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64 CHAPTER 3 ■ Saskatchewan in Motion

Threats
The government of Saskatchewan provides short-term grant funding to SIM
through a special fund from casino revenues. Although the investment has been
significant, the short-term nature of the financial support poses a threat to the
sustainability of the initiative:

• In the early years, some partners were slow to “join the movement.” SIM
was viewed as a short-term “flavor-of-the-month” initiative without
sustained support for community action.
• It can be challenging to provide frequent reports and grant proposals
showing significant short-term successes when addressing long-term
societal change.

PA ST A ND S IMIL A R EF F O R T S

A wide range of excellent physical activity strategies began to emerge across
Canada in communities and provinces in the late 1990s. SIM was unique in
that it was the only strategy that embraced a comprehensive, multisetting so-
cial marketing approach. SIM looked to other successful health promotion
strategies, such as tobacco reduction, seatbelt usage, and recycling, for guid-
ance to build the strategy.

TA RG E T A U DI E NCES

A wide range of public, stakeholder, and decision-maker audiences, summa-
rized in Table 3-1, were considered in the SIM initiative.
The following demographic segments were identified as priorities:

• People aged 30 to 55 years (primarily because of their role as parents, as
well as key influencers in communities, schools, workplaces, and
families).
• Children.
• Youth.
• Aboriginal peoples.