Improving the recreational permitting and authorizations experience: key research findings and opportunities
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A park use permit or authorization gives an individual, group, or organization permission to do specific activities in a park or designated recreation area. The Ministry of Environment and Parks is working to improve the process of getting authorizations. As part of this work, our design research team interviewed 10 permittees and authorization holders.
We wanted to better understand their experiences with commercial recreation permitting associated with BC Parks park use permits and Recreation Sites and Trails BC authorizations. We talked about their needs, goals, and obstacles to inform potential areas for improvement. As we explore ways to improve, we strive to ensure these changes continue to protect the environment. We will also honour our commitment to reconciliation.
In this post, we share what we learned from our research participants. We also include related insights from our staff.
Permits and authorizations explained
The Ministry of Environment and Parks’ Recreation Sites and Trails BC and BC Parks programs manage various types of permits and authorizations. For this research, we focused on park use permits (administered under the Park Act) and authorizations for recreational activities (under the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA) and the Forest Recreation Regulation (FRR)). Both pieces of legislation might permit certain recreational activities. Some examples of these include:
- guiding tours
- holding events and races
- building sites and trails
Meet our key archetypes
While not all perspectives are reflected in this round of research, we identified three groups of people from our interviews. Naming and describing them gives us and others a better sense of who they are, and how we might address their needs.
Seasoned race organizer
Steward of the land
Ambassador for the outdoors
Key themes from the research
From this research, we identified 20 opportunities to explore and improve on. These opportunities involve work in:
- web and content design
- policy and regulation reviews
- process changes
- organizational design
- digital tools (e.g. online applications) development
We share some of the key insights and related opportunities below.
People may not be aware
People may not know they need a Park Act permit or FRPA authorization to carry out their proposed activity. People shared that they often learned about the recreation use authorization (FRR s.16) from others. This could be other permitting bodies, other event organizers, or their predecessors if they are taking over from someone else. One research participant shared that they held their first race without a recreation use authorization. It wasn’t done intentionally—they only found out after the fact.
There is an opportunity for us to improve awareness. This may involve redesigning the information we have online. It could also mean deepening partnerships with the community to help spread the word. This is something that’s already happening to some degree, but there are likely opportunities for more.
Improving application quality helps everyone
It is not always easy to complete an application. One research participant we spoke with said the application form felt long, and some questions didn’t make sense for their situation. Others mentioned certain areas on the application form being challenging. Providing mapping information, a requirement of the process, is a common challenge.
People shared that Parks and Recreation staff can be very helpful in guiding them through the process. However, they can be hard to reach given their many responsibilities.
Currently there is guidance online to help applicants. We can explore different ways to share this information that will be clearer and better resonate with applicants. Helping people early on reduces extra work needed later on during application review.
Staff are the main contact for application status
Right now, applicants receive an automatic confirmation when they submit their application. While the updated construction and maintenance authorization process (FRPA s.57) provides additional status updates, most park use permits and authorizations do not. Applicants often contact Parks and Recreation staff to get updates on the application status.
We can explore an online system where applicants can look up their status at any time, at their own convenience. Applicants could look up the status for all types of park use permits and authorizations. This would fill the gap where there are currently no updates beyond confirmation. The online system would help increase transparency of application status. It also lets staff refocus their time on other responsibilities.
Commitments to environmental and cultural protection take time
We heard that long processing times can create stress and may result in lost opportunities in certain situations. For example, a sponsor may lose interest in funding a new facility if an application has been under review for years.
But we have legal duties to consult with subject matter experts and First Nations, especially on complex applications. Each handoff to a different party adds to the application’s processing time. Even so, we recognize the need to reduce wait times and overall timelines.
We are exploring different ways that park use permits and authorizations can be issued depending on the type of activity. Another opportunity for improvement might be to create teams dedicated to specific parts of the application process to help move things forward.
Where we are headed now
What happens next depends on if the opportunity for improvement is:
- Actively being explored: The research findings provide more support for opportunities we are already currently exploring.
- New: New opportunities identified by research will need further analysis and need to be prioritized alongside other work that is taking place.
- Previously explored: Some opportunities were already explored in the past but did not proceed. This research shines light on those areas for reconsideration.
We’re already underway determining what comes next and building a roadmap of proposed recreation permitting enhancements. In the months ahead, we will be looking for ways to keep the public informed and engaged.
Thank you to our research participants
We want to thank everyone who participated in this research. There is always a lot to juggle for those working in the outdoor recreation sector, especially heading into and during the busy summer season. We appreciate everyone who took the time to speak with us. We could not have done this without you!
