The new global currency: Information - LIN's Role

Are funders overlooking "The new global currency: Information" http://fortune.com/2009/10/07/the-new-global-currency-information/ … 

In Canada they appear to be. Many recreation sector funders, government and non government have overlooked the value of information in the innovation and creative process. Funders invest millions and millions of dollars on front line projects with measureable outcomes that require the use of and creation of information and the creation of websites to facilitate program or cause delivery.

Many of these information sites are not sustainable on their own and when funding ceases the by product of the funders "investment" is lost and the information generated is sent to the "data grave yard".

Retention of the information generated is indispensable for facilitating innovation. Medical researchers don't burn their data, observations and findings; they are retained because they could be key to other research projects.

In the last year the Leisure Information Network (LIN) volunteered to incorporate all the website resources for the the Active Living Alliance of Canadians with a Disability when they could no longer generate the funds required to maintain their operation. LIN did the same for another high profile national organization when the Federal government shifted priorities and ceased funding to the national initiative. (that they initiated)


What is innovation? The Conference Board defines innovation as a process through which economic or social value is extracted from knowledge—by creating, diffusing, and transforming ideas—to produce new or improved products, services, and processes.(Conference Board of Canada)

What has LIN's role been in the innovation process as an "information hub" for Canada's recreation sector?

• First LIN has been a collector of information from Provincial Recreation Associations, Federal & Provincial governments, academics and municipalities. research papers, success stories, conference papers, policy docs etc mostly grey literature)
• LIN has been a facilitator for sharing that information through its own website, newsletters and e-bulletins. (secondarily Google picks up the info)
• LIN acts as a curator of the information through online webinars and discussion groups.
• Through projects that LIN has managed it has become a website builder for others projects using its information collections as the backbone for new websites. New information generated via these websites is assimilated into LIN's special collections for further sharing.
• LIN has played a key role as the information anchor for The National Recreation Summit, The National Recreation Framework and most recently the Canadian Parks Summit.
• LIN actively moderates the Recreation Benefits Hub adding new research data as it is made available.

Next Steps for LIN

• Bring the National Recreation Framework  Information Hub online
• Concentrated focus on support for the National Recreation Initiative
• Revitalize the current website for phone/tablet compatibility and a more modern look
• Extended survey work to enhance the National Recreation Database
• Expand the webinars to include more online topic training 
• Blogs by content experts, practitioners and volunteers
• Canadian Parks and Recreation E-Magazine
• Harmonize initiatives with the Parks Council of Canada
• Extend greater support for the National Parks Conference in 2017
• Enhanced Trend Tracking
• Leisure Education
• Initiate work on the Recreation & Leisure Policy Institute
• Core Funding request
• MOU with the Vancouver Island Centre of Excellence (World Leisure Organization)
• Enhanced efforts on partnership and alliance building with provincial and national organizations and agencies.
• Stronger use of social media

Information Hubs like LIN are needed to preserve information, to curate information, facilitate information sharing and to provide a resource pool of information to others who are building new sites.