Program Planning and Event Management

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering recreation programming concepts, the Program Development Cycle, situated activity systems, leisure classification, event types, attendee experience dimensions, and evaluation models.

Program

A designed opportunity for a leisure experience to occur.

Programming

The process of designing, staging, and delivering leisure opportunities by intervening in social interaction through manipulating and creating environments.

Program Development

The complete, overarching process of creating, managing, running, and delivering a program.

The Program Development Cycle

A four-stage, nine-step operational procedure developed by J. Robert Rossman and Barbara Elwood Schlatter consisting of Stage A (Agency Culture), Stage B (Targeted Program Development), Stage C (Operational Strategies), and Stage D (Follow-Up Analysis).

The Programming Trilogy

A framework linking Design (intended outcome goals, Y statements), Staging (interactions in framed encounters, X statements using the six elements of a situated activity system), and Evaluation (using data to verify and document achieved outcomes).

Situated Activity System

A system comprised of six interrelated elements—interacting people, physical setting, leisure objects, structure (rules and formats), relationships, and animation—that programmers manipulate to stage a leisure experience.

Interacting People

An element of a situated activity system specifying the target audience, number of participants, personal characteristics, individual interests, and interpersonal relationships.

Physical Setting

An element of a situated activity system encompassing visual, aural, olfactory, tactile, and taste sensory components that can be altered to fit program needs.

Leisure Objects

The physical, social, or symbolic objects that participants engage and interact with during a program.

Structure (Rules and Formats)

The element of a situated activity system where defined rules guide social interactions and operational formats (such as clubs or special events) structure relational dynamics.

Relationships (Situated Activity System)

The element of a situated activity system concerning how well participants know each other prior to or during the event and managing those relational connections.

Animation

The staged sequence that initiates an activity and sustains participant engagement over time (e.g., welcome, warm-up, games, semifinals, final, and awards).

Leisure Experience

A conscious behavior occurring outside everyday routines where participants freely choose to engage, become personally involved, and experience pleasure and enjoyment.

Perceived Freedom

A foundational criterion of leisure involving freedom from economic, religious, political, or social role constraints, as well as the freedom to choose participation and make choices within the activity.

Intrinsic Motivation

Participating in an activity purely out of desire and enjoyment rather than being forced, obligated, or externally compelled.

Positive Affect

The experience of positive feelings and emotional states during a leisure activity.

Autotelic Activity

An activity engaged in for its own sake because the process of doing the activity itself is enjoyable.

Types of Leisure

A categorized spectrum of leisure forms consisting of recreation, play, sport, games, tourism, and events.

Recreation

A type of leisure focused on restoration, recovery, building interpersonal relationships, fulfilling social purposes, morality, and exhibiting appropriate behavior.

Play

A spontaneous, creative, enjoyable, and non-serious form of leisure centered on self-expression.

Sport

A structured form of leisure characterized by physical exertion, standardized rules, and the competition of physical skills.

Games

Leisure activities characterized by rule-bounded structures, coequal players, problematic outcomes, and the control of skill and chance.

Tourism

Travel for recreation of at least $80\,\text{km}$ undertaken for restoration, a change of pace, and individual purpose.

Events

One-time or infrequently offered experiences outside normal programming operations that provide participants with a nonroutine change of pace beyond everyday life.

Mega Events

Large-scale, international events governed by an official bid process and managed by full-time staff, such as the Olympic Games.

Recurring Events

Events that take place regularly in a consistent setting, making them easier to predict, plan, and manage because staff understand what to expect.

Traveling Events

Events that occur on a regular schedule across different geographic locations, presenting logistical and staffing challenges (e.g., a circus).

Ancillary Events

Supplementary events staged alongside a primary event to generate additional revenue and engagement, requiring significant planning (e.g., a fan fest during the World Cup).

Community Events

Smaller-scale events serving a specific geographic region that offer organizers greater creative freedom (e.g., beginning-of-the-year events, local swim meets).

Stage A: Agency Culture

The first phase of the Program Development Cycle, consisting of Step 1 (scanning internal and external environments to define Mission) and Step 2 (establishing Strategic Directions across activities, events, services, areas, and facilities).

Stage B: Targeted Program Development

The second phase of the Program Development Cycle, comprising Step 3 (Participant Input via needs assessments), Step 4 (defining desired program outcomes as Program Goals), and Step 5 (Program Design).

Stage C: Operational Strategies

The third phase of the Program Development Cycle, encompassing Step 6 (writing the Program Plan manual) and Step 7 (Implementation: staffing, supervising, and executing operational details).

Stage D: Follow-Up Analysis

The fourth phase of the Program Development Cycle, consisting of Step 8 (Evaluation: judging worth and documenting benefits) and Step 9 (Disposition Decision: deciding to drop, modify, or continue the program).

Direct Economic Effects

Initial financial expenditures directly associated with and generated by staging an event.

Indirect Economic Effects

Secondary economic activity generated by local businesses purchasing supplies and services to support the primary event.

Induced Economic Effects

The downstream economic impact created when event and supplier employees spend the income earned from event operations within the local economy.

Feasibility

An evaluation of whether an event can be delivered at the desired level of quality given available budget, facilities/venues, personnel, and prevailing circumstances.

Logic Model

A programmatic framework illustrating the sequential causal chain: Resources/Inputs $\rightarrow$ Activities $\rightarrow$ Outputs $\rightarrow$ Outcomes $\rightarrow$ Impact.

Initial Outcomes

Immediate benefits and changes gained by participants during or shortly following a program, focusing on newly acquired knowledge, attitudes, or basic skills.

Short-Term / Intermediate Outcomes

Changes in participants' behaviors, habits, or practices typically occurring within $1\text{--}3\,\text{years}$ following program participation.

Long-Term Outcomes (Impact)

Enduring, meaningful systemic changes achieved within $4\text{--}6\,\text{years}$ that affect organizations, communities, or broader societal structures.

Psychological Dimension (Attendee Experience)

The experiential dimension addressing attendees' personalities, roles, social statuses, self-images, and how they desire to be perceived by their peers.

Cognitive Dimension (Attendee Experience)

The experiential dimension addressing how attendees' psychological characteristics and past memories shape their expectations and motivations.

Emotional Dimension (Attendee Experience)

The experiential dimension focusing on attendees' affective states (e.g., happiness, stress, anxiety, euphoria) and designing events to cultivate positive, desirable feelings.

Social Dimension (Attendee Experience)

The experiential dimension concerning interpersonal relationships, shared participant backgrounds, and reciprocal social interactions among attendees.

Environmental Dimension (Attendee Experience)

The experiential dimension regarding the physical venue configuration, spatial flow, and environmental layout tailored to attendees' physical needs and desires.