Our Services
We do a lot. Master & Strategic Planning, Targeted Agency Training Programs, Benchmarking Research, and more.
Each of these areas of expertise is made up of smaller pieces, pieces that can be delivered as a whole or as a single service because sometimes you already have a plan and just need help executing it. Sometimes you need a whole plan to bring change to your organization. Our targeted services are designed to help you execute, and accomplish your goals; not to be a boiler plate, 5 or 10 year plan of everyone’s wishlist.
We, our Institute, is dedicated to helping YOU. You know you are already doing an amazing job, so let us help you reach the next level of amazing.
…you already have a plan…we’re here to help you execute the plan!
Planning & OperationsTraining & EducationResearch & Analysis
Visitor Education and Interpretation Plans
Go beyond the open trail-park; plan to educate, entertain, & inform users
Strategic Action
Strategic planning for park and recreation agencies varies depending upon agencies’ size, need, situation, and complexity.
Site Plans – Design Reports for Parks
The Eppley Institute is uniquely well-qualified at aligning park and facility improvement projects with community needs and desires.
Park-Facility Asset Prioritization
Every agency must prioritize facility maintenance, as few agencies have enough funding to maintain all their parks and facilities perfectly.
Organizational Workforce Development Planning
Most agencies spend little time and money on understanding their most important asset, their workforce.
Facility Asset Management Planning
Know the total value of your community assets & maintenance funding required
Community Park Health Planning
Focus your services on improving community health through focused planning
Community Engagement and Stakeholder Workshops
Using a variety of community engagement techniques, including the PathfindersSM workshop program, the Eppley Institute helps agencies expand education about their parks, public lands, and recreation opportunities and, as a result, increase community support and stewardship.
Climate Adaption Framework Plan
Changes bring demand for adaptive, high functioning parks through design & operations
Capital Improvement Planning
Long- or short-term; plan for improvement needs & funding required in your community
Business and Operational Planning
Understanding the true costs of operating park, recreation, and public lands agencies is difficult using government accounting methods.
Training – Needs Assessment
Understand what your team and volunteers need to know and how well they are prepared to perform
Targeted Training Workshops
Training delivered at your location, or online that is tailored to your needs and agency
Stakeholder Engagement Facilitation Workshops
The excels at ensuring that stakeholders are engaged and involved in any planning or research projects.
Park User Permit and Certification
Research shows that visitors can unknowingly damage park resources, including sensitive natural and cultural resources.
Online e-course Development
Award winning, widely dispersed online e-course development for widely dispersed training
Customized Training Program
Every parks, recreation, or public lands management organization is shaped by a unique combination of community, setting, and mission attributes.
Creation of Agency Based Training/Development Academy
Focus the agency on improving specific outcomes and performance with a customized agency based training program
Visitor Opinion Surveys
Understand how visitors make decisions in large complex parks, and what they prefer and will pay for
Trail User Research and Survey
Take the time to know and understand who your users are, and what they need & think with a well-defined research survey
Survey Research
Knowing the opinions of citizens on wide-ranging issues related to park use, funding, and service barriers are critically important data for agencies.
Recreation, Parks, and Facility Trends Analysis
Trends from other communities or around the nation or world can help you anticipate where your organization should go, and what to offer
Program Evaluation
Evaluation is essential. When done correctly, program evaluation enables agencies to identify and prioritize needed improvements so that they may better achieve their mission and manage resources.
Data Comparison and Analysis
Sometimes data is everywhere and you need a clear, clean analysis to understand what the data says is the best option for your agency
Benchmarking Research
Sometimes you need to know what other leading agencies are doing and how you compare with thorough benchmark research comparisons