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Situation Analysis 63

partnerships and in developing plans, as well as recruiting and
retaining qualified staff.
• While interest is high and passion is strong at the community level,
the reality of day-to-day work continues to push the physical activity
agenda to the corner of the desk or to fall on volunteer shoulders.
Advocating for increased investment in human resources at the
community level continues to be critical.

Opportunities and Challenges
• Prior to the SIM launch in 2003, there were no other physical activity
strategies at the provincial level and very few community-based
strategies. While initially identified as a weakness, it quickly became an
opportunity as schools, communities, workplaces, neighborhoods, senior
centers, and other settings all rallied behind the SIM brand and adopted
it as their own.
• As mentioned earlier, Saskatchewan is a province of approximately
1 million people. The two largest cities each have a population of
approximately 200,000, and the remaining 600,000 are spread
among 800 communities ranging in size from 30,000 to 10. Many
are isolated communities in the far north and other sparsely
populated areas. Delivering a community-based strategy is more
challenging when expertise and human capacity are limited outside
of the two major centers. To address this issue, SIM placed
significant emphasis on building community capacity and
leadership training.
• At the time of the SIM launch, the province was leading up to its
centennial in 2005, which provided many opportunities for new
funding and programs. SIM was initially funded as part of the
centennial celebrations to promote a sustainable future for the
people of Saskatchewan.
• The people of Saskatchewan take great pride in being the lead
province to establish the current national healthcare system. While
highly valued, provincial healthcare spending continues to grow
at a challenging rate. This situation lends a sense of urgency and
commitment to explore new solutions with a wide range of
partners.