Andrew Webb,
The MLSE Launchpad: cross-sector social partnership success factors

Principal Investigator: Andrew Webb, International Business
Partner: MLSE LaunchPad
Funder: SSHRC Partnership Engage Grant

The goal of this research project is to identify and broaden current knowledge, theories and frameworks in strategic alliance management, and provide rich details regarding how firms and non-profit organizations come together to achieve successful cross-sector social partnerships. Specifically, the long-term operational success of the Maple Leafs Sport and Entertainment Group (MLSE) LaunchPad, a not for profit organization designed as an ambitious ‘living lab’ to explore and measure how sport can help improve the lives of youth will be examined. This project will address gaps in knowledge identified in research by Dr. Webb, with the following objectives: to understand what influences and ultimately determines how and why firms decide to financially support non-profit agencies such as the MLSE LaunchPad; to examine and triangulate the action of recruiting, activating, and retaining partners in a cross-sector social partnership from the point of view of the sponsors, the MLSE LaunchPad, as well as the associated non-profit organizations that operate in the LaunchPad space; to trace connections between the actors involved in the strategic alliance in order to better understand the success drivers of the alliance in the growing field of sports for development.