Although condition assessments are an important part of managing parks, there’s another, arguably more vital test that many park managers are yet to master: performance assessment.

 
Look at a park from a user’s perspective, and what may have appeared to be a perfectly functional asset could become less appealing.

According to Brian Milne, Director of park consultants Xyst and IPWEA trainer, the fact that a park or asset is still in very good physical condition doesn’t mean it will automatically meet the user’s needs.

The park may contain an older-style playground that no longer appeals to children, be poorly located, or lack aesthetically pleasing elements such as trees.

In other words, even though the asset may pass a condition assessment with flying colours, what’s the point if it doesn’t meet the community’s expectations?

“Condition is very important piece of information when it comes to asset renewal planning, but it is only one part of the picture, and arguably not the most important,” Milne explains.

“However, it is much easier to understand and implement condition assessment compared with performance assessment.”

What is performance assessment? 

According to Practice Note 10.1: Parks Management, performance relates to the ability of services, assets and facilities to provide the required level of service to the customer.

Performance assessment is used to compare actual performance against service standards or design criteria. This includes elements such as:

• Functionality
• Capacity
• Utilisation
• Quality

“At the end of the day, the objective is to provide a service to park users that meets their expectations,” Milne says.

“While the importance of this is well understood, it is more difficult to assess how well our parks are achieving this, compared to the current asset condition assessment approach.

“Performance based planning for parks involves assessing parks and services from a customer-focused perspective, in a systematic way, that produces a quantifiable result and then using this information to assist with prioritising park improvement and renewal programs.”

Playgrounds, public toilets and lighting are all particularly suited to performance assessment; green assets such as gardens and trees are usually assessed using a mixture of condition and performance assessment.

How does it work?

Inevitably, the difficulty in conducting a performance assessment lies in the subjective nature of the approach; how do you measure the quality of something, or whether it has become obsolete?

Milne says the first step is to develop an effective parks categories or hierarchy system, together with development levels of service, that define what assets and services will be provided in each type of park, their quantity and quality.

Then, develop specific ‘service criteria’ for each asset type so it can be ‘scored’ against various performance elements. Calculate an overall score, so each asset/park can be ranked and prioritised.

“Develop an assessment system that quantifies the performance – such as a percentage score for each park or asset – so that you have objective data upon which to make renewal and redevelopment decisions,” Milne says.

“Don’t include maintenance and condition components, as there are already systems in place to assess and record this information.”

User surveys that identify the importance and level of satisfaction in various park assets and services can also be helpful.

“User surveys are another important piece of information that is added to the performance score and condition assessment, to build a comprehensive picture to prioritise your park/ asset renewal and redevelopment program,” Milne says.

Identifying the relative importance of different park features is also important, and helps in developing the ‘service criteria’ for your performance assessment process.

Most importantly, Milne recommends focusing assessment of your parks from a user’s perspective, rather than the condition of the assets.

Practice Note 10.1: Parks Management provides additional information on performance assessment processes.

This article was first published in the Nov/Dec edition of IPWEA's inspire magazine. Read the original article and many more here.