* What's New at www.gdsourcing.com

* Statistics Canada releases

* Strategic Planning for the Cultural Sector

* Federal Government Documents Online

* Small Business Stats Facts

For data table spacing, this newsletter is best viewed in Courier 10

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INTRODUCTION - EDITOR'S COMMENTS

Hello,

Happy Canada Day!

I hope everyone takes a moment to wave the "red and white" and congratulate
ourselves on building a wonderful country (even if we have dropped to
number 3 in the world behind Norway and Australia). We all know there is
room for improvement but put aside the complaints for one day and remember
all the benefits we have here in Canada and don't forget our hockey double
gold at the Olympics!

I am proud to announce that there is a new member on the GDSourcing team:
Shawna White.  Shawna brings with her extensive experience from the private
and public cultural sector. Her expertise is in Strategic Planning and
helping profit and non-profit arts & cultural organizations research their
market and succeed in a challenging industry niche. (See article below for
more insights into Strategic Planning)

Shawna will be heading up our new cultural services division.  For more
information on our new services contact her at [email protected]

The primary focus of GDSourcing is still on Canadian new entrepreneurs and
small businesses but having completed a number of research projects for
cultural organizations across the country we felt it was a good specialty
service to add to our repertoire.  (I won't bore you with the extensive
market research behind that "feeling"!)

We are very excited at how the 2002 Research Guide is coming together.  We
now have a release date of August 14, 2002.   This promises to be the best
guide ever with more than double the references, updated advice and new
statistical features.  It will also be available in a variety of formats
and pricing structures.  More information on that in the near future.

I hope you find this issue helpful.

Sincerely,

John White
Editor

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WHAT'S NEW AT www.GDSOURCING.COM - EMPLOYMENT, PCs, DCs & KID SAFETY


The following web sites were added to the GDSourcing index over the last
four weeks.  GDSourcing is a reference point for free Canadian statistics
on-line. 


INTEL CANADA
Site: http://www.intel.com/ca/index.htm
GDSourcing Site Summary: http://www.gdsourcing.com/works/Intel.htm

Highlight results of mobile computing survey.


CHIROSTART
Site: http://www.chirostart.com/
GDSourcing Site Summary: http://www.gdsourcing.com/works/Chirostart.htm

Data related to chiropractors in Canada.



MANPOWER
Site: http://www.manpower.ca/en/index.asp
GDSourcing Site Summary: http://www.gdsourcing.com/works/Manpower.htm

Employment Outlook Survey: quarterly measurement of the hiring intentions
of 1,700 employers in 44 Canadian markets.



SAFE KIDS CANADA
Site: http://www.canwea.ca/
GDSourcing Site Summary: http://www.gdsourcing.com/works/SafeKidsCanada.htm

Data related to children's injuries
 

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STATISTICS CANADA RELEASES

The following statistics were release by Statistics Canada over the last
four weeks.  We have listed those releases we feel are of the most interest
to Canadian entrepreneurs. 

Very few of these statistics are available on-line.  The URL listed is a
direct link to the press release associated with the data.  It provides
contact and ordering information.

If you want to purchase any publication related to these releases please
see our web site: http://www.gdsourcing.com/works/StatCan.htm

We offer a 20% discount on most Stats Can publications and a 10% discount
on Stats Can electronic products.  For more information you can reach us at
[email protected].  Put "StatsCan" in the subject line of your e-mail.

We have identified below which releases have a FREE publication associated
with them.


AGRICULTURE


Agriculture value added account 2001 and 2000 (revised)
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020620/d020620h.htm

Balance sheet of the agricultural sector at December 31 2001 and 2000
(revised)
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020620/d020620i.htm

Farm business cash flows 2001 and 2000 (revised)
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020620/d020620j.htm

Food consumption 2001
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020613/d020613g.htm

Fruit and vegetable production 2002 and 2001 (revised)
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020614/d020614d.htm

Farm families' total income 1999
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020603/d020603b.htm

Grain trade of Canada 2000 and 2001
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020530/d020530h.htm

2001 Census of Agriculture: Farm operations in the 21st century
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020612/b020612a.htm



BUSINESS SERVICES

Organizational and technological change in the private sector 1998 to 2000
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020617/d020617e.htm

Annual Survey of Surveying and Mapping Services 2000
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020621/d020621f.htm



CONSTRUCTION / REAL ESTATE

Housing: An income issue 2000
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020621/d020621b.htm

Flows and stocks of fixed residential capital 2001 (revised)
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020621/d020621e.htm



CULTURE

Television broadcasting 2001
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020618/d020618b.htm



ECONOMIC INDICATORS


Gender pay differentials: Impact of the workplace  1999
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020619/d020619b.htm

Foreign control in the Canadian economy 1999
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020619/d020619d.htm



EDUCATION

Labour market success for culture graduates 1997
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020619/d020619e.htm



INTERNET

Embracing e-business: Does size matter?, 2001
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020606/d020606b.htm

Internet dropouts and infrequent users 2000
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020611/d020611b.htm



JUSTICE SERVICES

Criminal victimization: An international perspective 2000
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020530/d020530i.htm

Home invasion 1995 to 2000
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020604/d020604d.htm

Highlights of the conditional sentencing special study 1997/98 to 2000/01
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020604/d020604e.htm



MANUFACTURING

The importance of new firms in Canadian manufacturing 1989 to 1997
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020529/d020529h.htm

Energy consumption by manufacturing industries 1995 to 2000
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020610/d020610b.htm




MARKET

Neighbourhoods and long-term success in the labour market 1986 to 1998
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020603/d020603e.htm

Food consumption 2001
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020613/d020613g.htm



TRANSPORTATION & TOURISM

Characteristics of international travellers, fourth quarter 2001 and annual
2001
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020529/d020529a.htm

Evolution of the deep-sea fleet that supports Canada's international trade
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020605/d020605d.htm

Canadian Vehicle Survey 2001
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020607/d020607d.htm

Travel arrangement services 2000 (preliminary)
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020617/d020617d.htm
 

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STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR THE CULTURE SECTOR

Strategic Planning offers many of the same benefits to the cultural sector
as are usually associated with the business world.  In a marketplace that
is highly competitive for funding, membership/attendance and sponsorship, a
clearly defined focus is essential for a cultural organization to be
successful.  It also provides a competitive advantage as many cultural
organizations have yet to develop one.

Strategic Planning is an effective tool for identifying realistic goals and
priorities. Its primary purpose is to map out growth. In order to grow, an
organization must position itself so that it can anticipate change, and
more importantly act on it. 

Changes within our society, marked by rapidly changing technologies,
shifting economic paradigms, and the convergence of diverse cultures, have
deeply affected the cultural environment.  As such, organizations in this
sector need to re-examine their roles within this environment to ensure not
only that they are meeting their core mandates, but also to ensure their
own future survival.

What is Involved?

Strategic Planning is an open process which needs input from a variety of
sources including internal and external stakeholders, other cultural
institutions and relevant external studies.  The process should include:

* An examination of the organization's mission statement and corporate
objectives

* Identification of the internal and external environments impacting on the
organization today and those issues that are projected to be important in
the near future

* Enunciation of strategic directions based on the above analyses, designed
to provide a framework for the development of annual plans

* Generation of strategies from these directions



   SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS

A Strategic Plan starts with a thorough Situational Analysis.  It closely
examines both internal and external characteristics of your particular
market. 

It is divided into 4 basic components:


1. Know your audience 

Who are your clients?  What are their needs, motives, attitudes and
perceptions?  Relevant external studies need to be examined in order to
provide a clearer picture of the overall operating environment.  In
Ontario, for example, numerous cultural impact studies have been conducted
including the pivotal work, Mapping a Future for Ontario's Public Art
Galleries, produced in 1994 by N.L. Hushion & Associates, Heath Consultants
and Angus Reid Group.  Nationally, the TAMS Cultural and Entertainment
Segmentation Report, released September 2001, surveyed Canadian and
American travellers looking at their past cultural activities and future
travel plans.  While Statistic Canada's General Social Survey, 1998,
includes many cultural components.

Key resources for understanding your market can also be found by examining
demographic trends, spending patterns, and the distribution of wealth among
Canadians. 

You should also talk to your clients directly through surveys, focus groups
& environmental monitoring.



2. Know your competition 

Who are your competitors (both profit & non-profit)?  How do you measure up
against them?  Examining the activities of other cultural organizations can
often provide very useful insight for your own.  Close comparisons may help
to identify a niche market to explore.



3. Know Yourself

Strategic Planning needs to be done from the inside out.  An effective plan
is not the domain of one individual or department, but rather the concern
of the entire organization.  Everyone needs to "buy-in".  Even if their own
role in the process is limited, they still need to be, and more importantly
feel, a part of it. 

Draft copies of research findings should be distributed to all departments
in order to facilitate their responses and begin to draft recommendations
and priorities.  Each department in an organization views things from a
different perspective.  A wide range of voices can help clarify issues and
identify problems while at the same time allowing everyone to be a part of
the process. 



4. Know Your Product/Service

What are you offering to the public?  What is your product/service?  Is
this something that they want?  An analysis of current offerings enables
organizations to assess their strengths and weaknesses.

* Where have we been?
* Where are we today?
* Where do we want to be?
* How are we going to get there?



  STRATEGIC DIRECTION


Based on the Situational Analysis the Strategic Plan can now identify the
key areas that need to be changed or improved upon in order for corporate
objectives to be met.

The Strategic Direction can involve an entire rethinking of corporate
policy but in most cases it is targeted towards a few specific goals such
as raising attendance levels, increasing fund raising, initiating corporate
sponsor partnerships, enhancing community image, or entering new markets.

No matter what the context, the Strategic Direction must include specific
performance targets and realistic steps to reaching them.  They must be
reviewed annually and successes and failures evaluated.  Otherwise it will
be just another "feel good" document filed away among previous vague
mission statements and guidelines.

It also must be the result of "real" and ongoing consultations from all
stakeholders and departments.  This is not to say the plan will never be
acted upon (some cultural organizations have "analysis paralysis" down to a
science!) but rather everyone must feel they are an important part of not
only the implementation of the plan but of its original development and
evolution.  The Strategic Direction is not an edict from management but
rather an agreement among all members of an organization of how they can
reach specific goals.

Strategic Planning is a common practice in the business sector but among
many cultural organizations it is a foreign concept often viewed with
suspicion.  The culture sector operates in a unique environment where
profit is not the only consideration.  Its services and products carry more
than a monetary value and can impact the lives of Canadians over their
lifetime. 

Strategic Planning embraces that aspect of the sector and encourages
greater success in providing this "added value" to the marketplace.  It
creates a framework within a cultural organization whereby it can
understand its place within the business sector and recognize the unique
opportunities available to it.

GDSourcing's new cultural division can help your cultural organization
(profit or non-profit) develop and implement a comprehensive or targeted
Strategic Plan.  Please contact us at [email protected] for more
information.

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GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS ONLINE


The Canadian federal government publishes thousands of publications each
year, many of which are of use to business researchers.

One way of searching for any information relevant to your sector or market
is to search the Depository Services Program web site. 

The Depository Services Program or DSP was established in 1927 as an
essential link between the Canadian federal government and its clients -
the Canadian public, other governments, universities and businesses. Its
primary objective is to ensure that Canadians have ready and equal access
to federal government information. The DSP achieves this objective by
supplying these materials to a network of more than 790 libraries in Canada
and to another 147 institutions around the world holding collections of
Canadian government publications. The Program is administered by Public
Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC).

You can search their catalogue for federal publications at the following
address: http://dsp-psd.communication.gc.ca/search_form-e.html

While many government publications are now available electronically, there
are still some that are only available in hardcopy.  You can purchase these
documents through the issuing agent or access them through a full
depository library.  A listing of full depository libraries is also
available at the DSP web site:
http://dsp-psd.communication.gc.ca/Depo/table-e.html

The DSP web site also has other helpful features such as a listing of
Canadian federal government databases accessible through the Internet
(http://dsp-psd.communication.gc.ca/Checklist/s01-01-e.html) and a
"Canadian Government Information on the Internet" gateway that provides
links to federal, provincial and local government across Canada.

They are your tax dollars at work so take advantage of research that has
already been conducted!
 

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SMALL BUSINESS STATS FACTS

Each Business Researcher Newsletter ends with a collection of five
statistics that every entrepreneur should be aware of. 



1. What percentage of the Canadian population are "Culture Seekers"?  What
percentage of the American population?

Canada: 6.3%
United States: 8.4%

Source: Lang Research (Sept 2001)



2. What percentage of "Culture Seekers" plan to travel to/within Canada in
the next two years?

CANADIANS
Very likely: 68%
Likely: 12%

AMERICANS
Very likely: 29%
Likely: 23%

Source: Lang Research (Sept 2001)



3. What percentage of Canadian millionaires subscribe to the opera,
symphony, art gallery, museum, live theatre, ballet?

Opera: 9%
Symphony: 26%
Art gallery: 25%
Museum: 26%
Live theatre: 37%
Ballet: 8%

Source: Taddingstone (Feb 2002)



4. What percentage of Canadian small firms had Internet access in 2001?

Small firms: 68%
Medium-sized firms: 91%
Large firms: 94%
(Firm size groupings were based on the number of full-time employees: small
firms had up to 19 employees, medium firms from 20 to 99, and large firms
100 or more. For manufacturing industries, medium firms had between 20 and
499, and large firms 500 or more).

Source: Statistics Canada (June 6 2002)



5. What percentage of Canadian small firms had a Web site in 2001?

Small firms: 24%
Medium-sized firms: 57%
Large firms: 74%

Source: Statistics Canada (June 6 2002)

 

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