2.4 Key Takeaways

• Regardless of sector, all Recreation and Leisure-related agencies, facilities, organizations and businesses can find it challenging to strike a balance between meeting client and constituent needs and ensuring excellence in program quality and service;
• Needs are dynamic, always changing and rarely static;
• Needs can intensify or fade depending on trends, demographics, the local economy, the political climate and current consumer demand for unique experiences;
• The best program-planners are those who take time to find out the needs of the groups for whom they are programming before they begin the dreaming and designing processes, and view these needs as opportunities to create and deliver programs that will benefit not only the participants, but also the communities in which they live.

If you have figured out the programmatic needs and wants of your client or community, it’s now time to figure out how much money you have to play with to make the needs and wants a reality. On to STEP 3: Finances and Budget!