A current awareness resource for students & faculty members in Business & Economics

Trampoline 7 of 12: Publishers - Associations

Published April 18, 2018 by Mark Bodnar

Advocacy & Industry Associations (including NGOs) can be gold mines of information, and there’s an association for almost every societal issue, health condition, and industry.

In a few cases, they might restrict their information to their members, but most provide free access to reports, data, and more… largely because they want to get the word out about their causes and affect public opinion. Perhaps they are hoping for more funding, changes in people’s behaviours, reduced government regulation… regardless of their goals, the information they provide may fit your needs.

Search tip

Start with a simple Google search for the word Association, along with a few words about your broader issue (e.g, outdoor recreation, camping, physical activity and health…). Add in a province or country name to focus on local associations, but be open to repurposing information from associations in other regions.

Once you find a relevant association, check to see if they have links labeled Research, Resources, Statistics, Media, or even just About Us.

Here are a few samples of the types of resources I found at association sites in my first few searches:

Outdoor Recreation in America (American Recreation Coalition): North American Camping Report: 2017 (interesting numbers on age and ethnicity trends)

Institute for Canadian Citizenship (but posted to Volunteer Alberta site): Playing together – new citizens, sports & belonging The same site also posted this report by Community Foundations of Canada: Vital Signs 2016 – Sports and Belonging

Outdoor Industry Association - USA: Remember: Research is often about learning from the experiences of others… don’t ignore non-Canadian content! Not all of the OIA resources are free, but many are...

Sport Information Resource Centre: “the leading and most trusted source to learn, share and support Canada’s sport community for over 40 years.”

Knowledge Transfer Papers - Completed Projects from the Sport Canada Research Initiative Conference held in Sept. 2017 – this is an amazing collection of summaries of research done on all aspects of sports in Canada – including barriers, social exclusion, promotion… many of the topics you are exploring.
Also see this document for the poster presentations and research abstracts from the same conference.
SIRC also publishes a free online magazine: Community Connections

BC Healthy Living Alliance: “a provincial coalition of organizations ... formed to improve the health of British Columbians” is responsible for these Physical Activity Strategy documents and has a useful collection of Reports/Resources

ParticipACTION Canada: offers research, report cards, the Pulse Report (sponsored by MEC), and more

Canadian Parks and Recreation Association: Framework for Recreation in Canada & Parks for All

Canadian Parks Council: Connecting Canadians with Nature: An Investment in the Well-Being of Our Citizens

The Federation of Mountain Clubs of BC published this study done by SFU researchers (Yay, SFU!): “Non-Motorized Outdoor Recreation in British Columbia in 2012: Participation and Economic Contributions”