Knowledge in Action!

November is a busy month in the world of sport information sharing and knowledge transfer. With a variety of conferences and summits on the calendar, SIRC will be present in the following locations:

• Sport Canada Research Initiative Conference (SCRI) – Aylmer, Quebec (November 3, 2011)
SIRC hosts sport researchers, policy makers and practitioners sharing their knowledge and expertise with a vision to maximizing the practical applications of sport participation research and its potential contribution to sport participation policy in Canada. 


• Sport Innovation Summit (SPIN) – Toronto, Ontario (November 8-10, 2011)
Be sure to drop by the SIRC Resource Centre booth and check out the latest issue of the High Performance SIRCuit. 


• Petro Canada Sport Leadership Sportif Conference – Toronto, Ontario (November 10-12, 2011)
Debra Gassewitz, SIRC's president and CEO, will be presenting the Sport Management Stream Workshop 'Recruitment, Nominations and Orientation – How to attract and train sport leaders' on Saturday, November 12th. 


• Canadian Sport Policy Renewal  
The discussion paper "Towards a Renewed Canadian Sport Policy" is now available along with other sport policy renewal resources on the SIRC website.

For more information on our resources for these events, please visit SIRC.

SIRC at the CS4L National Summit

In support of the Canadian Sport for Life (CS4L) movement SIRC is hosting an interactive Resource Centre at the National Summit (Wed & Thursday, Feb 1 & 2, 2012) and the World LTAD Symposium (Friday, February 3, 2012) in Gatineau, QC.

Among the resources we are making available:
In print:

• Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) from over 30 National Sport Organizations
• SIRC Newsletters on CS4L & LTAD

Online:
SIRC's Sport Governance Resource Centre

• Guidelines, templates and resources on governance related topics
• Board Models, Board Orientation, Strategic Planning, Legal Issues, Roles & Responsibilities
• Governance Expert Directory
• Free Webinars

SIRC's LTAD Online Resources

• Links to over 45 National Sport Organization LTAD documents
• LTAD & CS4L Newsletters

What's being talked about at the CS4L National Summit, Day 1?

• Big ideas for moving organizations and CS4L forward
• Provision of family programs to promote active lifestyles modelled from one generation to the next
• Educating parents on CS4L
• Injury prevention for aesthetic and flexibility sport
• Change from a focus on competing with each other to working together to achieve better results
• Addressing governance challenges and changes at all levels of sport
• Changing business behaviour to ensure sustainability

SIRC at the CS4L National Summit: Governance!

SIRC hosted the "Governance and CS4L" session at the CS4L Summit today. Good governance is critical to the success of a sport organization. This session talked about how CS4L‐LTAD can be integrated into the Governance of a sport organization and where to find practical governance templates and resources that can be downloaded and modified for use. Panelists shared insights, including lessons learned at both the community and National level, that can help with incorporating CS4L principles and LTAD programs into governance and strategic planning. Hosted by Debra Gassewitz (SIRC), panelists included Marg Jones (JUEL Basketball), Paul Jurbala (CS4L), and JD Miller (B2ten).

Highlights of the session included:

• How to integrate LTAD programs into your governance
• What the Board needs to do to implement the strategic plan
• Who should be on the Board and How do we recruit them
• Where the resources can be found: SIRC Sport Governance Online Resource Centre

Contact SIRC for more information on sport governance

Implementing Your Strategic Plan

On February 28, 2012 SIRC hosted the latest in a series sport governance webinars entitled ‘Implementing Your Strategic Plan’ presented by Dina Bell-Laroche of the Sport Law & Strategy Group. The goal of this series of sport governance webinars, done in partnership with Sport Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee, is to help sport organizations advance good governance within their organizations.

Ms Bell-Laroche discussed 10 ‘tips & truisms’ gathered from management science, experience and good practices in and outside of sport on strategic planning. The following are some of the highlights of the webinar:

Bringing your Strategic Plan to Life
Moving it off the shelf and into practice

Strategic Planning is …
A systematic process through which an organization agrees on – and builds commitment among key stakeholders to – priorities that are essential to its mission and which are responsive to the environment.

10 Tips for Implementing your Strategic Plan

1. Communicate – Develop a communications plan with core messages and share with key stakeholders 
2. Keep it relevant - Plans need to evolve and adapt in order to maintain relevance
3. Compass – Make sure everything you do is helping you achieve your mission, move towards your vision, reflective of your values 
4. Measure Progress - Once the plan is approved, develop indicators to demonstrate progress for the plan and activities 
5. Train and Educate – Ensure that you have the knowledge you need to implement your plan 
6. Engage – Proactively communicate and look for ways to involve your members. It doesn’t stop once the plan has been approved, it continues 
7. Budget - Integrate budgeting into your planning process. Ensure budget reflects priorities. Ensure plan meets available human/financial resources 
8. Show Early Wins – Demonstrates action. Shows progress. Creates trust. 
9. Celebrate Success - Recognize contributions in creative and impactful ways. Creates a sense of accomplishment and builds momentum 
10. ‘Can Do’ Culture - Recognize that ongoing investment is required to create the right environment that encourages the “doing” in a planned and strategic way 

 An archived version of this webinar, the PowerPoint slides, as well as resources discussed in the session are available from the SIRC governance website 

The next webinar in the Sport Governance series on Board Orientation takes place on March 28, 2012 and will be presented by Joan Duncan, JDI Consulting. Registration is free of charge. 

For more information on Sport Governance check out the SIRC Sport Governance portal

SIRC Governance Resources and Webinars

Over the past year, SIRC has been working together with Sport Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee to enhance the knowledge base about issues concerning governance within sport organizations. In an effort to help sport organizations develop and maintain effective governance practices SIRC has been gathering resources and tools that can assist sport organizations with their governance and made these available through our online Sport Governance portal.

Why should governance matter to sport organizations?

• Strategic thinking and direction-setting are fundamental to success 
• The sport environment is complex and the demands on leaders are significant 
• Management can thrive when supported by strong governance 
• Organizations need to be accountable to their members and stakeholders 
• Organizations want to be recognized as credible by the public 
• Funding partners expect results and accountability 
• Participants in sport have high expectations of their organization and its leaders. 

As part of our efforts to bring useful tools to the sport community SIRC has been working with experts in the governance field to develop a series of free webinars that focus on a variety of governance related topics. All webinars continue to be archived on the SIRC website so that anyone can go back and share with colleagues that may not have been available at the live presentation.

Topics already presented include:

• Governance and Operations presented by Marg Soden-Strus (en Français)
• Board Models and Structures presented by Rose Mercier 
• Implementing Your Strategic Plan presented by Dina Bell-Laroche (en Français)
• Board Orientation presented by Joan Duncan 

We invite those interested in governance concerns to register for the upcoming free live webinars on the following topics:

• Meeting Management and Facilitation presented by Nora Sheffe
  April 25, 2012 from 11:00 - 12:00 (EST)


• New Canada Not for Profit Corporations Act presented by Rachel Corbett
  English: May 29, 2012 from 11:00 - 12:00 (EST)
  French: June 5, 2012 from 11:00 - 12:00 (EST)
  
• 
  Board Evaluation presented by Judy Sutcliffe
  June 27, 2012 from 11:00 - 12:00 (EST)
  

Contact SIRC for more information on sport governance!

2012 - A Year in Review

SIRC Newsletter now available online: 2012 - A Year in Review

The beginning of a new year is a great time to look back and see all we have accomplished and most importantly, what knowledge we have shared with the sport community. The year 2012 was an exciting time for SIRC as the country supported the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic teams by cheering on our athletes at the London Olympic Games. The Canadian sport community participated in and witnessed the launch of the new Canadian Sport Policy 2012 and SIRC continued with our popular Sport Governance Webinars, our Governance Portal as well as announcing our SIRC Research Award winners.

Read more: http://www.sirc.ca/newsletters/january13/index2.html