Interorganizational linkages in the delivery of local leisure services in Canada: responding to economic, political and social pressures

The organizational dynamics of under‐managed partnerships in leisure service departments

“…More recently, these departments have been undergoing a strategic shift and are pursuing partnerships with a wider range of partners, in response to a number of social, political, and economic pressures (Crompton, 1989;Glover and Burton, 1998;Thibault et al, 1999). These pressures include increased public demand for services with no concomitant tax increases, requirements for transparent and accountable tax-based spending, the offloading of responsibilities to local governments by other levels of government, and declining fiscal, human and infrastructure resources.…”

Resourcefulness, reciprocity and reflexivity: the three Rs of partnership in sport for public health research

“…However, it is worth noting that existing scholarship on sport partnerships has variously focused on managerial structures and processes and the organisational dynamics within a range of multi-agency contexts including: public sector sport and leisure services (Frisby et al 2004, Thibault et al 1999Shaw and Allen 2006); elite sport development (Green and Oakley 2001); county sport partnerships (Mackintosh 2011); sport in international development (Lindsey andBanda 2011, Kay et al 2015); school sport Leech 2010, Flintoff et al 2011) and community sport (Frisby and Millar 2002;Miesner andDoherty 2009, 2012). Alongside a focus on the more functional aspects of implementing and working in partnerships, further research has raised critical questions about the contested nature of partnership arrangements in sport in conceptual, applied and case study accounts of the policy context and politics of partnerships (see for example, Green andHoulihan 2004, McDonald 2005;Green 2007, Hayhurst and Frisby 2010, Mansfield and Killick 2012.…”

Sport Development and Community Development

“…In the United Kingdom and Canada, which are just two examples cited in the literature, local public sector employees (Houlihan and White, 2002;Frisby and Millar, 2002) and local authorities more generally have commonly been strongly involved in efforts to use sport to address a variety of social objectives within local communities (Roberts, 2004;Bolton et al, 2008;Thilbault, Frisby and Kikulis, 1999). Beyond the local public sector, voluntary sector organisations are also often highlighted as important in contributing to sport and community development.…”

“…As has been recognised by authors such as Coalter (2007) and Lawson (2005), sport is unlikely in isolation to make a significant contribution to development within communities. Therefore, linking with organisations from other policy sectors is essential for many sport organisations not only to improve programmes but also to access resources (Thilbault et al, 1999;Frisby and Millar, 2002). The extent to which sport organisations are themselves effectively included in broader collaborations associated with community development remains open to question and probably a large degree of local variation.…”

“…In respect of the governance of communities, this applicability is highlighted by the increasing prominence of local partnerships and other forms of alliances involving sport organisations in a variety of different countries (e.g. Thilbault, Frisby and Kikulis, 1999, in the United States of America; Lindsey, 2009, in England;Alexander, Thilbault and Frisby, 2008, in Canada). Moreover, in the United Kingdom in particular, Bolton et al (2008, p94) consider that the development of network governance "provided a new legitimacy to community sport development".…”