MISSION: To promote and enhance the management capacity within the National Park Service.
We carry out this mission working directly with park managers and through innovative partnerships, to provide fact-based analysis and management expertise, promoting strategies that result in more effective and efficient management of the National Parks. Our goal is to ensure that managers have the tools, skills and human resources sufficient to fulfill their mission no matter the budget circumstance.
CPM supports NPCA’s mission through its focused efforts to create a superior National Park System through:
- Developing strategies for the funding of parks
- Promoting management best practices from diverse sources
- Supporting park service staff to develop the managerial expertise, tools, and scientific integrity required to effectively manage National Parks
Our History
In 1998, NPCA partnered with the National Park Service to launch the National Parks Business Plan Initiative (BPI), which paired MBA students from the country’s top business schools with NPS park managers and staffs to assess existing management procedures and devise business plans to improve the short and long-term management of financial resources within each park. In 2002, this successful program was spun off and is now operated solely by the National Park Service.
Building on the knowledge and insight gained through our work with the BPI program, NPCA formally established the Center for Park Management in 2002.
CPM's work focuses on developing and executing programs to improve field managers' understanding and use of organizational, operational and financial management tools for the long-term benefit of both park resources and visitors.
CPM is a proponent for management excellence in the NPS. Our role is to act as an agent of change for NPS management practices. Better managed parks are better protected parks, as savings, in both dollars and time, are used for resource protection, education and interpretation.
