Strategic Plan

Transcription

1 BUILDING A SRONGER FUTURE FOR TOMORROW S ATHLETES

2 A Word from the President AthletesCAN has come to the end of our current strategic plan and this has given us the opportunity to chart a new course for the next 4 years. This is an important process in the evolution and growth of AthletesCAN and has allowed us to take pause and reevaluate our role and contributions to and for our athletes and the Canadian sport system. AthletesCAN has developed a strategic plan to 2015 that has benefitted from the advice and leadership of its core planning team, interviews with key informants, a survey of its members, focus groups and online polls. The goal of this strategic plan is to focus the organization s assets in key areas over the next four years, continue to build capacity amongst members and staff to realize these objectives, and help the organization continuously adapt in today s ever changing landscape. Throughout the strategic planning engagement process, participants were invited to think about the future they wanted to generate for AthletesCAN, the kinds of activities required to achieve that preferred future, and to determine indicators that would help staff and volunteers determine progress along the way. As the collective voice of athletes in Canada, it is important that these statements resonate and reflect our members beliefs. We are very proud of the work we have done collectively to map out our strategic priorities over the next four years. These include developing valued services for our members, continuing to invest in and support our members in the area of leadership development, growing the athlete voice and ensuring that the organization is running as effectively and efficiently as possible to achieve our objectives. By doing so, we believe that AthletesCAN will continue to build upon the solid foundation already in place by ensuring that our members benefit from relevant services and programs empowering them to achieve their full potential on the field of play and beyond. Yours in sport, Andrew Nisker President, AthletesCAN

3 Executive Summary Overview Over the past 18 months, AthletesCAN has engaged its members in a systemwide dialogue on determining its future priorities to The result is a Strategic Plan that encompasses the vision and wisdom of hundreds of athlete voices both past and present and sets the course for a core set of strategic directions that are clearly defined and outcome focused. This level of engagement is a testament to AthletesCAN s commitment to harness the voices of its members by providing them with an opportunity to share and shape the organization s future over the next several years. The Strategic Planning process was championed by senior management and a core group of Board members, with support from two planning consultants, who had been tasked with developing the strategic planning process and providing recommendations to the Board. AthletesCAN defined its Strategic Plan as both a leadership and management tool. As a management tool, this Strategic Plan defines the organization s future direction and paints a picture of the outcomes it expects to deliver. As a leadership tool, the process provided AthletesCAN members with an opportunity to learn, listen, and grow. Supporting documents and reports were prepared to capture the rich dialogue that occurred across the AthletesCAN membership. For additional information please review the following key documents: Harnessing our Voices: What athletes are saying about the future role of AthletesCAN Executive Summary to July 21, Member s Survey Report The Planning Committee also took into account the four pillars of the Canadian Sport Policy throughout the strategic planning process as increasingly the pillars are becoming integrated into sport organizations planning frameworks. Moreover, the pillars present a useful lens when considering future opportunities, factoring in external trends, and taking into account existing realities.

4 Renewal of Mission, Vision, Values An important component of the Strategic Plan is a review and renewal of the organization s foundational statements its mission, vision, and values. AthletesCAN took this opportunity to review these statements by engaging athlete leaders in a meaningful dialogue. The results are captured in the Harnessing our Voices report and formed a foundation upon which the Strategic Planning Committee could enhance the current language. This renewal process also increased the level of understanding that members had of the organization s core mandate, the values it believed in most, and the vision it set out to achieve. Strategic Directions and Desired Outcomes Guided by the insights captured throughout the consultation process, a review of key trends affecting the Canadian sport sector, and AthletesCAN s current operational plan, the Board approved a core set of strategic directions that focuses the organization s priorities over to An important component of this process was determining the outcome statements throughout the inquiry and data analysis. This provided a more robust way to measure the strength of the strategic directions and provided participants in the strategic planning process with an opportunity to contribute to meaningful and relevant outcomes. Subsequently, indicators have been developed to measure the organization s performance against the achievement of its strategic directions over the next four years. AthletesCAN is also committed to embedding a monitoring process to continually assess its performance, to adapt its strategies in real-time based on best available data, and to adjust accordingly. Moving Forward AthletesCAN is proud of the work it did and the insights it captured throughout the strategic planning process. By inviting its members into the process, it not only determined relevant strategies and outcome, but more importantly, it invested in building and strengthening their capacity. The organization is hopeful that the investment of time, resources, and energy throughout this system-wide inquiry will prove fruitful in the years ahead.

5 Telling Our Story voices from AthletesCAN AthletesCAN has a simple but powerful vision of a Canadian sport system that empowers athletes to achieve their full potential on the field of play and beyond. Our mission is simple: As the collective voice for Canada s national team athletes, we strive to ensure a fair, responsive, and supportive sport system; we provide valued programs and services to our members; and we develop effective athlete leaders. In fulfilling our mission, we believe in and foster a core set of values in all that we do advocacy, community, excellence, and leadership. Led by a committed group of current and retired national team athletes - AthletesCAN benefits from a rich history. Two decades ago, passionate trail blazers came together to challenge the Canadian sport system. These early days helped to build today s athlete centered sport system and provided hundreds of athletes with the opportunity to contribute in a number of important ways. Over the years, AthletesCAN has invested in leadership development opportunities. Through a deliberate investment in the building and strengthening of strategic partnerships, AthletesCAN has continued to pioneer innovative ways to ensure inclusive decision-making by informing, educating, and advocating for an athlete centered sport system. More recently, we have worked to enhance the profile of national team athletes by equipping them with the knowledge they need and the platform they require to speak truth to power. This is our story. We are passionate about the idea behind AthletesCAN. We feel a deep sense of belonging and great pride to be associated with this organization. We believe in giving back. The following principles capture the essence of our commitment to the only Canadian organization who serves as our collective voice. We Belong where we come together, united in purpose, to create a strong and vibrant sport system;

6 We Believe we believe in our role as active participants in stewarding the kind of sport system we all want one that is fair, inclusive, safe, and generates extraordinary performances; We Learn AthletesCAN provides a safe and welcoming environment for us to learn and listen. We acquire the skills and translate these meaningful experiences into lifelong learning; We Succeed We go onto to do great things in Canadian sport on and off the field of play and are recognized and valued for our insights and contributions; We Give Back We have a deep desire to give back in service of sport. AthletesCAN serves an important and unique purpose in sport. There is a deep desire to see the organization grow, expand, and flourish. We are committed to becoming more purposeful about who we are and the difference we make for our members. We will do fewer things and do them exceptionally well. We will continue to provide our members with the programs and services they need to excel both on and off the field of play. In so doing, we believe that this advances the Canadian sport sector as a whole.

7 Our Vision A Canadian sport system that empowers our athletes to achieve their full potential on the field of play and beyond. Our Mission As the collective voice for Canada s national team athletes, we strive to: ensure a fair, responsive and supportive sport system provide valued programs and services to our members develop effective athlete leaders Our Values In contributing to a strong and vibrant Canadian sport system, AthletesCAN is committed to being an accountable and effective organization by promoting and living the following values in our work and through our actions: Advocacy: We strive to ensure that the voices of our members are represented and rights respected. Community: We encourage athlete social responsibility by providing athletes with opportunities to give back and strengthen their community. Excellence: We support our members quest for excellence on the field of play and beyond by working in collaboration with our partners. Leadership: We develop athlete leaders, who lead by example, inspire others to excel and contribute to meaningful change where they live, work and play. (Vision, Mission and Values approved by Board of Directors on December 13, 2010)

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9 Strategic Plan Strategic Direction 1: Provide valued programs and services that support athletes in their pursuit of excellence on and off the field of play. Strategic Priority New Strategy / Action Objectives Continue to develop and deliver meaningful programs and services for athletes Develop a robust and progressive membership program Launch new service-based sponsors Conduct a comprehensive review of Forum and implement recommendations Determine and implement the business model for a membership program with associated implementation, communication and promotion strategies. By 2015: High level of awareness and satisfaction with AthletesCAN programs and services amongst members 4 new major sponsors and / or service providers Fee based membership program for athletes and alumni has been implemented. Forum is financially sustainable, offers dynamic and sought after programming for athletes and is one of the premier sport events of the year. Sport Solution provides athletes with effective representation and support throughout the dispute resolution process. Strategic Direction 2: Develop Athlete Leaders Strategic Priority New Strategy / Action Objectives Develop Athlete Leadership within Sport Develop Athlete Representatives Develop and implement best practices and standards for athlete representation Develop and implement athlete representation tools and resources for NSOs Use Athlete Social Responsibility as a platform to provide leadership opportunities for athletes By 2015 Published best practices, standards and resources for athlete representation, athlete councils and athletes on boards are being used by athletes and sport organizations. Athlete leadership tools and resources for NSOs have been developed and are being used by NSOs High level of use and satisfaction with the leadership tools and resources for athletes and NSOs More NSOs fund athlete representatives to attend Forum because they believe it provides valuable training and networking opportunities for athlete representatives. More AthletesCAN members are contributing to the sport community and engaged in Athlete Social Responsibility initiatives through AthletesCAN.

10 Strategic Plan Strategic Direction 3: Strengthen and grow the collective voice of Canadian National Team Athletes. Strategic Priority New Strategy / Action Objectives Strengthen member engagement, policy & advocacy capacity and strategic partnerships Identify and pursue policy & advocacy initiatives / issues Determine and implement a model for researching and determining policy positions. Develop and implement mechanisms that enhance AthletesCAN s ability to inform policy makers. By 2015 AthletesCAN positions are reflected in important policies and decisions affecting AthletesCAN members. Feedback mechanisms to inform policy makers and sport partners have been established. More AthletesCAN members are actively engaging with the organization on matters of policy and advocacy initiatives / issues Strategic Direction 4: Be an effective organization. Strategic Priority New Strategy / Action Objectives Ensure effective office practices are in place to facilitate the achievement of objectives. Increase the effectiveness of AthletesCAN governance Develop and implement risk-based monitoring, evaluation and reporting mechanisms for programs and services. Research, develop and implement a comprehensive social media & communications plan / strategy Develop and implement a diversified revenue strategy Develop and implement a Board and committee monitoring, evaluation, and reporting mechanism Develop and use training resources specific to the AthletesCAN Board By 2015 Best practices in all areas of office practices have been implemented Budget has increased by 50% There are diversified funding sources Decreased dependence on government funding Risk-based monitoring, evaluation and reporting mechanisms for programs and services have been developed and implemented. A comprehensive social media & communications plan / strategy has been researched, developed and implemented. Board and committee monitoring, evaluation, and reporting mechanisms have been developed and implemented. Training resources specific to the AthletesCAN Board have been developed and implemented.

11 Links to the Canadian Sport Policy Strategic Directions Enhanced Participation Enhanced Excellence Enhanced Capacity Enhanced Interaction SD 1: Provide valued programs and services that support athletes in their pursuit of excellence on and off the field of play. SD 2: Develop Athlete Leaders SD3: Strengthen and grow the collective voice of Canadian National Team Athletes. SD4: Be an effective organization. Monitoring and Measurement Strategy Additional work will be required to develop a measurement strategy for the strategic plan. This will entail determining: The indicators (data) needed to determine if an objective / target has been received (ex: number of sponsors renewed and their dollar value, number of new sponsors attracted and their dollar value) The data source(s) for this indicator (ex: AthletesCAN member, financial, database, project files, web log, etc) How this information would be collected (ex: evaluation form at Forum, survey of members / program users, file or database review, etc) Who is responsible for collecting this information? How often this information is collected Whether baseline information is needed and if so, has this information already been collected

12 Strategic Planning A Living Process Sport is dynamic as is this plan. AthletesCAN has benefited from many voices in the shaping of the Strategic Plan. And like those voices, this plan is a living, dynamic document that will grow and evolve with the organization; providing a solid foundation for planning between now and Members of the Strategic Planning Committee Andrew Nisker President, AthletesCAN Board of Directors Erik Petursson President Elect, AthletesCAN Board of Directors Alec Denys AthletesCAN Board of Directors Jasmine Northcott Executive Director, AthletesCAN Dina Bell Laroche Contractor Jennifer Birch-Jones Contractor