https://www.acacamps.org/research/camp-research/history

View all our past research initiatives.

https://www.acacamps.org/research/special-projects/camp-program-quality-initiative

Funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc., ACA began a special project to explore and develop systems that support camp professionals in promoting positive youth development through camp experiences.

https://www.acacamps.org/research/camp-research/business-operations

Analyze camp industry trends through summaries of our annual business operations reports. We commission three reports on a rotating basis; the most recent findings are available in day, overnight,...

https://www.acacamps.org/research/continuous-improvement

At ACA, we believe in continuous improvement. We believe that our work for young people is not conceptualized in boxes or checklists; instead, we think about our work in a cyclical way—a way that...

https://www.acacamps.org/research/continuous-improvement/camp-program-quality

Program quality refers to the ways camp staff practices, activities, and program climate foster youth development consistently over time.

https://www.acacamps.org/research/special-projects/indiana-youth-programs-campus

Indiana Youth Programs on Campus (IYPC) is a new Lilly Endowment initiative designed to help Indiana colleges and universities in their efforts to create new or expand and enhance existing high-...

https://www.acacamps.org/research/special-projects/camp-school-partnership-demonstration-project

The Camp-School Partnership Demonstration Project is a collaboration between the National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) and the American Camp Association (ACA), which are 501(c)(3) national...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/anxiety-virtue

An interview with Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, PhD

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/fighting-wellness-youth-thrive-when-you-do

An Interview with Brittany Patterson, PhD

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/reframing-mental-health-camp

Mental health at camp has always been a challenge. But for many camps, it wasn’t until worldwide stressors started piling up in 2020 that this challenge became overwhelming.