Considerations for strategic planning in community sport clubs
Sport leaders can use strategic planning to help identify their organization’s current position, where it plans to go, and how it intends to get there (O’Brien et al., 2019). Strategic planning has been linked with improved organizational change processes as well as enhanced organizational effectiveness, resilience and performance (for example, Hu et al., 2014; Liao…
Activating Safe Sport communities
Earlier this year, SIRC launched Community Activation Grants to help communities across Canada recover from COVID-19 through Safe Sport opportunities. Discover how sport organizations from coast to coast are using the grants to activate Safe Sport and concussion awareness initiatives in their communities in the SIRCuit.
Programs for urban Indigenous youth
Urban Indigenous youth face several barriers when accessing sport and physical activity programs, including experiences of racism and a lack of supportive networks. All-Indigenous programs that prioritize the needs of Indigenous youth and offer opportunities for coaching and mentorship from trained, culturally sensitive leaders may help to reduce these barriers.
How sport builds community
Professional sports teams play an important role in bringing local communities together. For example, by participating in vaccination initiatives and building relationships with local youth soccer clubs, the Halifax Wanderers Football Club became an integral part of the Halifax community during the pandemic. Read the SIRCuit to find out more about how professional sport organizations…
Activating Safe Sport communities
Highlights In May 2021, the Sport Information Resource Centre (SIRC) announced the launch of its Community Activation Grants. This program supports sport organizations in developing and disseminating concussion and Safe Sport resources in Canadian communities. The launch was set against the backdrop of the Government of Canada’s commitment to reactivate local sport organizations, after the COVID‑19…
Insight to inform program delivery
“Senior decision-makers in community sport organizations need to create opportunities for program leaders to share their experiences and knowledge. Staff know the barriers and challenges experienced by participants, but those barriers and challenges can persist if insights aren’t filtered up the organizational hierarchy.” – Amina Haggar, a University of Ottawa graduate student, shares insights from…
Preventing fraud in community sport
Financial fraud can have devastating effects on a sport organization’s service provision, reputation, and long-term viability. Research suggests a three-tiered approach to fraud prevention, including training for leaders on financial management to understand the risks; sound financial management practices; and early detection systems.
The role of social capital in the organizational capacity of community sport
Project summary Social capital is the trust, reciprocity, and shared understanding that may be produced and reproduced in a social connection. When generated among individuals and within groups in an organization, this ‘social energy’ may be an important resource for goal achievement. The objectives of this project were to investigate the nature and development of…
Newcomer experiences
For community sport organizations, newcomers to Canada are an important source of future participants/members, staff, and volunteers. Taking the time to consider the experiences of newcomers when they walk through your doors or onto your fields – and taking action to make those experiences better – can help build authentic and long-lasting relationships.
Multiculturalism and physical culture: The case of the GTA
There are two parts to this project: First, we have established an open-access on-line archive to collect every form of physical culture that people participate in in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Second, use the on-line archive to engage in follow-up research – interviews and secondary data analysis – to answer an initial set of…