Building Relations May 6th, 2017 3:45pm

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

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

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

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!

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.)

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!

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!

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

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

Building Relations: Justify Visit the National Benefits Hub here

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!

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

Building Relations: Align

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 2014. 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.

Building Relations: Align Learn more about Active Alberta here

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

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).

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.

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

Thank You For Your Time Questions?