The Eppley Center for Parks and Public Lands recently concluded its work with the Society for Outdoor Recreation Professionals (SORP) on a national initiative to identify and refine core competencies for the outdoor recreation profession.
Competencies—defined as the essential knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform effectively in a professional role—provide a foundation for strengthening workforce readiness, aligning expectations across organizations, and guiding professional development. Working closely with SORP and its Competency Advisory Group, the Eppley Center team of Matt Norris, Kristy Anderson, and Clay Chafin facilitated an evaluative, collaborative process to define a comprehensive set of Outdoor Recreation Core Competencies for outdoor recreation professionals. The final set of competencies span key domains across the field, including Land Management, Recreation Access, Project Management, Recreation Management, Recreation Planning and Visitor Use Management, and Program & Operations Management.
With this foundational work complete, SORP and its partners are now preparing to activate and expand the competency framework. Next steps include implementing an outreach plan, defining competency levels based on experience, identifying specialty competencies, and integrating the competencies into professional development and training programs. The competencies will also be applied within human resources and organizational development settings to strengthen hiring, evaluation, and advancement practices. We are excited to see how the competencies are regularly evaluated and updated to ensure they remain responsive to the evolving needs of outdoor recreation professionals nationwide.
If you would like to learn more about how to incorporate competencies in your park system’s or organization’s workforce development, please reach out to the Eppley team today!