you need to support that growth.
While the survey should take one hour or less to complete, you may want to "pass off" parts of the survey to various members of your team who have differing responsibilities in your agency. If you would like to do this, you can save your progress and return to the survey later by pressing "Save and Continue later" in the top right corner of your screen. While multiple people from your agency may be involved, we would like to receive only one submission per town or agency. If you think someone else on your team might have filled it out, please check with them before starting an entry.
Thanks for helping us all to understand the "State of Recreation" in Vermont! Click "next" to get started.