FITS will assist communities by…

• Providing access to comparative data for facilities of similar size, type and location, facilitating short and long-term planning
• Enabling trend analyses by collecting data on an ongoing basis, including:
• Monitoring of shifts in demographics and impact on usage patterns and facility needs within the community
• Evaluation of utilities costs relative to the size, type and location of recreation facilities and the impact of utilities costs on facility expenses, user fees and lifecycle planning
• Staffing costs including staffing requirements, postion types and wage rates
• Data pertaining to rental and lease rates
• An overview of revenues and expenditures for facilities enabling facility operators to identify variances between facilities of similar size and type to their own and seek operational efficiencies
• Providing the information needed for ARPA to better advocate on behalf of Alberta's communities for funding programs that support community recreation infrastructure including support and direction for future community infrastructure grants
• Storing legacy information about the facilities in each community
• Sharing innovative strategies for facility usage and tourism including event hosting