Toward a Cultural Transformation Playbook for Canadian Sport: The Case of Rugby Canada

The purpose of this SSHRC funded projects is to analyze Rugby Canada’s cultural transformation in order to inform the development of sport organizations in Canada and beyond.

The purpose of this study is to document the cultural transformation of Rugby Canada in order to distill and mobilize learnings and inform the cultural repair and development of sport organizations in Canada and beyond. Starting in early 2021, Rugby Canada faced reputational crises and, in response, undertook significant organizational learning and cultural change. The organization engaged in a comprehensive independent review, adopted all 12 broad recommendations in strategy, culture, and structure, hired a new head coach and a new CEO, and began a strategic planning process. The recently appointed CEO articulates a new vision for Rugby Canada as 'one squad' with the aim 'to be recognized and respected worldwide as a top-12 rugby nation on and off the field.' Former chair of Rugby Canada's board of directors and leadership team espoused the importance of integrity and alignment to ensuring safe, healthy, sustainable delivery of their sport along with the need to model best practices within Canada and worldwide (Strategic Plan, 2024).

In partnership with Rugby Canada, the objectives of the study are to analyze the cultural contexts of staff and administration, national teams, as well as provincial, club, school, and community environments; interview or survey participants at various stages of the cultural development program and within their unique contexts; summarize and evaluate the impact of the cultural development program Rugby Canada has undertaken in terms of organizational health and performance; refine the program based on evaluative feedback and assessments; distill and disseminate the learnings from this case study to other sport organizations within Canada and beyond. The research is significant in its response to the crisis Canada is currently facing in sport. With most of the country's national sport organizations facing lawsuits, independent reviews, or sport integrity investigations, Canadian sport organizations could benefit from the transformational learning and cultural changes undertaken by one of the largest sport organizations in Canada.