From accreditation and training to advocacy and crisis support, ACA works to help camps thrive and to ensure campers have safe, healthy, and enriching experiences. Our individual members — who today number 10,000+ — have been sharing knowledge and experience for more than 110 years, creating safer, higher-quality programs that collectively impact 7.2 million campers annually. But there is more to do.
There are more than 20,000 overnight and day camps in the United States, yet most are not currently accredited by ACA. We are seeking to better understand the process and outcomes of this program so we can expand engagement, remove barriers, and learn how we can help ensure more children, youth, and families have access to accredited camps.
To that end, ACA is launching a multifaceted research initiative to better understand ACA’s National Accreditation Program. Through this research initiative, we expect to:
- Understand if and how a cohort-based approach might strengthen and expand ACA’s accreditation program
- Understand if and how ACA’s accreditation program (traditional and cohort-based), strengthens disaster preparedness and response strategies among camps
- Better understand the opportunities and challenges to engaging in ACA’s accreditation program from the perspective of camp leaders
- Better understand the strengths, opportunities, and challenges of ACA’s accreditation program model based on a review of similar accreditation programs at other youth development and outdoor education organizations
This RFP invites qualified researchers (research firms, consultants, faculty, students, etc.) to propose a thoughtful, data-driven approach to help ACA staff and volunteer leaders in their effort to ensure every young person has access to an accredited camp experience. The target audience for this research is internal (staff and volunteer) stakeholders who will be using the recommendations generated through this research at key decision points between February 2026 and May 2027.