here - Avon Scouts

County Plan for Avon Scouts: “Towards Outstanding Scouting”
Endorsed by the Executive Committee /Board of Trustees
th
19 March 2012
Overview
Background; Framework for our plans; Process followed in developing our plan
The next 10 years
Our strategic vision for the next ten years
Our strategic goals for the next ten years
Far more young people join and stay, preparing to be active citizens and shaping Scouting in
partnership with adults.
Far more adult volunteers enjoy Scouting, feel empowered, valued and proud, access appropriate
development opportunities and are more effective in their roles.
Our membership reflects the diversity of the communities in which we live, and embraces and
contributes to social change.
Our organisational arrangements are fit for purpose and provide well managed and sustainable
infrastructure, including for marketing, internal communications and partnerships.
Scouting experiences are consistently high quality, reflect our values and are focused on
The Next 5 Years: Executive Summary: This plan offers 5 strategic areas of development consistent with the
Scout Association’s national development plan for the next 10 years. Our aim within Avon is to achieve the following
in each of these strategic areas over the next 5 years:
Empowering young people
Revitalising and expanding the Scout Network, 14-25 leadership and support
Showcasing and promoting youth involvement and achievement
Improve the County’s Activities and Programme services and support
Valuing volunteers
Systematically increasing volunteer satisfaction and volunteer membership
Investing in developing volunteers and volunteering experiences
Direct recruitment support to growing Groups and Districts
Promoting inclusion
Promoting and supporting the opening of new Sections and Groups
Engaging underrepresented groups and communities in Scouting
Managing sustainably
Strategic, integrated and coherent marketing and communications
Diversifying income sources and sourcing greater resources to grow Scouting
Develop powerful strategic partnerships that support our goals
Leading effectively
Ensuring our decisions and actions are aligned to our strategy and that we influence
national Scouting policy and plans in accordance with this
Developing the highest standards of governance and management at all levels
Ensuring systematic and effective individual and collective reviews and using their findings
to help develop and determine our plans
For each strategic area the plan explains the background to and reasons for the proposed way forward. It is
supported by a detailed set of aims and objectives (operational delivery plan) for 2012-13 with a slightly more
loosely defined set of aims and objectives for 2013-14 and 2014-15.
County Plan for Avon Scouts: “Towards Outstanding Scouting”
1. Background
We have taken a long-range approach to (strategic) planning. This aims to ensure a stable and steady focus over a
sensible time horizon, commensurate with our scale and scope as an organisation with approximately 12,000
members.
We have questioned our traditional assumptions with a view to becoming more transformational, innovative and
ambitious in how we pursue growth and development. Our approach has been to go beyond just incrementally
building on what we know and do now. Working back from our vision of a future state we have identified the
implications for our shorter term priorities.
Our strategic plan also provides us with a basis for communicating and building ownership and understanding at all
levels of our vision and goals and the rationale underpinning them. In turn this will help us to build stronger, more
purposeful, committed and cohesive teams and more meaningful relations with other key stakeholders.
Accordingly our strategic plan:
clearly defines Avon Scout County’s shared direction comprising our vision and broad strategic goals for the
next ten years consistent with the mission, vision and values of the organisation.
establishes priorities for the next five years consistent with the longer-term direction and within our capacity
for implementation.
guides formulation of annual operational proposals and plans/budgets which will be refined and extended
on a rolling basis as well as influencing ongoing decisions and actions.
helps to ensure that we use our resources efficiently and to best effect by focusing them on our priorities.
provides a baseline from which progress can be measured and establishes a mechanism for informed change
when needed.
2. Framework for our plans
There are a number of “levels” to our plans:
At the ten year level there is a County vision and broad strategic goals.
At the three to five year level there are priorities linked to these strategic goals.
At the one to three year level we have mapped out planned actions for each of the next three years, with
greatest certainty about year one, and becoming more indicative after that. Where appropriate, detailed
project work plans will underpin these proposals and be used by volunteer managers to guide success.
A financial plan (including proposed budget for 2012-13) accompanies these proposals.
3. Process followed in developing our plan
A number of steps have culminated in our strategic plan:
When the County Commissioner was appointed he was asked to broadly set out the strategic direction and
leadership he would wish to provide in the context of the Association’s mission and 2018 vision. It was clear
that this would need to be developed along with key volunteers who would analyse our current situation,
define and agree the long-term vision, develop and be responsible for delivering the plans.
Accordingly, the vision was developed and refined in consultation with the County Management Team
(District Commissioners, County Training Manager, County Scout Network Commissioner, Deputy County
Commissioners) and the Regional Commissioner. This was based on a situation analysis (using SWOT and
PESTLE tools).
The County Management team also met “off-site” for a weekend to develop its ideas about how the plan
could be achieved and it was agreed that DCCs and a small reference group would refine these further.
Feedback was invited through our website on emerging proposals and parallel work was undertaken by the
DCC Operations to consult on the services and support provided at the County level and the principles
underpinning how these should be structured and organised.
The Trustee Board/County Executive have been kept informed of and invited to comment on progress
through the County Commissioner’s regular report to its meetings. The Chairman and County Commissioner
have met frequently and discussed many aspects of these proposals.
The CC and DCCs have worked with a large number of others to develop the final version of the strategic and
operational plan proposals. Subject to trustee scrutiny and approval, the agreed proposals will be taken
forward by the CC and his evolving County Team and a regular process of progress review and reporting will
commence.
Alongside implementing year one, more detailed work will take place on the proposed plans/budgets for the
next two years so that we eventually achieve a rolling cycle of updating our plans.
Due to the challenging timeframes we have been working to, a number of the specific 3-year proposals in
here are still subject to further detailed discussions and agreement with the relevant line managers and the
overall County Management Team.
Dan Wood
County Commissioner
19th March 2012
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The next 10 years
1. Our strategic vision for the next ten years
We want Scouting in Avon to be outstanding and to grow significantly during the next ten years.
Outstanding Scouting brings to life its purpose, values and method to great effect, everywhere it happens.
For our youth members this means it widens prospects; enriches lives; addresses needs and aspirations;
encourages values-based living; and empowers them to help shape Scouting and wider society.
For Avon Scouts to achieve our vision of outstanding Scouting, and consequently to have the potential to
grow significantly, we will address 5 key strategic goals (indicators of achievement) in everything we do at
County level, in our Districts and in individual Scout Groups.
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2. Our strategic goals for the next ten years
During the next ten years, we will focus our efforts and resources on five strategic goals which we believe are
integral to achieving our vision. These are crucial indicators of outstanding Scouting. They broadly describe the
future state of Scouting in Avon which we will concentrate our efforts and resources on achieving.
2.1
Far more young people join and stay, preparing to be active citizens and shaping Scouting
in partnership with adults.
This means that we will work to significantly grow the number of young people taking part in Scouting whilst
empowering them, in creative ways, to both develop their capacity and appetite for making decisions and
playing a much more active role in shaping our direction, decisions and activities so that these better reflect
their expressed needs and aspirations. Our target is 3% growth annually (reaching 10,500 youth members in
2014-15 and c. 11,200 by 2016-17), taking membership to their highest recorded levels in at least 30 years.
2.2
Far more adult volunteers enjoy Scouting, feel empowered, valued and proud, access
appropriate development opportunities and are more effective in their roles.
This means that we will work to significantly grow the number of volunteers and to develop an empowering,
open, outward-looking, innovative, flexible, inclusive and adaptable culture, where volunteers are more
effective and aspire to deliver outstanding Scouting, where their capabilities are developed and fully utilised,
and where they feel more motivated, valued, proud, and better communicated with. Our target is 3%
growth annually (reaching 2,218 volunteers in 2014-15 and 2,353 in 2016-17). Combined with the youth
target, we would see Avon’s total membership reach 12,760 members in 2014-15 and 13,537 in 2016-7.
2.3
Our membership reflects the diversity of the communities in which we live, and embraces
and contributes to social change.
This means that we will work to become more inclusive and to broaden our membership, making sure it
becomes even more representative of the communities we serve, especially in terms of gender, age,
ethnicity, disability, sexuality and faith.
2.4
Our organisational arrangements are fit for purpose and provide well managed and
sustainable infrastructure, including for marketing, internal communications and partnerships.
This means that we will invest in strengthening and modernising our infrastructure and marketing and
communications so that they are well managed, sustainable, support growth and are fit for purpose. We will
seek to renew or establish effective partnerships with individuals, organisations and networks who share
mutual objectives and who will help us to achieve our aims. We will work to diversify and increase our
income.
2.5
Scouting experiences are consistently high quality, reflect our values and are focused on
achieving our mission and vision.
This means that we will establish and maintain an up to date and more comprehensive picture of the quality
of Scouting in every locality, using this to proactively support the raising of quality across the board so that
every section reaches a minimum standard and all at least aspire to be outstanding, knowing what they need
to do to get there.
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Our strategic priorities for the next five years
Empowering
young people
• Revitalise & expand Scout Network & 14-25 leadership & support
• Showcase & promote youth involvement & achievement
• Improve the County's activites and programme services & support
Valuing
volunteers
• Systematically increase volunteer satisfaction & membership
• Invest in developing volunteers & volunteering experiences
• Direct recruitment support to growing Scout Groups and Districts
Promoting
inclusion
• Promote & support the opening of new Sections & Groups
• Engage under-represented groups & communities in Scouting
Managing
sustainably
• Strategic, integrated & coherent marketing & communications
• Diversify income & secure greater resources to grow Scouting
• Develop powerful strategic parnterhips that support our goals
Leading
effectively
• Decisions/actions aligned to strategy & influence national policy
• Highest standards of governance & management at all levels
• Effective individual & collective reveiws which inform our plans
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Empowering young people
a) Revitalising and expanding the Scout Network, 14-25 leadership and support
As our fifth youth section and in keeping with Scouting’s approach to the progressive development of young
people, Scout Network should be predominately youth-led and it should provide a framework for progressive
development suited to the age-range, including access to the Queen’s Scout and Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards
schemes as part of a wider balanced programme of development opportunities, challenge and adventure.
Scout Network has suffered significant decline in recent years, going from 160 members (who are not leaders in
other sections) in 2002 to just 40 in 2011 (-75%). In 2011, 40 further 18-25 year olds were involved as leaders in
other Sections. In contrast to the Explorer Scout Section which has grown every year since its inception (to 826
in 2012 from 312 in 2002, a 165% increase), Network has decreased in almost every year. According to the
census in 2011, only 12.1% of Explorer Scouts joined the Scout Network, further underlining a worrying rate of
attrition.
Network currently lacks a clear and compelling sense of purpose; a consistently relevant, balanced and exiting
programme; and, strong leadership and management. The ambition and energy for Network generally seems
low and the transition from the Explorer Scout Section to Scout Network is not properly or actively managed; it
is abrupt rather than “progressive” and lacks an obvious, consistently well-understood and accessible process.
Network’s governance, management, administration (including financial), communication and support
arrangements need more clearly defined structures and procedures. The County’s central administrative
records and systems to enable good support, monitoring and management of local Scout Network units
(including the establishment and control of bank accounts) also need improving.
One reason that has been suggested for the decline in membership and the high attrition rate is that the shift
from a predominately adult-led to a youth-led provision is too abrupt rather than “progressive” and well
managed – this is both in terms of preparation at the older age ranges of the Explorer Scout Section and the
effectiveness of the structures, guidance and support through into Network. The % reduction in membership
levels at 16-17 is considerably larger than at 14-15 and 15-16, suggesting that the origin of this problem may be
earlier than the transition point between the Sections. There is a challenge in supporting our adult volunteers
and youth members to make the transition positive and effective and to gradually enable and encourage
increasing self-reliance and independence through the programme and involvement in the institutional life of
the section. This is strongly connected to the points set out in 5.1b.
Avon has seen a 10% reduction of Explorer Scout Young Leaders since 2008. Extensive research on recruitment
of adults shows that 40-45% of our adult volunteers were recent youth members, typically young leaders and so
a strong, successful Explorer Scout Young Leader Scheme is vital. The 14-25 lead volunteer and their team will
analyse why this is happening and agree plans to support District Explorer Scout Commissioners and Explorer
Scout Young Leader Units and their Leaders to address this (see 5.2c).
A big and co-ordinated effort to revitalise Scout Network is proposed during the next three years with the aim
of revitalising the section and increasing Network membership by at least 150 (c. 1.5% of our total current
membership). This will be combined with stronger leadership and support arrangements for the 14-25 age
range, particularly focused on improving the numbers that move from Explorer Scouting into Scout Network.
b) Showcasing and promoting youth involvement and achievement
Young people should be seen as valued stakeholders within society. Youth involvement entails the meaningful
inclusion of young people in decision-making processes that affect their lives and this includes the planning,
management, design and delivery of Scouting. They should have age and stage appropriate responsibility. This
is a top priority for Scouting internationally, nationally and locally.
The Scout Method itself is based on youth involvement principles so it’s not a new idea. Youth participation is
not only a fundamental right; promoting responsible citizenship amongst the young is core to our Mission.
Youth perspectives are central to Scouting’s ability to remain relevant and to ensuring that it reflects changing
needs and aspirations. If we do this well, Scouting is more likely to grow and to include more young people.
Through meaningful participation young people can gain confidence, skills, attitudes and knowledge, valuable in
wider life, which in turn can positively affect their prospects. Our shorthand concept for the combined effect of
these ideas is “youth empowerment”.
In keeping with The Scout Association’s national 2018 vision which states that Scouting should be: “shaped by
young people in partnership with adults” and with Avon’s own strategic vision to: “empower young people in
creative ways to play a more active role in shaping our direction, decisions and activities”, we will lead by
example and model good practice at the County level as well as providing a practical framework of support for
Groups and Districts. We want to be widely recognised as a sector leader in the area of effective and innovative
youth involvement practices.
We will do this by embracing and enhancing the culture, participation and active engagement of children and
young people at all levels in our organisation and throughout our communities including by supporting our
volunteers to facilitate this with greater confidence and skill. Whilst there are currently many good examples,
we know we can do far more to become more consistently effective in this area.
The reason why it is important to recognise the achievement of young people shouldn’t need explanation. But
in a world where young people all too frequently get rough treatment by the media and in the public eye, it’s
worth being clear why we should celebrate their achievements. Flying in the face of the stereotype, the great
majority of young people want to engage in their communities and improve the quality of life for people around
them. Research conducted for The Scout Association by nfpSynergy in 2006 found that: “More than 7 in 10
young people say that making a difference in this world is important. In an era where much of the social
dialogue about young people suggests an apathetic, selfish generation, perhaps these findings directly from the
minds and keyboards of young people, encourage us to think again”.
In Scouting we have a tried a tested way of recognising young people’s best efforts and achievements through
our awards scheme. The Queen’s Scout Award represents the pinnacle of this and we want to raise its profile
and show how proud we are of those that achieve it. We will work to ensure that employers and educational
institutions recognise and value these awards and the confidence, skills, knowledge and attitudes gained by
young people through them. Our younger members look up to Queen’s Scouts and aspire to emulate their
achievements. Those who work towards and/or gain their Queen’s Scout Award will have actively been
involved in influencing Scouting and their communities, often demonstrating considerable leadership. Already in
2011, concerted efforts saw an increase to c. 30 young people achieving the Queen’s Scout Award.
c) Improve the County’s Activities and Programme services and support
The County currently offers a wide range of activities and programme support services that contribute
significantly to enriching the quality of programme experiences offered to Groups and Districts, whilst building
additional capacity and capability. The governance and management arrangements for various activity groups
within the County’s auspices needs reviewing. We will appoint a Deputy County Commissioner for Programme
and Activities who will work to develop the County Programme and Activities Team. The focus will be on
providing excellence in activities and Sectional programme support to 6-14 age-range Sections.
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Valuing volunteers
a) Systematically increasing volunteer satisfaction and volunteer membership
Beyond anecdotally and as part of individual reviews, at present we have no way of knowing generally how
satisfied our volunteers are with their experiences of volunteering in our organisation. This feedback is crucial if
we are to target improvements. We believe that retention is strongly correlated with levels of satisfaction with
their volunteering experiences. We will therefore more systematically and regularly assess volunteer
satisfaction as a way of being more responsive to their needs and aspirations, identifying trends and informing
how we develop and support better volunteering experiences through our organisational culture, systems and
processes over the longer term. A baseline will also provide us with a way of monitoring our progress and
building on success.
Our aim initially will be to identify the aspects we should focus on to increase volunteer satisfaction. We will
use this evidence base to determine practical actions to drive up volunteer satisfaction and to improve
retention rates. We will articulate and promote the standards we aspire to achieve in terms of our framework
for valuing volunteers and will work with our mangers to ensure that these are reflected at every level.
For volunteers to feel more valued we believe we must consistently demonstrate that they are:
Utilised properly: that we utilise our volunteers effectively, matching and balancing their personal
strengths, goals and interests with the organisation’s needs.
Appreciated visibly: that we publicly stand up for our volunteers, are proud of what they achieve and go
the extra mile to thank them and show that we appreciate them.
Trained appropraitely: that we make sure our volunteers receive the training they need to carry out the
tasks they are responsible for and that they have opportunities to develop and expand their capabilities
and interests in Scouting.
Empowered sufficeintly: that we promote a ‘can do’ attitude, ensure our volunteers are trusted wtihin
their capabilities, can take initiative, be creative and have the freedom to get things done.
Treated fairly: that we take great care to treat our volunteers with fairness and believe they deserve
volunteering experiences which are joyful and meaninful; we ensure we only place reasonable, mutually
agreed expectations on them and we’re transparent about these from the outset.
Motivated inspiringly: that we try through the kinds of leadership we advocate and in how and what we say
and do to inspire and motivate our volunteers and we recognise that different people are motivated by
different things and in different ways.
Supported actively: that we are proactive in identifying and delivering the personal support that volunteers
need to be effective.
Respected individually and cared for: that we respect our volunteers, their differences and individuality,
show that we care about what matters to them (including those who support them) and encourage a
culture where people feel a sense of belonging and friendship.
Connected purposefully: that we align our volunteering experiences to our mission, vision and values,
making sure individuals know how and why their contribution is important to the bigger picture.
Informed and listened to: that we take steps to ensure our volunteers feel well communicated with, are
well informed and have a say in shaping the organsiation.
We will continue to pursue our strategy introduced in 2012 of not charging a County subscription fee for adult
volunteers and will encourage our Distrcits to follow suit. We will also actively contribute to the consultation on
the national fee system (see 5.5a). This step is designed to change the way we think about our adult volunteers,
and to take an important step towards aligning the County’s financial policies with our objectives for growth
and development. Our strategy for the foreseeable future will focus relentlessly on increasing adult volunteers
because this is the cornerstone of youth membership growth and of developing Scouting (see section 7).
We want this to show adult volunteers that their time and efforts are appreciated by the Movement and that
they should not have to ‘pay to volunteer’. It also removes, at County level, any financial disincentive to their
membership. The impact on County income which is used to invest in supporting the growth and development
of Scouting locally will be offset by an increase in the youth fee (research shows that parents perceive Scouting
as excellent value for money), ceasing previous subsidies for camping, and continued anticipated growth in
overall membership. This approach benefits a far wider spread of our Sections and Groups which is fairer and
encourages growth.
b) Investing in developing volunteers and volunteering experiences
1) Training provision
A large (20+), successful, experienced and increasingly diverse team are involved in developing and delivering
the County Training provision. The full range of modules from the Scout Association’s adult volunteer training
scheme is offered to meet the needs of our volunteers. A Network of Local Training Managers within Districts
provide direct support to leaders in planning and validating their training.
The long-standing County Training Manager is due to retire in the Autumn/Winter of 2012 so new leadership
will be sought. We wish to expand our training provision to reflect the additional, changing requirements of our
volunteer force and in the context of our strategic goals. In particular, we will improve marketing and
communications training (see also 5.4a). We will also look to develop and deliver bespoke training suited to the
needs of Explorer Scout and Scout Network leaders and aimed at addressing the particular challenges in those
sections (see 5.1a). Other options for expanding the provision will be considered including in the areas of:
advanced recruitment and development; advanced Executive Committee/Trustee training (see 5.5b); creative
methods for facilitating youth involvement (5.1b); advanced support for diversity and inclusion (5.3b); advanced
leadership and management (5.5) [consider partnership with Leadership Trust/Common Purpose or similar];
and project manager training.
We will invest in new equipment to replace the old stock and support high quality training delivery and
administration. We will enhance our process of regular content, method and learning materials review. We will
seek to involve young people, where appropriate, in the development and delivery of aspects of our training
and we will continue to broaden the diversity of the team, particularly in terms of age and gender balance. We
will explore opportunities to promote our training to Further and Higher education institutions (including
investigating whether greater accreditation is possible) and will look to promote the benefits of our training to
employers. Opportunities for developing partnerships will be explored (5.4b) and we will seek to identify
external funding/support in kind to enhance our provision. We will consider the introduction of a centrally
funded core provision of mandatory role-based training (i.e. the adult training scheme core modules).
2) Scout Active Support and Flexible Volunteering
Nearly 60 per cent of non-volunteers cite lack of time as the main reason why they do not volunteer. This
coupled with anxiety over the demands placed on new recruits acts as the largest barrier to volunteering. Scout
Active Support is a dynamic and practical support framework to enable adults to contribute to Scouting, both
with programme delivery and development, in a flexible way that suits them. Our aim is to appoint a County
Scout Active Support Manager with the relevant skills to expand the provision of Scout Active support from our
current membership of around 170 to at least 250 by 2015 by recruiting c. 50 new members each year (201315). Additionally our aim is to create a system so that volunteering opportunities within the County can be more
easily matched to registered needs.
3) Adult Volunteer Awards System
Wayne Blupitt, UK Chief Commissioner, recently stated “At a time when our number of volunteers is growing,
and we’ve been publicising the importance of saying thank you, I found some of the statistics a little surprising,
notably that only around 2% of adults receive recognition each year. There was also some anecdotal evidence
that few of those are under 30 years of age, or that they are group-based at higher 'levels' of recognition…I was
also struck by how few of our volunteers received external recognition through the national honours scheme.
For example, around 80 silver wolfs are awarded each year, but seldom do our volunteers get more than a few
national honours each year.” Therefore, to increase the number of adult volunteers receiving good service
awards and proactively promote the use of the national honours system we aim to set up a County Awards
Board of four people, with a balance of ages and gender, who will promote and support/administer the
County’s part in the Award system.
Once the board has been established they will consult a sample of our youth and adult membership about our
current awards system and assess our baseline use of awards. A system and set of standards for promoting,
administrating and ensuring effective management of awards will be introduced. The system should proactively
encourage our members to engage with this at every level. To increase the acknowledgement of the awards the
names of the recipients will be published in the annual review, and to ensure transparency we will report to our
trustee board on the composition of the award recipients (eg. role, age, gender).
c)
Direct recruitment support to growing Groups and Districts
Groups/Districts often need direct additional support to recruit adults. The headquarters Regional
Development Service has had this as a core focus for a number of years. Evidence suggests systematic,
targeted, intensive approaches can have big payoffs for growth. Knowledge, skill and expertise are needed to
guide and support others through an effective process that includes an exit strategy, leaving a sustainable
provision in place. Once this expertise is developed it can be consistently applied and deployed in different
settings and circumstances. There are relatively few volunteers in the County who possess a high level of
expertise in this area and who see this as their main role.
Actively and directly facilitating growth and development can be both highly rewarding and challenging. We will
recruit, train and deploy a County Active Recruitment Team to target high potential areas for new Sections and
Groups which are identified by the County Management Team. During the next three years we will aim to
support the opening of the equivalent of at least 9 new Groups through this process (c. 650 members). We will
continue to work proactively in partnership with the current Regional Development Service to identify
Groups/Sections who could grow with their support. We’ll ensure that those Groups who are chosen are
committed to an agreed process and know what part they have to play in this partnership for it to be effective.
We will work positively with headquarters to secure a deal with the WPA Benevolent Foundation (part of the
WPA Healthcare Company based in Taunton, Somerset) to donate funds to cover the considerable majority of
the costs associated with employing a further new Regional Development Officer. The RDO would be dedicated
to working with Avon and Devon Counties to support the growth of Scouting in these Counties for up to three
years by starting new Scouting provision in areas where there is high demand. Support will be targeted to
communities with particular challenges and where there is a lack of current youth provision. There is also a
desire to use this approach to support the growth of the Explorer Scout Young Leader provision. Through these
projects we would aim to establish new Scouting provision in 4 new locations across the County each year. Each
new provision will require our financial support to cover the cost of hiring meeting rooms for the first 12
months, purchase training equipment and equipment for activities, help with uniform and administration costs
for starting up the new Groups/Sections.
Districts will be actively engaged in identifying the target areas and will need to commit to supporting the
creation and ongoing support of the new provisions. The vast majority of the costs will come from the external
funder and it is anticipated we can apply £5k already secured from the DGB for the purposes of supporting the
start up costs which we must cover. Each County would need to contribute £5k for each year to the costs of
employing the RDO. It may be possible through our fundraising strategy to identify other potential donors who
would be attracted by a similar proposition particularly if we can show strong results from this pilot. In any
case, Avon Scout County should look to employing its own development officer from at least 2014-15 to provide
direct support to recruiting volunteers and to work closely in building the capacity and effectiveness of our
specialist County Adult Volunteer Recruitment Team. Opening new Groups and Sections presents our biggest
opportunity for growth.
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Promoting inclusion
a) Promoting and supporting the opening of new Sections and Groups
Arguably the biggest single excluding factor preventing young people who want Scouting opportunities from
accessing them is the lack of available provision (also see 5.2c). This is largely due to shortage of volunteers,
Groups and Sections to meet current demand. Waiting lists reached 1,200 in 2011. We will work hard to
overcome barriers to opening new Sections and Groups and will provide specific direct support. We will work
with volunteer managers to support Sections to identify and utilise spare capacity estimated at 1,729 places in
2011 census based on ratios and section numbers (also see 5.1c).
We already announced in 2012 that we will waive County fees for qualifying Groups and Sections in their first
year whilst offering support to those new Groups and Sections wishing to take advantage of national
Development Grants Board funding. Additionally, we will introduce a targeted ‘hardship fund’. We will also
geographically map our provision, compare and benchmark with demographic indicators, and support DCs and
their teams to identify and take advantage of areas where new provision is needed and opportunities exist (see
5.3b).
b) Engaging underrepresented groups and communities in Scouting
In 2011 in Avon 15% of our youth and 39% of our adult membership was female. Nationally, Female adults are
more dominant in Beavers, equal in Cubs and then are less involved in the older Sections in Leadership roles.
Those with a manager role are predominately male at an average of 73%. The average age of adults working in a
Section is 41 years and this is a younger average age compared to the other roles, whilst the average age of
those involved in management is 52 years. Only 4% of our national membership are from ethnic minority
groups compared to the 8.8% of the national population, we have no reliable local data on this at present,
although from 2011 there has been increased accuracy around equalities monitoring data with the census
extending to include ethnic origin.
We must be cautious in analysing and interpreting ethnic data on a whole County level because black and ethnic
minorities form between 2.4-13.5% of the population depending on the local authority area which we serve.
Across Avon we have pockets of deprivation, for example there are 3 wards within Bristol with at least half of
the area it covers being within the top 10% of the most deprived areas within England, and we have wards
which have no areas of deprivation. Scouting is represented in these areas but we need more work to
understand this more solidly and to draw conclusions about the possible implications.
We have previously agreed that the vision for Avon Scouting includes reflecting the diversity of our
communities and as such we need to identify a person to lead on monitoring and recording our demographics
and to help us improve our performance. Once established we need to explore the reasons for the discrepancy
in terms of gender, age, ethnicity and socio-economic status and then target areas of underrepresentation. We
also need to audit our practices to ensure they are inclusive. We will adopt the diversity and inclusion
framework used by headquarters to help us do this.
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Managing sustainably
a) Strategic, integrated and coherent marketing and communications
Whilst there have been a range of communications activities in recent years, the County has lacked a coherent
and integrated marketing and communications strategy and expertise in this area. We need a higher quality
more sustainable approach befitting our scale and presence as an organisation.
Nationally great strides have been made to revitalise Scouting’s brand, public awareness and understanding of
what we do. Locally our brand needs to be far better managed. We currently have tens of inconsistent
websites, marketing collateral and very different quality experiences of joining and participating in Scouting.
Our engagement with the media is generally sporadic and uncoordinated. Mechanisms for communicating with
members of the Scout County are not fit for purpose or used effectively. Strong marketing and communications
can help us considerably with our strategic goals. It is an area requiring significant investment in the coming
years.
Our marketing objectives are to build and maintain a committed and capable marketing and communications
team to deliver vibrant and dynamic marketing and communications which are consistently on brand, targeted
and achieve their desired impact towards our strategic goals. Our marketing and communications will
encourage and promote a cohesive/one team approach across the County and assist the growth and
development of the County’s membership, infrastructure and facilities. We will improve the quality of internal
and external marketing and communications and actively involve young people in a variety of marketing and
communications roles.
1) Recruit and train a fit for purpose County Marketing and Communications team
Marketing and communications team to be County-wide resource supporting all Districts and Groups,
encompassing and supporting existing District Media Development Managers/Marcomms volunteers.
2) Provide specialist training to new ‘media’ appointees
3) Support District Commissioners to recruit and support suitable Media Development Managers
DCs have identified an issue in both recruitment of the right skill sets, training and ongoing support of District
MDMs. In 2011 there are only 2 MDMs only one of whom has received any training.
4) Training
Work with the County Training Team to provide general marketing and communications training and ‘on brand’
sessions for District Commissioners, Assistant District Commissioners and Group Scout Leaders
5) Establish succession plans for the marketing and communications roles
Currently when one marketing and communications person leaves their post there is no handover materials,
contacts or knowledge systematically passed on. We will put in place handover plans and continuity succession
documents for key roles to ensure effective knowledge transfer is possible if and when needed.
6) Create and maintain a County marketing and communications toolkit
We will develop a range of communications tools and training that can be accessed by volunteers and Scout
Groups by 2013. In 2013-14 and 14-15 we will work with the County training team to establish need and, as
appropriate, build a programme of training using these tools.
7) Put in place a fit for purpose system for electronic communication
The current email system is not working with some holding avonscouts addresses and some not. It needs
replacing with a more fit for purpose system. Our current emailing culture and practices are problematic. We
will introduce a policy and promote practices that result in clearer more effective communication.
8) Improve systems to cleanse and maintain the membership data
Segment our audiences for more effective targeted communication.
9) Internal Newsletter
10) Intranet
11) Internal PR
12) Support for Annual County event for adult volunteers
13) External contacts databa
14) Social media and new technologies
Investigate how we can harness new technology to better communicate with our Scouts, parents and each
other e.g. sms messaging services, feedback surveys for post event evaluation or general ‘how are we doing’,
how to guides such as ‘how to set up a facebook page’. Develop our online presence and support Districts,
Sections and Groups with this (you tube channel, twitter, facebook etc.)
15) Deliver a new website
16) Media and Public Relations
17) Provide communications support for youth-led County events
Promote the opportunity and assist in recruiting young people. Ensure the events are ‘on brand’.
18) Contribute to the development of the Network marketing internship programme
19) Support for the re-launch of the Scout Network
20) Identify and recruit Scouts who can act as County Spokespeople
21) Gradual move to County Marketing and Communications Strategy being led by young people
b) Diversifying income sources and sourcing greater resources to grow Scouting
Almost all the County’s income, which it uses to sustain and develop its support services, comes, at the
moment, from a County membership fee which is charged based on the number of youth members at the time
of the census. This equates to approximately £91,000. We also secure minimal income on activities such as
training which we reinvest in supporting and developing Scouting. Occasionally grants have been achieved for
specific, restricted purposes. We have also built up reserves to balance our risks and ensure continuity of
operation and some of these have been designated for future development activity.
By increasing our income and widening the sources of income we can reduce reliance on the membership fee,
spread the risks and invest even more substantially in growing Scouting. To achieve the ambitions and
intentions set out in this plan we will need to increase our income. We will develop a co-ordinated fundraising
strategy to include securing grants, donations and support in kind. We will consider, as part of this, how we will
support the National Activity Centre (Woodhouse Park)/headquarters as part of our commitment to support
fundraising for capital investment in the site.
c)
Develop powerful strategic partnerships that support our goals
During the next years there are three specific areas where we will concentrate on pursuing strategic
partnerships. The first is as part of the Youth United alliance of non-formal educational youth organisations
(mainly uniformed) with a view to influencing policy and securing greater support for our work as well as
sharing best practice.
The second area of partnership links directly with objective 5.1a concerning the revitalising of Scout Network
and 14-25 leadership and support. Government policy is that Universities should widen their intake, and it will
be a requirement for those charging high tuition fees to demonstrate that they are taking action to widen
participation. Scouting, especially through the Explorer Scout Section, can provide a route to a wide range of
young people who might not otherwise consider higher or further education. We will work with widening
participation contacts in our local universities to see that some Explorer Scout events take place on university
premises and we will work with them to make our members more aware of these institutions and the
opportunities available to them. We will also explore opportunities through these institutions to make contact
with adults who may consider volunteering as Leaders in Scouting, and also to pursue the possibility that adult
learning through the Scouting scheme might have some university level recognition of some kind.
The third area of strategic partnership will be to seek to engage with the West of England Initiative/Business
West and those involved in the Bristol 2050 project to influence the development strand concerning education
in particular. The vision is intended as an invitation to business, government and community organisations to
work together to make the city region fairer, more prosperous and successful. In addition to these things and
meshing with our marketing and communications strategy we will develop a strategy to engage with the major
employers in the region more regularly and systematically. The purpose of this will be to promote the benefits
and advantages to employers of engaging with Scouting and to identify practical ways in which they can help us
and their employee volunteers; promote the benefits and advantages of volunteering for Scouting to
employees in order to recruit new volunteers; increase awareness and improve perception of Scouting amongst
local employees / employers; encourage and support our volunteers to engage positively with their employers
to provide support and encouragement for their volunteering and to promote volunteering/Scouting within
their organisations. In all of this work we will seek to promote and capitalise on the positive national research
findings concerning Scouting’s impact.
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Leading effectively
a) Ensuring our decisions and actions are aligned to our strategy and that we influence national
Scouting policy and plans in accordance with this
An effective charity is clear about its mission, vision and values, and uses them to direct all aspects of its work
(see 5.5b). If we are to achieve our ambitious vision and goals, our actions and decisions should be aligned to
these at every level. This means that Section, Groups and Districts must make sense of and work towards this
vision in their own plans and actions so that we are all working in a common direction. We need a pattern of
decisions and actions – people, policies, budgets, facilities, reward systems and programmes must be
harmonised so far as possible with this shared direction. Concerting our efforts in this way will enable us to
amplify their effect on growth and development. We are strongest when we act in unison. We will work with
managers to develop stronger mechanisms to support and ensure that Group and Districts have effective
development plans, good governance and management arrangements matched to our shared strategy. To this
end in 2013-14 we will hold a County Conference for Group Scout Leaders and Group Chairmen with a view to
working on development plans, gaining input to future plans and encouraging vacancies in these roles to be
filled.
Scouting has a nested governance structure whereby local powers are devolved but within a framework and
structure determined by the UK Association. Every County/Area Scout Council in the UK is represented on The
Council of the Scout Association according to a quota determined by its membership size. The Council elects
the Trustee Board which decides national Scouting policy and strategy. The Scout Association nationally is most
vibrant and dynamic when local Scout Councils, their representatives and local members play an active part in
shaping its direction and ensuring that it is accountable. Part of our ‘citizenship responsibility’ internally is to
play a responsible role in these processes.
The County has actively engaged in national affairs for many years making considerable contributions to the
strength and development of Scouting in the UK today. This has included members lending their expertise to
committees and working groups and standing for election to the board. It has also involved local members
becoming involved in policy and strategy consultations. Local Scouting operates within a national framework
which can enable or constrain us. We should therefore play our constructive role in ensuring that this remains
relevant and responsive to the changing needs and aspirations of young people and volunteers delivering
Scouting locally. There are a number of strategic and policy areas that are especially germane in the context of
our new strategy. We should continue to appropriately support, challenge and influence in these areas,
encourage and facilitate our local members to have their say.
Scouting in the UK faces a number of strategic challenges in the next decade which are likely to include:
revitalising our Fundamentals for a new world and reconnecting with them;
actively valuing the whole spectrum of volunteers and volunteering;
rebalancing power and responsibility more towards young people in Scouting, ensuring their needs and
aspirations are central;
reaching wider areas of society by being proactively inclusive, accessible, innovative and relevant;
nurturing leadership talent and potential from within the Movement; expanding our national influence
and presence, embracing and contributing to social change; meeting modern expectations for high
quality, responsive and efficient systems and processes;
fully embedding the ‘adventure brand’ and its more informal style at all levels;
confronting underinvestment in local Scouting infrastructure and promoting sustainability;
normalising a culture of collaboration and openness in place of insularity and parochialism; and,
inspiring greater ambition, self-belief and pride in Scouting and its vision and aligning what we do at all
levels to this.
b) Developing the highest standards of governance and management at all levels
Governance refers to the framework of systems, structures and practices by which a charity is directed and
controlled to ensure that it performs effectively and properly in achieving its mission. High standards of
governance and accountability are increasingly expected by members, supporters, funders and the general
public; this links to trust and our reputation. We want our County Executive/Board of Trustees to exemplify the
highest standards of governance and to actively support District and Group trustee bodies to do the same. We
believe this is integral to achieving “outstanding Scouting”.
We believe our Executive Committees/Trustee bodies work best when they not only steward our assets well, but
when they create strong partnerships with our volunteer managers to support effective, confident and creative
leadership and facilitate and enable our strategic development. An interim governance report which was
considered by the trustees in September 2011 has already identified a number of areas for improvement.
Additionally, an open and proactive search process was adopted by the County Commissioner to identify
trustees with specific knowledge, skills and external perspectives who were appointed at the AGM in September
2011. These individuals are already playing an active role and bringing further balance to our Trustee Board.
As well as reviewing and updating our constitution and ensuring that it is fit for purpose, we will assess our
current arrangements against the standards and principles set out in the ‘Good Governance Code for the
Voluntary Sector’ (2010) and identify steps to implement these principles within the Scout County. Where we
do not comply, we will explain why. Our review will especially consider the structure of the County Executive
Committee/Board of Trustees; financial reporting and the role of the Finance Committee; the remit and terms
of reference of other sub-committees; the recording of decisions; adherence to the regulations governing
Charity Trustees; compliance with recognised standards of best practice in Trustee Board systems/practices,
behaviours and performance. In accordance with the Executive Committee/Board of Trustees’ remit, specific
improvements will also be made to the administration of County appointments and records and the quality of
the annual report combined with the other measures outlined elsewhere in the plan concerning Scout Network
and the diversification of income.
c)
Ensuring systematic and effective individual and collective reviews and using their findings to
help develop and determine our plans
Implementation of the Associations Red, Amber, Green development reviews and the associated recommended
review processes is widely adopted throughout Scouting and has been shown to be a helpful way of volunteer
managers working with their teams to monitor the quality of the provision, plan for and manage development.
The toolkit whilst relatively easy to use is not available in an online interactive format. We will explore this
possibility. We will explore a development of RAG using “outstanding Scouting and significant growth”
language and pilot this within 10% of our groups by 2013-14 before assessing its impact. We will work with DCs
to actively monitor the % of Groups with agreed up to date development plans (aligned with our vision) in place
and we will monitor the % of outstanding volunteer manager reviews aiming for all to be up to date.
Dan Wood
County Commissioner
19th March 2012
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