Outdoor Recreation Professional
Competency Framework
About Core Competencies
Outdoor recreation professionals play a critical role in creating, managing, and sustaining meaningful outdoor experiences for all. To support this work, a national Outdoor Recreation Professional Competency Framework has been developed through a multi-year, cross-sector collaboration.
Led by the Society of Outdoor Recreation Professionals (SORP) in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, the Eppley Center for Parks and Public Lands, and informed by a cross-sector Advisory Group, this effort brings together perspectives from federal, state, and local agencies, nonprofit organizations, academia, and private industry. The result is a research-based, consensus-driven framework that defines the foundational knowledge, skills, and abilities needed across the outdoor recreation field.
Why It Matters
A shared competency framework helps:
- Create a common language across agencies and organizations
- Strengthen hiring, onboarding, and performance practices
- Align training and professional development
- Support career pathways and workforce growth
- Advance a more consistent and effective field of practice
Resources
Using the Outdoor Recreation Professional Competencies Framework
How to use
Eppley Center Report
For the purpose of this project, the Eppley Center employed a modified Delphi method to gather input from subject matter experts across two survey rounds. A total of 656 professionals were invited to participate, with 130 responding in Round 1 and 74 in Round 2. Respondents represented a wide range of affiliations, geographic regions, and professional backgrounds. Notably, the participant pool was highly experienced, with 77% reporting over 15 years in the field. The majority also held advanced degrees, further underscoring the depth of expertise represented among participants. Due to the overrepresentation of USFS respondents, the Eppley Center provided a weighted analysis of the results as additional information.
