Alison Doherty, The University of Western Ontario
Graham Cuskelly, Griffith University
Français
This multi-phase research program will investigate the capacity of community sport organizations (CSOs) to maintain and increase sport participation, and will critically analyze the extent to which existing policies and directives address the challenges identified by these organizations. The Government of Canada has identified sport development as a social policy issue, with a mandate to enhance the physical activity of Canadians (Canadian Sport Policy, 2002; Physical Activity and Sport Act, 2003). CSOs are expected to be a major player in providing opportunities for increased sport participation (Canadian Sport Policy, 2002). Thus, it is important to understand the capacity of these organizations to contribute to the government’s sport development mandate, and evaluate whether existing policies and strategies focus on the identified strengths and weaknesses of CSOs.
The research program builds on a model of five broad capacity dimensions that have been identified as critical to organizational performance in the nonprofit sector; specifically, human resources, finance, infrastructure and process, planning and development, and relationships and networks (Hall et al., 2003). To date, research on CSOs has been limited to a focus primarily on aspects of human resources capacity, with some consideration of relationships and network capacity (e.g., Cousens et al., 2006; Cuskelly, 2004; Doherty, 2005a,b; Thibault, Frisby, & Kikulis, 1999). An investigation of organizational capacity based on a multidimensional framework will provide broader insight into the factors, and the interactions among them, that affect the ability of CSOs to contribute to enhanced participation in community level sport in Canada. A further critical analysis of existing policies and strategies directed towards strengthening CSOs will be determine the extent to which these directives are consistent with the dimensions identified as critical to sport development in CSOs (e.g., Fischer, 1995).
The expected outcome is a comprehensive profile of capacity in CSOs that underscores the relative importance of the various organizational dimensions for maintaining and increasing community sport participation levels. The findings will provide a comprehensive foundation for informing policy, strategy and practice directed towards sustaining and building capacity in CSOs; a foundation that will be enhanced by a critique of where efforts are currently directed.
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