Improving Park Performance

8/14/2019 Improving Park Performance

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Public space lessonsImproving park perormance


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Just how good are parks services? Answering that question is not as straightorward

as it should be. But now CABE Space has ound a new way to help local authority

parks services to get a clearer idea o their perormance and how it can be improved

I a local authority wants to improvethe perormance o its green spaceservices, where should it begin?And how will it know when it hassucceeded?

These are critical questions at a timewhen local authorities are struggling

under the combined weight o limitedresources and very high expectations.

Green space in urban areas hasarguably never been valued as muchas it is now, as both the public andgovernment begin to recognise itsrole way beyond providing localamenity. Numerous research reportsover the past year have shown howinvestment in green space will deliverbetter public health, both physicaland mental. It can help to bringdisparate communities together. Itprovides critical green inrastructurein a changing climate or cooling,shading, oodwater storage andbiodiversity. And it is critical toregeneration.

While this multiunctional role addsto the status o green spaces, it alsoadds to what is expected o thosewho own and operate them.

A drive led by the Audit Commissionsees the new comprehensivearea assessment (CAA) regimestarting in 2009. Alongside this,local government must respond tothe demands set by the Gershonefciency review.

Gershon was commissioned bycentral government to assess howthe public sector could exploitopportunities or efciency savings

so that resources could be releasedor ront-line public service delivery.

Gershon requires local governmentto set signifcant efciency targets,so it is especially important that parksteams demonstrate the eectivenesso their work.

But it is essential that teams candemonstrate the eectiveness orotherwise o their green spaceservices. It is very hard to improvewhat you cannot measure.

It is within this context that CABE

Space is recommending a new toolto help local authorities manage theperormance o their parks services.

TAES towards an excellentservice or parks and open spaces has been developed with theImprovement & Development Agency(IDeA), the Institute or Sport, Parks &Leisure, the Institute o Parks & GreenSpace and industry practitioners.

Unveiled in 2005 and then testedby fve pilot authorities, TAES is aree diagnostic tool that allows anorganisation to defne or itsel how itis perorming against a model o best

management practice. At the heart oTAES is a ramework that will enableparks and open spaces services togive themselves a regular, ongoinghealth check and to take the crucialnext steps orward.

TAES is an ideal tool to assist indemonstrating perormance orcomprehensive area assessment,says Tony Leach o the LondonParks & Green Spaces Forum. It

is very timely that we in parks areleading on this now. The tool will

TAES is a ree

diagnostic tool that

allows an organisation

to dene or itsel

how it is perorming

against a model o best

management practice

A

ndyHendry

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help those using it to identiystrengths and weaknesses, andlead to a better understanding othe nature and causes o problems.O course, in itsel it will notactually solve problems but it doessupport clear, workable plans orimprovement, Leach says. Oneo the most valuable things itoers is good practice lessons

rom other authorities.

No less than 150 parks practitionersrepresenting some 90 localauthorities attended CABE Spacestraining or TAES or the winter o2007/08. GreenSpaces DavidTibbatts, who delivered the training,believes the use o TAES in the parksarena is set to take o. O those whohave been through our training, hesays, I believe that two thirds will be

actively engaged with TAES properwithin the next 12 months.

Although TAES is still in its veryearly days, the benefts arealready being elt locally. Theseinclude improved user and stasatisaction, greater efciencyand better delivery o parks andopen space services to meetcommunity needs.

Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough

Council was one o the pilot localauthorities in the TAES scheme.Its experience led directly to itsfrst green space strategy, byproviding a oundation set oobjectives and principles onwhich it could build. The fndingsalso enabled the councils parksand green spaces teams tocommunicate in a more robustand strategic way with seniorexecutives, and learn how to align

their objectives with the corporateobjectives o the council. This

means that unding can be securedmore easily or key initiatives.

John Pritchard, Nuneatons head orecreation, is clear about the resultingbenefts. We ound the TAESprocess very illuminating in showingthe strengths and weaknesses o theparks and green spaces operation.

This small council has had limitedexperience o sel-assessment, andound the procedure to be a useulsoul-searching exercise.

CABE Space, as the developero TAES, is confdent about thevalue o scheme. I we are tocontinue to make the case orparks and open spaces in termso public policy and the allocationo resources, says CABE Space

advisor Nicola Mathers, parksservices need to be able to

Case study 1

Camden: improving

rontline provision

Camdens experience ousing TAES helped the northLondon council to improvecommunications between seniormanagement and rontline sta.It prompted the two ends othe organisation to share theirperceptions o problems andpriorities.

The process also helped theauthority to change rontlineprovision. Camden had introducedsta presence in its key parks in abid to reduce anti-social behaviour.By engaging users in the TAESassessment, the parks serviceound that it was not interactingwith its customers the parkusers sufciently, who elt thatparks were still not always saeplaces to be. So the authorityincreased sta presence urther.

Camden has increased its sta presence in parks as a result o TAES fndings

TAES also helped Camden toenhance a process it had alreadystarted, to refne its biodiversityaction plan. TAES oered goodpractice rom elsewhere that itcould compare with its ownservice.

Camden has set a target o 10per cent o all its parks to attaina Green Flag Award or qualityassurance and to help drive upmaintenance standards. Finally,TAES helped it to identiy trainingas a priority.

J

oeMiles

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The most common operational skills defciencies are in horticulture, CABE Space has ound

demonstrate a commitment toimproving service provision andto achieving tangible outcomesor communities. TAES can help

you do this.

How TAES works

So what is the TAES process? TheTAES tool downloadable aterregistering on the IDeA website viawww.cabe.org.uk/taes has sel-assessment as its central tenet, usingscoring determined through a serieso workshops. Assessment o theservice uses criteria organised undereight headline themes:

1. Leadership

2. Policy and strategy

3. Community engagement

4. Partnership working

5. Use of resources

6. People management

7. Standards of service

8. Performance managementand learning.

These headline themes are thendivided into more detailed sub-sections, explained by a series ostatements against which the serviceis assessed as excellent, good,fair or poor. The policy and strategytheme, or example, includes thestatement: the organisation developsa clear strategy or parks and open

spaces and is delivering outcomesrom it. The TAES tool includesdescriptors to support the statement,which describe what an excellent,good, air or poor perormingorganisation might look like. So, thedescriptors or policy and strategyinclude:

npoor: the organisation has noprocess or developing and reviewingpolicy and strategynair: the organisation is planning aprocess or developing and reviewingpolicy and strategyngood: the organisation hasimplemented a process or

developing and reviewing policy andstrategynexcellent: the organisation has anestablished process or developing

and reviewing policy and strategy andcan demonstrate the impact o this onthe community.

The descriptors serve as prompts tohelp organisations score themselves.Guidance on the process comes aspart o the ree TAES package.

Partner involvement

While it is about sel-assessment,

TAES is no exercise in sel-congratulation. A undamental parto the process is the involvement oexternal and internal partners. Scoringis completed in collaboration withexternal contractors, service usersand ofcers rom other parts o thelocal authority.

Assessments are usually completedduring a series o workshops that canbe acilitated in house and attendedby relevant members o the parksteam, along with the external partners.Each workshop will cover one theme,maybe more, meaning not everyoneneeds to attend every workshopsession.

Planning to improve

Following the sel-assessment,suggestions or improvementare ed into action plans. Thisexplains why there is a need

or buy-in to the whole processrom those urther up theorganisation. Doing the analysisis one thing, says Len Croney,independent green spacesconsultant and CABE enabler,but getting someone to agreeto change that is another matter.Youll only get that agreement ithey have been involved in theprocess.

Action plans can be very specifc,identiying work needed at certain

M

ischaHaller

While it is about

sel-assessment,

TAES is no exercise

in sel-congratulation.A undamental part

o the process is the

involvement o external

and internal partners

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sites, or they can be generic,being built into an organisationsoverall improvement plan. Eitherway, action plans do not haveto be compiled by the same

team that perormed the sel-assessment. Other parties canbe brought in at this stage andbrieed on the issues arising romthe assessment. There are threemain elements to consider here:how to make the improvementswork, who will do it and when itwill be done by.

A copy o the guidance oraction planning, post-TAES

assessment, can be ound atwww.cabe.org.uk/taes.

Validating your ndings

Some managers eel thatthe scoring process providessufcient value in itsel, but

others preer to see the sel-assessment validated. Thiscan be done through a reviewo the planning process, includinga sample assessment o theorganisation against the TAEScriteria, and through interviewingsta and ocus groups.

Validation helps with theimprovement plan and makesimplementation o the process

easier. There are two options:external validation or peer review.

O the two, peer review is whatCABE and GreenSpace recommend.With the support o Communities andLocal Government, GreenSpace willbe promoting regional peer review

groups through regional parks andgreen spaces orums. London Parks

Doing the analysis is

one thing, but getting

someone to agree to

change that is another

matter. Youll only get

that agreement i they

have been involved in

the process

Case study 2

Plymouth: training and

communication

Plymouth City Councils experienceo TAES has led to a comprehensivereview o the authoritys sta trainingneeds.

The TAES process highlighted theseriousness o its ageing workorce,with sta leaving and taking skillswith them. With the South WestGreen Space Forum, the city council

has been working with Train to Gainto improve horticultural skills training.This commitment in turn has helpedto instil confdence in sta to bringup problems or resolution, with anaction plan to address problems andtake the service orward.

TAES also helped the council toidentiy communication as a weakness.As a frst step, the council initiated anewsletter or operational sta.

Finally, ater TAES looked atengagement and interaction withthe authoritys partners, Plymouthcould see that something neededto be done leading to unding or

riends orums that oers them 600each to direct towards on-the-groundimprovements in parks. This initiativeempowers people to spend money intheir parks as they choose.

Gareth Harrison-Poole o PlymouthCity Council says TAES was a hugehelp. Using the model you willsee descriptors o a good service

and think, hang on, we need to dosome o this. I think its importantto get as wide a cross-sectiono sta involved in the processas possible, and then organiseexternal assessment or peerreview quickly. You will fnd thatthis helps to legitimise the fndingsand gives greater confdence inaction planning.

Plymouth is now unding riends orums to make on-the-ground improvements, as a result o TAES

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tageElectrics

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& Green Spaces Forums Tony Leachis a frm believer in the merits o peerreview. We are helping each otherimprove, and TAES peer review isone o the ways that we are doing it,he says.

Reaping thebenets

Natasha Rutherord o ManchesterParks believes that TAES can helpparks deliver long-term investmentand assist climate change adaptationand mitigation. In Manchester wehave a Green City agenda andwe hope to work with the GreaterManchester authorities in developinga climate change strategy, she says.We are working towards delivering

10 targets including air quality andtree management. We see TAES ashelping us to assess our strengthsand identiy opportunities to improvein this area.

Manchester has its own perormancemanagement section within its leisureservices department. Rutherordhopes this team will be part o anysel-assessment work. GreenSpaceNorth West manager Kirsty Rhind

supports the process being appliedthrough the wider region, too: I am

ully supportive o TAES. Its a very,very exible process and Id like tosee it run out across the area.

Other authorities with experienceo using TAES to isolate andimplement efciencies are equallyimpressed. Anything that leads toimprovement needs to be taken onboard by senior management, saysMartin Stanton, previously heado parks at the London Borough

o Camden and now at Havering.The advantage o TAES is that itinvolves more than just the parksteams so its recommendationshave wider endorsement across theorganisation. See case study 1 (p5)for more on Camden.

Others who have been through theTAES process agree that usingthe tool can help bring greaterrecognition or the parks team

across the authority, particularly ithe process involves colleagues rom

other departments, and corporateperormance management sta.

Bristol City Councils HelenRossington commends TAES asostering action, even i some othe truths that emerge during theprocess may prove difcult orauthorities to accept. Get everybodyon board, she urges. Some o thestu wont be palatable. But how elsedo you get change?

TAES brings other benefts. It canimprove understanding o whatexcellence means. It can lead toplans that change the way theorganisation works. It can oer a truemeasure o the present and uture

health o the organisation; and it canprovide opportunities to improvepartnerships, and decision-makingbased on consensus. It can lead to

joint ownership o a commitment tocontinuous improvement.

User checklist

So what have people learntso ar about how to run TAESassessments?n

Get commitment rom the top there is little point in going through

Get everybody on board.

Some o the stu wont

be palatable. But how

else do you get change?

J

oeMiles

Russell Square, Camden: the London borough is one o the frst to have used TAES

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the process unless the organisationis committed to making changesas a result; this will need time andresources.

nInvolve people rom all levelswithin the service to get a trueperspective o how the serviceis perorming.

nEngage external partners andcritical riends in the assessmentprocess.

nBe prepared plan the processthoroughly and have all theevidence you need to hand.

nManage expectations havean initial scene-setting meeting.

n

Prioritise the assessmentprocess can generate hundredso improvement actions;concentrate on the mostimportant.

Responding tocommunity needs

TAES is based on the principleso continuous improvement,which involves the ollowingpre-suppositions:nyou, your organisation and

its people are committed toimprovement

nit is always possible to improvenaccepting this is not a criticism,

a weakness, a problem orsomebodys ault

nintelligent people and organisationsregularly identiy areas or

improvement in an objective,honest and positive way

nbarriers can be overcomenlearning rom others is vital.

TAES was developed to respond tothe continually changing needs andexpectations o communities. It is nota product or a scheme and there areno awards.

TAES is a powerul tool in seeingwhere you work well and building onyour strengths, says GreenSpacesDavid Tibbatts. It should never beseen as a threat its as much aboutcelebrating success as anything.

In spring 2009, GreenSpacewill be offering TAES training,supported by CLG and CABESpace. GreenSpace will also setup two regional pilots to createTAES peer support groups so thatlocal authorities can help and learnfrom each other. For details, contactLeanne Scholey at GreenSpace:email lscholey.green-space.org.uk.

TAES is a very fexible

process and Id like

to see it run out across

the area

Plugging the skills gap

A key component o TAES is anassessment o skills and capacitywithin the parks team, an areaound to be seriously lackingacross the country according torecent CABE Space research.The green space skills survey, byCABE Space, GreenSpace andLantra, eatures results rom 54 localauthority green space managing

departments across England. Itsheadline fndings are that:

nless than 1 per cent o stabudgets are spent on training

nmore than a third o signifcantparks have no on-site presence due to a lack o unds

nthe most common operational skilldefciencies are:horticulture (51 per cent),conservation (34 per cent),arboriculture (29 per cent),ecology (27 per cent).

The research reveals signifcantproblems aecting green space

management within local authorities,including diminishing budgets,skills shortages in key areas suchas horticulture, minimal undingor training sta and difculties inrecruiting new apprentices.

The survey has helped to shapeSkills to Grow, a strategy designedto improve the skills o the UKsgreen space services workorce.The fnal strategy is set or publication

in 2009. More inormation is atwww.cabe.org.uk/skills-to-grow.

Another approach

TAES is a orerunner o a

new generic sel-assessmenttool, the culture and sportsingle improvement tool (CSIT).The CSIT approach waspromoted in A passion forexcellence: an improvementstrategy for culture and sport,published by the LocalGovernment Association withDCMS, partner NDPBs andothers in March 2008. It appliesto all services including sport,

the arts, heritage, museums,libraries and tourism, and parksand green spaces.

CSIT and TAES are very similar inormat and content. However, TAEScomes with a schedule o good

practice that is specifc to the parkssector and includes key elementssuch as design and sustainabilityconsiderations.

For some authorities, the CSIT is amore appropriate choice as it cancreate a consistent approach acrossall culture and sport services andhelps the parks service raise itsprofle within the authority. But orthose looking or recommendations

specifc to their parks service, and amore detailed sel-assessment o theservice, TAES is more appropriate.

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Climate change is the most serious threat we ace. Its consequences will remain

unpredictable, and initial impacts on the UK are likely to be less grave than in other

parts o the world, but planning now or adaptation is essential.

Extreme weather events will bring more unpredictability to our daily lives

The uture will bring warmer and wetterwinters, hotter and drier summers,rising sea levels, more ooding andother extreme weather. Because othe delayed eects rom greenhousegas emissions, we are locked intosignifcant climate change, regardlesso any emission reductions that wemay secure now.

Adaptation to climate change meansmaking towns and cities more resilient.Well-designed, exible public spacesare their best chance to adapt tothese threats. Spaces that are soter,greener, more organic and naturalwill store water and are critical tomodiying urban temperatures. Greenspaces with a generous planting otrees link to orm a network oering

cooler, cleaner air.

Adaptation demands that we startreally understanding how our townsand cities work naturally. How watercourses through a town, or instance,and so how to manage it.

Urban green spaces orm a natural

inrastructure that is as critical tosupport urban lie as streets, railways,drainage and sewers and just likethese, it is an inrastructure that needsinvestment. At the same time, this willcreate much more beautiul, healthierplaces.

The challenges ahead

Pressure on land rom high densityOur planning policy rameworkencourages higher urban densities.This makes urban areas more efcient,or instance in their use o resourcesand the provision o public services.But it does increase pressure ongreen space. In particular, small-scalelocal spaces, which will make lie ina warming city tolerable, are beingpermanently lost to development.

Good urban design should providesolutions or the management o water,temperatures and biodiversity. This

could mean planning authorities needto set a development ramework thatprioritises the provision o strategicgood-quality open space or socialand environmental reasons, ratherthan releasing it to development oreconomic return.

Water managementWater will present dierent challengesin dierent parts o the country indierent seasons. In the

About this brieng

This CABE Space briefngsets out lessons learned bothin the UK and around theworld rom using public spacesto help adapt to the climatecrisis. CABE Space will bepublishing detailed case

studies later in 2008, as parto ongoing work on sustainablecities. You can fnd out more,and sign up or updates, atwww.cabe.org.uk/publicspaceadaptation.

Adaptation projects

n12th Avenue Green Street,Portland, USAnAugustenborg, Malm, SwedennBristol Business Park, BristolnCitySpace Plan, Chicago, USAnChiswick Park, Hounslow, LondonnCleveleys Coast Protection, Lancsn

Milton Keynes ood plain orestnOlympic Park, Sydney, AustralianRiver Irwell ood control scheme,Lancashire, and Salord strategicood risk assessmentnRiver Quaggy, Lewisham, London

StephenMcLaren

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As a public body, CABEencourages policymakers tocreate places that work orpeople. We help local plannersapply national design policy andadvise developers and architects,persuading them to put peoplesneeds frst. We show publicsector clients how to commissionprojects that meet the needso their users. And we seek toinspire the public to demand morerom their buildings and spaces.Advising, inuencing and inspiring,we work to create well-designed,welcoming places.

CABE Space is a specialistunit within CABE that aims tobring excellence to the design,management and maintenanceo parks and public space in ourtowns and cities.

Front cover photo: Joe Miles

Produced by Horticulture Weekon behal o CABE Space andpublished in December 2008.Reproduction other than or non-commercial purposes only withthe permission o the publisher.

The perormance o local authority

green space services is under more

scrutiny than ever beore, with

increasing expectations rom both the

public and the government. Planning

or improvement can be tricky, but now

help is at hand, thanks to a dedicated

sel-assessment tool rom CABE Space.

TAES towards an excellent service is designed to help green space

teams get a clearer idea o their own

perormance and how to improve. This

brieing explains the value o TAES and

how it works in practice. It will be useul

to everyone working or and with green

space services.

Produced on behal o CABE Space by
http://www.cabe.org.uk/http://www.cabe.org.uk/

Improving Park Performance

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