Gateway to the Future

Part One

"Gateway to the Future" was held in September 1993 and sponsored by the Illinois Park and Recreation Association's Future and Trends Committee. The intent of the conference was to prepare the audience to understand the trends of the future. Gateway brought four internationally known speakers to address the future of global economy, communities in the 21st century, government and leisure. Presenters on the first day were Dr. Hazel Henderson, David Pearce Snyder, Ted Gaebler and Dr. Ken Balmer. Dr. Henderson is the author of five books, the most recent is Paradigms In Progress. David Snyder is a social forecaster who edits the "Lifestyles Section" of Futurist Magazine. Ted Gaebler is co-author of the bestselling Reinventing Government. Dr. Balmer is President of RETHINK (West) and past president of the Canadian Parks/Recreation Association. Dr. Balmer wrote the summary of the two days of discussions included in this article.

"It used to be there was risk in change, now the greater risk is in not changing." - Anonymous

THE CHALLENGE
The parks and recreation field in Illinois enjoys a legacy of excellence and community support. In a sense, our products and services have been timeless — enjoyed through the generations, their relevance and importance rarely questioned.

These foundations have been shaken during the 80s and 90s as public confidence in the public sector has decreased, leading to tax limitations and repeated budget crises. Many of our agencies have not been able to obtain the funding necessary to maintain traditional levels of service, protect the public investment in existing parks and facilities, nor to keep up with population growth and increasing diversity of demand. Even though the benefits of parks and recreation to a community (individual, social, economic, environmental) are clear and have been well documented, we are finding that many do not view our services as "essential" in these times of restraint.

The society we serve is increasingly concerned with health costs, alienated youth, struggling and dysfunctional families, racial problems, environmental protection and economic renewal. These are the very reasons that our field came into existence — recreation is but a means to the ends of healthy individuals and communities, environmental understanding and protected natural areas, and developing a community attractive to new industry and visitors/tourists alike. But many seem to have forgotten our legacy, our excellent record in these areas.

"Gateway to the Future," sponsored by the Illinois Park and Recreation Association, was a two-day event, held in Chicago in September 1993, to ensure that the leaders in our field were tuned into the trends shaping our societies and institutions. By coming together, we hoped to sharpen our sense of foresight, to increase confidence that our field is definitely part of the solution, and to begin the process of defining a vision and strategies that would guarantee increasing relevance in a dynamic and changing society.

The event, and this article, is about repositioning — about placing our field squarely on the social, economic and environmental agendas of the communities we serve. It reminds us of our potential. It defines directions, selected by ourselves, that we know we must take to ensure a strong and healthy future for our field.

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Key Trends Identified Prior to "Gateway" by the Participants
Patron Base Environment Education Economy Recreation Programs	Mass Media Violence Professionals Health and Fitness Government Competition

OUR UNDERSTANDING OF TRENDS HAS DEEPENED
The "Gateway to the Future" process heightened our awareness of the trends and societal shifts that are affecting our operating environment, demand for our services and the way we will likely be doing business in the 21st century —just seven years down the road.

Prior to the Chicago meeting, participants were asked through a mail survey to identify the key trends that were affecting their agency. The responses were categorized (see Key Trends table) and summarized in worksheet fashion to facilitate further discussion among staff and policy volunteers in individual agencies after the September conference.

At the conference, Ken Balmer shared his views about the major shifts or "macro trends" that will shape our future:

• Adultism — the Altered Family
• Structural Economic Change — towards an information economy
• Globalization — your international community
• Greening — the environmental imperative
• Electronic Entertainment Cocoons
• A Decade of Restraint — the shrinking leisure dollar
• Social Malaise — the prevention paradigm
• Value Shifts — toward ours
• Beginning the Women's Revolution
• Decline of Institutions — the leadership crisis

Three speakers at the conference brought insights from outside the field of recreation. Hazel Henderson spoke about the urgent need to move from old ways of thinking about life, family, the environment, the economy and the global order. Her essential message was that the emerging paradigm(s) would be founded on humanistic values and ecological perspectives. Both themes have, of course, been the traditional drivers of both recreation and park services.

Shifts in Leisure Interests
From: formal, highly structured team sports/activities directed programs — teaching fitness focus active orientation consumptive activity expensive activities facility focus doing something activity as "end"	To: informal, self-scheduled     and casual participation individual activities self-directed — learning holistic wellness relatively passive environmentally friendly     activity economical activity home & outdoors experiencing — the     adventure quest activity as "means"

David Pearce Snyder spoke eloquently about the period of transformation that characterizes the 90s. He argued persuasively that all corporations and government agencies will re-tool, re-skill, restructure, reinvent ... or disappear. The decade will be one of severe restraint as we make the often painful transition from labor-intensive to information-intensive production. The American economy will be temporarily less efficient and Americans less well off than we once were. Snyder saw many opportunities for recreation leaders to partner with colleagues in health and social services, education, business and economic development to improve quality of life in our communities.

Ted Gaebler shared a comprehensive list of innovations and ideas for entrepreneurial governance — complete with descriptions of real successes, and the occasional failure. The authors evaluated the many success stories and suggested that the principles summarized in the "Reinventing Government" table were the key ingredients — and that they would be employed by effective governments in the future. Gaebler's most inspiring message, however, was simply his respect for the people or bureaucrats mired in many of today's inefficient bureaucracies. He was consistent in his belief that, once freed of many of the old rules or paradigms, we have the ability, expertise, insight and energies required to both manage the transition and achieve future excellence.

A transition that we must make.

Reinventing Government — Key Principles • Steer, don't row — it's not government's obligation to provide services, but to see that they're provided. • Empower communities to solve their own problems, rather than simply provide services. • Encourage competition — discourage monopolies, especially if they're yours. Be driven by missions — not rules. • Be "results oriented" — fund outcomes rather than inputs. • Meet the needs of the consumer, not the bureaucracy. • Concentrate on earning money, not spending it. • Invest in preventing problems, rather than curing crises. • Decentralize authority. • Solve problems by influencing market forces, rather than creating public programs.

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IMAGINING EXCELLENCE IN THE YEAR 2003
The first day of the conference was dedicated to reflection on trends and forces influencing the work of local government parks and recreation agencies in Illinois. The second was devoted to identifying responsive and responsible directions designed to meet the implicit challenges. And we were able to move beyond visioning to tangible strategy — key approaches to making the dream live.

Imagine that the year 2003 has arrived and our vision has, in fact, been realized. A decade has passed, full of initiative and innovation, and parks and recreation agencies have gone through the transformation anticipated by futurists such as Henderson, Pearce Snyder, and Balmer. Many of the principles and precedents described by Gaebler in "Reinventing Government" are now common practice. We have placed ourselves squarely on the social, economic and environmental agendas of the communities we together serve.

The key elements of the vision are summarized in the "Vision 2003" table. In the May/June issue of Illinois Parks and Recreation, we will elaborate on these key elements in the TRENDS article, "Gateway to the Future — Part Two."

VISION 2003 By the year 2003, parks and recreation agencies will be recognized by all as essential to "quality of life" in Illinois. • the champion of the wellness imperative for our citizens and communities — recognized as the key preventive service in the health field • a major catalyst and advocate for the environmental movement — stewards of our natural environments, leaders in environmental education, committed to ecologically sound operations and services 4 programming and facilities that are accessible to all, increasingly responding to challenged, disadvantaged and "at risk" individuals, "families" and neighborhoods — providing the cultural and social connections that build harmony • excellence in government management — demonstrating responsiveness, optimal use of all available resources, generating creative revenue alternatives to invest in quality services • leaders in the public sector movement toward partnerships and strategic alliances — helping to achieve the full potential of our leisure, learning, health, police and social service enterprises

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