San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department (SF Rec & Parks) administers more than 220 parks, playgrounds, and open spaces. The park system includes 25 recreation centers, nine swimming pools, five golf courses, and numerous tennis courts, ball diamonds, soccer fields, and other sports venues. In 2017 and 2018, SF Rec & Parks hired Civic Edge to develop community outreach and a multilingual survey to engage with Equity Zone residents, including community members who use and do not use nearby parks.
The overarching goal for engagement was to gain feedback that SF Rec & Parks would use to identify actionable, near-term solutions that could be implemented in six months to three years to improve park experiences and services as well as possible longer-term projects for future development. Our team focused engagement as an opportunity to build up community relationships with SF Rec & Parks and encourage participation through trusted community pillars.
Our team combined “boots on the ground” in-person outreach with robust digital promotion.
In-person outreach with our multilingual ambassadors was held at parks, libraries, community centers and community events, schools, and senior centers as well as through neighborhood flyering and postering. This outreach helped connect with regular park users. Digital survey promotion and engagement included social media, community organization emails, and eNewsletters, getting the word out to potential new park users through the platforms and communications they were already following. The survey was made available in Chinese, Spanish, Filipino, and English.