1. Building Relations
May 6th, 2017
3:45pm

2. Overview Introduction Building Relations Questions Organize
Identify Key Partners
Justify
Align
Engage and Maintain
Questions

3. Introduction RC Strategies+PERC Recreation and parks consulting
75+ years experience; 1,500+ projects
Offices in Alberta and BC
Currently working from Winnipeg to Nanaimo
Providing both strategic and tactical planning services
Primarily working for municipal and non-profit clients

4. Introduction
Section 1: Introduction and Methodology Study Rationale Section 2: An Overview of the Sport of Curling Participation and Trends in Alberta/Canada The Benefits of Curling The Typical Curler Trends in Volunteerism The Curling Hierarchy Section 3: Curling in Edmonton Trends in Participation Club Overview How Curling Compares to Other Sports Section 4: Stakeholder Consultation General Stakeholders Local Clubs Section 5: S.W.O.C. Analysis Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Challenges Section 6: Future Directions Study Conclusions Appendices Appendix A: Stakeholder Contact List Appendix B: Contact Letter Appendix C: General Stakeholder Interview Questions Appendix D: Club Operator Questions

5. Building Relations: Organize
Articulate your ask and position:
What do you do and what do you want to do?
What are your goals?
Make sure your whole group is on board.
If you have connections, engage them!

6. Building Relations: Organize
Ways to demonstrate you are organized:
Have an updated Strategic Plan and Business Plan.
Be able to articulate your direction.
Facility projects and initiatives:
Be realistic and “right sized” to your current and future needs
Communicate benefits of your project in a concise and realistic manner
Have all necessary information (financials, supporting research, etc.)

7. Building Relations: Identify Key Partners
Identify who you need to build relations with:
Which key partners can influence your ability to achieve your goals?
Influence can be financial or program related (popularity).
Make sure your whole group knows who are the partners you want/need to build relations with.
If you have connections, engage them!

8. Building Relations: Justify
Create a Compelling Argument:
What is the state of your activity?
What programs do you offer?
How many people participate?
How do you impact different age cohorts?
Make sure decision makers know the answers to these questions at all times.
If you have connections, make sure they know the answers to these questions!

9. Building Relations: Justify
Alberta Recreation Survey
Curling ranked 2nd in participation rates among group activities.
7.7% of Albertans curled at least once in 2013; Ice hockey (5.9%), soccer (5.1%), baseball/softball (4.4%).
Visit the Alberta Recreation Survey Here

10. Building Relations: Justify
Curling Canada
Canadian Curling Association’s six key benefits:
1. Meet people and play with friends
2. Curling is great exercise
3. Curling is very affordable
4. People of any age or ability can play
5. Play against great competition
6. Curling is fun
View the Benefits of Curling here

11. Building Relations: Justify
Visit the National Benefits Hub here

12. Building Relations: Align
Align with key partners:
Why are your goals important to your broader community or “landlord”?
How do your actions further a broader public/community agenda (strategic planning, trends, etc.)?
Be open to partnerships with groups that have common goals.
Make sure decision makers know the answers to these questions at all times.
If you have connections, make sure they know the answers to these questions!

13. Building Relations: Align
Learn more about the National Recreation Framework here

14. Building Relations: Align

15. Building Relations: Align
Canadian Sport for Life (CS4L) is a movement that promotes quality sport and physical activity. It is led by the Sport for Life Society, a federal not for profit society that incorporated in September The movement introduces two important concepts that influence how recreation and sport activity should be planned, promoted, organized, and delivered: Long-Term Athlete Development and Physical Literacy.
Learn more about Canadian Sport For Life here.

16. Building Relations: Align
Learn more about Active Alberta here

17. Building Relations: Align
Other sources to align with:
Local Recreation and Parks Master Plans
Sport Tourism Strategies/Plans
Municipal Development Plans
Organizational Strategic/Business Plans
Partnership Grant Application Processes

18. Building Relations: Engage and Maintain
Demonstrating your relevance needs to be an ongoing effort…
Work hard to achieve your goals and stay organized.
Make sure decision makers and the community know the value you provide (engage/report regularly).
Engage representatives from key partners in governance and/or operations (don’t be afraid of sharing control).
Stay informed (strategic planning, trends).

19. Building Relations: Engage and Maintain
Understand your local decision makers and potential partners
What are the competing projects and priorities in your community and region?
What is your strategic advantage? What are your strategic weaknesses?
Try to get a handle on what decision makers need to make supporting your organization more palatable.

20. Building Relations Who is doing it well within recreation?
Gymnastics clubs: link to physical literacy, demonstrate financial viability and growth
Minor hockey: many municipalities are continuing to invest significantly in indoor ice arenas, in part due to the strength of minor hockey systems
Cultural groups (starting to): becoming more cohesive and organized, better able to “sell” facility needs than in the past

21. Thank You For Your Time
Questions?