2 bicyclists on a country road

Recreation, Sport & Tourism:

Office of Recreation and Park Resources

Who We Serve

small girl on a skateboard

Parks and Recreation

The integration of physical activity and wellness has been known to have a positive effect on health, mental acuity, social interaction and longevity for many years. The challenge of promoting and providing that integrated approach to the modern lifestyle is an area that is gaining more focus. ORPR and RST will seek to provide its consulting expertise to park and recreation organizations in Illinois and across the country. Surveys, needs assessments, facility planning and programming reports are just a few of the services ORPR can offer clients and partners.

Tourism

Research into behaviors of individuals participating in tourism activities has revealed new insights which will be useful to tourism and hospitality providers as they plan and develop products and programming for new and return visitors. Developing tourism opportunities and programs for new and different population groups can increase the traffic and investment in existing properties. ORPR offers tourism planning and development expertise and research capabilities to serve the tourism industry and locations.

Sport

The existing structure of sport development in the USA is not conducive to the optimal development of athletes from youth sport to the elite level. Research and programs developed by the faculty are aimed at improving the organizational structure and systems responsible for a healthy, safe and successful sport development system.

ORPR is developing a cutting edge collection of educational resources that will allow parents, coaches, administrators and participants to excel at their activity. By providing various levels and modalities of educational programming “The Illinois Sport Development Initiative” will be able to serve the precise needs of each of the stakeholders in the American sport community.

Diverse Populations

Everything that ORPR does will be aimed at having a positive impact on communities and people. Taking the theory and research out of the labs and classrooms and applying them to the world outside of the university is the unique challenge that ORPR accepts.

Meeting the needs of relatively underserved populations, such as disabled, ethnic groups, women, etc will be a prime focus of ORPR’s work in consulting and resources creation.