You are being invited to complete an anonymous survey on the major priorities and actions for the Canadian outdoor play sector (e.g., outdoor play oriented education, research, policy, organizations, community & youth programs) moving forward over the next five years.

This survey is being done as part of a larger Outdoor Play in Canada State of the Sector Report, which will serve as an account of what has happened within the outdoor play sector over the past six years, where we are now, and where we need to go from here. The Report will serve to bring the many Canadian outdoor play-oriented groups together to create a sense of ‘community’, provide a common vision for the sector to succeed over the next five years, and identify priorities for action.

As part of the process of identifying priorities for action, Outdoor Play Canada hosted a series of online consultation meetings with individuals from across Canada from government, policy, not-for-profit and for-profit organizations, education, and research. During these meetings we asked participants to identify what they felt were the major priorities for the sector and what actions need to be taken to move these priorities forward. Common priorities and actions were identified, refined, and voted on. We are now reaching out to our wider networks for input on these priorities and actions so that this report is truly representative of the sector. We are seeking your input because we want to know if you agree with these priorities and actions, if you have suggested edits/changes, and what we may still be missing.

Taking part in this survey is voluntary. You are free to withdraw from the survey at any time and there will be no penalty to you. We expect to invite approximately 2000 individuals to participate.  

Participants will be asked to complete an anonymous online survey that should take no longer than 30 minutes to complete.  

Questions in the survey will include nine priorities and their related actions, including:
Promote the Health, Wellbeing, and Developmental Benefits of Outdoor Play
Promote, Protect, and Preserve Outdoor Play Environments    
Advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in Outdoor Play
Ensure that Outdoor Play Initiatives Represent the Diverse Cultures, Languages, and Perspectives of Indigenous Peoples of North America
Research and Support Data Collection on Outdoor Play
Reform the Balance of Benefit and Risk in Outdoor Play OR Reframe the Approach to Liability, Safety, and Injury Prevention in Outdoor Play (we will ask for your input on title preference for this priority)
Leverage Engagement Opportunities with the Outdoors During and After COVID-19  
Increase and Improve Professional Development Opportunities in Outdoor Play
Expand and Enable Cross-Sectoral Connections/Collaborations

All information gathered from the survey will be kept strictly confidential. If we publish or present the survey results, we will not use any identifying information. We will keep all survey data on password-protected computers at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Research Institute. Following completion of the survey the data will be kept for 7 years after the last publication of this survey. They will then be destroyed. Data collected for this research may be used in future related research projects that are either an extension of the original project or in the same general area of research. Researchers outside of this specific study may request access to the data for new research purposes. Participants will not be asked to provide additional informed consent for the use of anonymous data for future research. You may or may not directly benefit from the survey. However, your input and perspective would be of tremendous value to us. You may choose not to answer a question. If you would like to be informed of the results of this survey, please contact Dr. Louise de Lannoy by email (ldelannoy@cheo.on.ca).

Your consent will be assumed upon completion of the survey.

The CHEO Research Ethics Board (REB) has reviewed and approved this survey.

Please feel free to contact Dr. Louise de Lannoy at ldelannoy@cheo.on.ca, if you have any questions about the survey.  

Your assistance with this survey is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time and consideration.