Parks and recreation are a vital part of any thriving community; citizens love having safe, maintained public spaces to engage in sports, activities, and community bonding. However, parks and recreation upkeep and facility management is not always the easiest for local governments to track and maintain properly.
In recent years, parks and recreation department officials have increasingly heard the term “government technology” being dropped in public-sector circles, which can be a confusing term if you don’t fully comprehend the benefits and advantages it poses for the parks and recreation department. This article aims to help you understand what recreation management software does as a municipal software and why the technology holds value for your local government.
In this guide, we’ll highlight what recreation software is, how it helps government workflows, and how your local government can take action to onboard it and improve parks and recreation in your community.
What Is Recreation Management Software?
Recreation management software, otherwise known as parks and recreation software, refers to software designed to help local governments effectively manage and streamline their recreational activities, facilities, and parks resources. Recreation management software can help your locality with recreational facility management and inspections, physical infrastructure repair timelines, public activity management, attendance tracking, and much more.
There are countless benefits to utilizing recreation management software in your municipality, and here are a few examples of what the municipal software can help your local government accomplish:
- Online application forms
- Revenue generation from online payment for leagues + field usage
- Keep track of facility usage schedules
- Complaint management to ensure fields and facilities are maintained
- Cloud-based storage of all records
Use Cases of Recreation Management Software For Local Governments
Recreation management software has many uses that benefit local governments and streamline operations for your local parks and recreation department.
Your government can save time and money by completely digitizing the following processes:
1. Activity Registration
Automate your local government’s parks and recreation activity registration services so that parks and rec department workers do not have to register special activity permits or applications manually. Register travel sports, rec sports, casual pickup sports events, group meetings at public spaces, and more online through your local government website. Government online payments for space usage can also be processed digitally online through GovPilot’s platform.
Learn more about GovPilot’s Best Government Payment Processing Services.
2. Field and Facility Use Scheduling
Online field and facility use scheduling allows citizens book fields and public spaces for a specific date and time, which they can choose from open time availability on your government website. Right after community-members register online to be scheduled for a time slot they can pay for field usage directly on your website as well.
Keep track of who's playing sports, and what spaces are being utilized at different times of the day with government scheduling software.
- GovTip: Consider how providing more recreational activities such as pickleball courts to your community will inspire citizens to get out and try new sports and enjoy new forms of exercise. Here are more tips for Encouraging Citizens to Exercise in Your Community.
3. GIS Map
A GIS (geographic information system) is a computer system for capturing, storing, checking, and displaying data related to positions on Earth's surface, and can provide your local government with 3D maps to help you track and manage the environment in your outdoor spaces.
The use of a GIS map helps your local government highlight where public spaces are available for use by citizens and sports teams alike. The GIS mapping technology provided by GovPilot creates 3D maps of your community so your parks and rec department can assess the environmental conditions and infrastructure that has been built in your community.
Learn more about GIS for Government & How Municipalities Should Use It.
4. Report-A-Concern
Citizen concern reporting software allows citizens to report any issues with public facilities completely online, in order to notify the parks and rec department and public works department for addressing the issues. Recreation software solutions aim to improve communications between citizens and their government officials so that the organization of work orders can be prioritized correctly.
Modernizing Public Works Workflows can benefit the Parks & Rec Department too.
5. Waterway Usage
Waterways in your community also count as public spaces, and fall into the jurisdiction of the parks and rec department. Ensure all bodies of water and waterways in your jurisdiction are equally managed and protected as land recreation facilities, as their upkeep and safety inspections are just as important.
The following online tech solutions can be managed by recreation management software:
- Beach badge purchasing and renewal
- Marina use application
- Boat ramp application
- Boardwalk vehicle permit
6. Locker Rental Permits
There can be a lot of confusion and frustration when it comes to citizens finding and using public lockers to store their personal belongings, if there is even a locker available. Luckily, locker rental applications in public parks and spaces can be automated with GovPilot’s software in order to make tracking locker usage, locker security, and locker payments manageable online.
Applicants can apply on-line for a locker rental, once their request is submitted, the issuing department can do the appropriate review, fee calculating and notify the resident which locker is theirs for the day.
Learn more about recreation management software in our guide, 10 Tips for Local Public Space Planning: Local Government Strategy.
Key Benefits Of Parks and Rec Software For Citizens
Citizens will notice countless benefits when your local government deploys Parks and Recreation software including increased access and communications to their government and time-saving convenience.
Here are three key benefits of Parks and Recreation Software for citizens:
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Online Applications For All Parks And Recreation Related Facilities
Rather than having to file in-person for rec sports, travel sports, beach access, boat access, activity registration, and more, citizens will be able to apply conveniently online for any parks and rec related registrations. This saves constituents the time of traveling to City Hall for registrations as well as saving valuable time and resources to your locality with automation of tasks that used to waste time.
The rates of citizen engagement in your parks are also likely to rise with this new convenient online application system as it will be easier for citizens to organize and sign up for activities through the click of a few buttons.
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Simplified Facility Use Scheduling
Manual facility use scheduling can be frustrating for citizens because even if they travel to city hall to be put on the parks management schedule, there could be time conflicts or no available slots in the schedule. However, with online government scheduling for facility usage in public spaces, citizens can sign up online for whichever times are available.
Online scheduling also eliminates the possibility of human scheduling errors from your local government.
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Concern Reporting
Citizen concern reporting is the ideal tool for receiving and mitigating citizen concerns to ensure issues with fields and public spaces can be addressed quickly before turning into a safety hazard. Citizen concerns such as lack of handicap-accessible infrastructure, are automatically sorted and forwarded to the relevant department to address, shortening wait times for work orders and streamlining citizen and government communications.
Check out our guide for more information about How Citizens Can Report Complaints & Issues to the Local Government.
Learn more about Forming a Modern Local Parks & Recreation Strategy.
All Government Departments Can Utilize GovPilot’s Operating System
By utilizing GovPilot’s recreation management system, your community will see a lot of benefits. However, the parks and rec department isn’t the only department in your local government that can be improved with GovPilot’s simplified government workflows. Any department in your local government can utilize GovPilot’s operating system to provide citizens with convenience, improve government workflows, manage data, simplify scheduling and more.
GovPilot’s software solutions such as the recreation management software, aims to automate tedious workflows to save your municipality valuable time and money. Learn more about how GovPilot can help your local government enjoy the benefits of transforming your local government with technology solutions.
See how GovPilot Works and book a consultation with GovPilot today!
Parks and Recreation Software FAQs
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What Is Parks And Rec Software?
Parks software refers to government technology that automates old, outdated parks and rec management processes such as public spaces scheduling, physical infrastructure maintenance, parks inspections, online applications, and online payment processes for convenient digital citizen-to-government payments. This software simplifies the work of government employees at city hall and makes citizens' lives easier.
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What Are The Universal Benefits Of Government Software For Citizens?
The universal benefits of government software for citizens are improved communication with their government officials, streamlined government services that they can utilize, online processing for once manual tasks such as filing applications and permits, and much more.
Learn more about Improving Municipal Service Delivery In Your Community with government management software.
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How Should The Parks And Rec Department Store Its Data?
Parks and rec departments should be storing their data regarding park management online in the government cloud. Storing vital data in the government cloud ensures it is encrypted and backed up so that even in the case of a cyber attack or natural disaster, your data is never lost forever.
Read on for more information on government data storage.
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