GRRI CESU: Partnership to Study Recreation Trends and Increase Access- RTCA | NPS NOIP20AC00425

Opportunity Information: Apply for NPS NOIP20AC00425

The grant opportunity, titled "GRRI CESU: Partnership to Study Recreation Trends and Increase Access - RTCA" (Funding Opportunity Number NPS NOIP20AC00425), is a National Park Service (NPS) cooperative agreement intended to strengthen and streamline collaboration between the NPS Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program (RTCA) and an eligible university partner within the Great Rivers Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) region. At its core, the project is designed as an outreach and research conduit: it helps RTCA deliver technical assistance such as planning, design, and community-focused support, while also building a clearer evidence base about how people are recreating outdoors and how RTCA-supported places can better connect with members of the public who are not currently well connected to outdoor recreation opportunities.

A central focus of the work is understanding current and emerging recreation trends in the Midwest, especially in communities and park sites that receive RTCA technical assistance. The broader intent is practical: by identifying what people are actually doing outdoors, what activities are growing or shifting, and what barriers or constraints managers face, RTCA can better target services, improve relevance, and increase access. This aligns directly with the NPS mission of preserving natural and cultural resources unimpaired while supporting enjoyment, education, and inspiration for present and future generations. The project uses a two-year structure that starts with a Missouri-based pilot and is meant to scale to a broader Midwest regional study after methods are tested and refined.

In year 1, the project conducts a pilot study in Missouri that uses an unconventional but cost-effective research method: analyzing publicly posted photos of outdoor recreation activities at RTCA-funded project sites, specifically images shared on Flickr. Instead of relying on expensive and time-consuming visitor surveys, the team uses crowd-sourced photography to infer recreation behaviors and, where possible, aspects of visitor demographics (for example, group composition, apparent travel companions, and potential home origins depending on available metadata). Photos are accessed and sampled using the Flickr Application Programming Interface (API). The results from this photo-based activity analysis are then compared and contrasted with established, Missouri-specific outdoor recreation datasets, including the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) 2013 Conservation Opinion Survey and the Missouri Division of State Parks (MDSP) Missouri Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) 2013-2017. The point of these comparisons is to see where photo-derived signals match traditional planning data, where they diverge, and what that implies for interpreting recreation demand and participation.

The year 1 deliverables emphasize timely, actionable communication to NPS staff. By or before August 1, 2021, the recipient is expected to provide descriptive reports to NPS that summarize the Flickr photo analysis, document observed recreation activities at the selected RTCA-funded sites, and present comparisons to MDC and MDSP datasets. In addition to written products, the recipient also provides a presentation to NPS staff during the first reporting period that highlights key findings and management implications, keeping the work grounded in decisions RTCA teams and partners can actually make.

In year 2, the project shifts from observation of public behavior to understanding management and community perspectives. The plan calls for a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with recipients and managers of RTCA-funded projects in Missouri. These interviews are meant to capture on-the-ground insights about what is working, what challenges exist, which activities are feasible to support given staffing or infrastructure constraints, and how visitor experience and satisfaction are perceived by those responsible for managing or implementing RTCA-assisted efforts. To strengthen the practical and policy relevance of the findings, the qualitative results are paired with recreation expenditure information from sources such as the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) and the Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account (ORSA). This economic framing is intended to help justify activity inclusion, investments, and program priorities by linking recreation trends and visitor satisfaction to broader economic impacts, while still acknowledging real-world managerial limitations.

After the Missouri pilot is completed across years 1 and 2, the opportunity envisions expanding the study to the broader NPS Midwest region using the same or a similar protocol. In effect, Missouri serves as the test case for a scalable, repeatable approach: use social media photo analysis to quickly characterize recreation patterns at RTCA-supported sites, validate and contextualize findings with existing state or regional datasets, then deepen understanding through interviews and economic context. The expected outcome is a clearer, more current picture of recreation trends that can help RTCA increase program relevance, improve service quality, and better connect more people to RTCA-supported outdoor opportunities.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary funding opportunity issued by the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, using a cooperative agreement mechanism, which typically implies substantial involvement or collaboration with the federal partner during the project. Eligibility is limited to public and state-controlled institutions of higher education. The opportunity was created March 30, 2020, with an original closing date of April 9, 2020. The award ceiling is $63,755, with one expected award. The activity categories are wide-ranging, reflecting the cross-cutting nature of the work: community development, education, environment and natural resources, regional development, and science and technology research and development (CFDA 15.945).

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the community development, consumer protection, education, employment, labor and training, environment, natural resources, regional development, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "GRRI CESU: Partnership to Study Recreation Trends and Increase Access- RTCA" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.945.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 30, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 09, 2020. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $63,755.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

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