Award-Winning National Research

Client: National Lottery Hertiage Fund; Association for Public Service Excellence

For 20 years, CFP have been at the forefront of championing the urban parks sector. We have written national guidance and publications, sat on national task forces and steering groups, developed award schemes, and given evidence to government enquires and All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs).

A significant part of our contribution has been our award-winning national research on the ‘State of UK Parks’, which remains the most comprehensive longitudinal data set charting the condition of parks and how they are cared for in the UK. We are the only consultancy that worked on the 2014 and 2016 reports commissioned by National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) and the 2021 report for the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE).

Through our commission we:

Carried out national-scale primary research, including a Park Manager survey and Friends Group survey, aiming to reach every local authority in the UK
Carried out longitudinal analysis to show the decline in the condition of urban parks and the scale of funding cuts and staff losses
Designed and delivered workshops with sector professionals to build a narrative around our quantitative data and capture authentic voices and experiences in the sector
Alongside our collaborators and clients, we presented our findings to the sector and the government, including through a national Parliamentary Launch with NLHF

Through our commission we:

Carried out national-scale primary research, including a Park Manager survey and Friends Group survey, aiming to reach every local authority in the UK
Carried out longitudinal analysis to show the decline in the condition of urban parks and the scale of funding cuts and staff losses
Designed and delivered workshops with sector professionals to build a narrative around our quantitative data and capture authentic voices and experiences in the sector
Alongside our collaborators and clients, we presented our findings to the sector and the government, including through a national Parliamentary Launch with NLHF

The research received national press coverage and was responsible for boosting the profile of urban parks on the policy agenda. It won a ‘Highly Commended’ award in the Landscape Institute’s ‘Landscape Policy and Research’ category and is still used as an evidence base to advocate for investment in urban parks.

Designer

For more of our work on Research, please see our services page: