Rotary International District 1020

Rotary GB&I Restructuring Event

Report

21^st January 2012

Report Structure:

1.    Introduction

2.    Context, Background & Purpose

3.    Audience Analysis

4.    Method & Process

5.    Key Findings – what we heard from delegates

6.    Summary Conclusions – what the implications of that may be

7.    Summary Recommendations – what should be done next? 

1.    Introduction

This report has been created to record the proceedings of the Seminar which was proposed by the District Governor at the District AGM on the 11^th December 2011, following a DVD presentation of Rotary GB&I in the 21^st century. At that meeting it was accepted that Rotary GB&I was a complex organisation and that there was little general understanding of its structure and functions.

Those present at the AGM welcomed an opportunity for further discussion at a single focus meeting when the outcomes of the Review could be further explored so that clubs would be empowered to make more informed responses to the CEO/Sec of Rotary GB&I request. This report therefore represents another phase of consultation.

“DG Keith asked for Rotarians to share their views on what the vision, key services and structure of Rotary GB&I should be. This was their opportunity to create change. He proposed running a seminar in January 2012 to discuss ideas and forward them to Rotary GB&I and invited initial comments” Draft minutes of the AGM 11^th December 2011. 

2.    Context, Background & Purpose

The Structure of Rotary GB&I has been under intensive review over the last year.  This has included the consideration of the outcomes of the Quinquennial Review which received 5,556 responses and the publication of the 2020 Vision Group Report.

A theme running through both reports is that Rotary in Britain and Ireland needs to change its image and raise its profile to be relevant in the 21^st Century.  The current structure of Rotary GB&I is believed to be failing to deliver such a new image and sense of strategic direction.

The outcomes of the review were presented to the General Council of Rotary GB&I on November 28^th 2011. 

The General Council agreed to draw up proposals for fundamental changes in the governance of Rotary GB&I.  The objective is to transform Rotary GB&I from the top into an effective driver of change in Rotary in Britain and Ireland.

The need for change was a clear message that came through the review of Rotary GB&I. 

Rotary has to change to realise its full potential to serve both our local communities and communities around the world.  The General Council saw its task as reconstructing Rotary GB&I to focus on the services that best help districts and clubs to make Rotary an organisation that people aspire to join.

The General Council concluded that Rotary GB&I needs a streamlined management structure focused on delivering dynamic services to clubs that make a difference on the ground, and on supporting the President and DGs in their jobs of leading Rotary in Britain and Ireland.  It needs clear delivery objectives.  It should be accountable for its performance to clubs and Rotarians throughout Rotary GB&I.  It must be able to show that everything it does adds value to clubs’ programmes.

The purpose of this additional District phase of consultation was:

·         To support clubs to be more informed, simplify the issues, and provide summary of concerns.

·         To agree or disagree to the proposals being made by General Council.

·         To inform the DG of the concerns and issues of individual Rotarians and clubs

·         To engage with the process in forming the recommendations

·         To enable the DG to take cognisance of these views and represent them at the General Council on 4^th February 2012.

·         To enable Clubs to debate further and respond to Annemarie Hart CEO/Sec of Rotary GB&I by 27^th January

·         To prepare clubs to be aware that there is time for further debate following the next General Council when further resolutions will be published.

·         To produce a report for those Rotarians who were unable to attend the meeting. 

3.    Audience Analysis

34 clubs were represented by 70 Rotarians. Apologies were received from a further 14 Rotarians, 4 of which were PDGs, 6 were current District Officers 

16 of those in attendance held District Officer positions.

4.    Method & Process

A 2 hour session was arranged, with invitations issued to all clubs and current and former District Officers. A planning group was convened by DG Keith Best, consisting of himself, Immediate Past DG Allan Mclaughlan and LDTC Chair Willie Maltman.

This group analysed the papers issued by Rotary GB&I and developed a number of options for framing and holding the discussion. It was decided to develop a seminar format with breakout sessions as well as full plenary discussion. A copy of the workshop outline is attached as an Appendix. However, the main sessions were as follows:

·         Welcome, Introduction, Context & Purpose

·         Breakout Session 1 – Risks & opportunities arising from the change & how to address these

·         Plenary

·         Breakout Session 2 – Proposed Timeline – scrutiny & consideration of activities

·         Plenary

·         Summary & Next Steps

In the first session, delegates were invited to form two sets of groups:

·         One considering risks arising from the change and how these could be minimised

·         The other considering opportunities arising from the change and how these could be exploited fully

District Officers were chosen and briefed to facilitate the workshop sessions and provide summaries for the plenaries. All attendees were encouraged to contribute, in either the breakout sessions, or the plenaries.

Feedback on the process was overwhelmingly positive and supportive, although there was some desire to spend longer on the process overall – say perhaps one further hour for continued discussion.

A final evaluation of the event was given to delegates to complete on their exit, which has been used to help compile this report.

A summary report was promised to attendees and also to other club members who were unable to attend.

5.    Key Findings

• Expectations of the event varied very widely amongst delegates
• Despite this, most delegates’ expectations were deemed to be met
• People enjoyed the opportunity for shared discussion and exchange of views
• The structured approach taken was welcomed, despite the potential time constraints
• The contributions from the planning team were valued, especially those of the DG
• Access and exposure to the District Team in such a forum was appreciated 
• Further information and insight into the proposed changes was well received
• Delegates’ levels of preparation and use of information supplied also varied very widely
• Time and process were both felt to be well structured and managed
• The purpose of the discussion was stated very clearly and without ambiguity or misunderstanding of the potential implications
• Several risks were identified, many of which included suggested solutions e.g. the nominations panel and its possible lack of transparency, by publishing selection criteria and skillsets
• Similarly, opportunities were very clearly set out, with suggestions for securing these e.g. the fairly aggressive timeline and how that could be managed as a balanced programme of activities with dedicated management of the workstreams
• Some concern was expressed at how relevant the focus on Rotary GB&I was to the regular business of clubs
• Similarly, there were concerns raised at the potential for Rotary GB&I being diverted from other strategic imperatives (support & strengthen clubs, focus & increase humanitarian service, enhance public image & awareness)
• In parallel, there could also be some wider considerations for further reform at District & Club level that should perhaps be planned and communicated e.g. length of tenure and number and size of committees
• The implications of the proposals being rejected needed to be clearly factored into all our thinking
• Fear over escalation of cost during transition was also expressed
• The role and function of the Rotary GB&I Board required more detailed explanation
• The opportunity for increased professionalism within Rotary GB&I was welcomed
• Modernisation of Rotary GB&I’s structure and services was eagerly anticipated
• Potential for empowerment of clubs would be viewed positively
• Re-focusing DG’s more on their District roles was felt to lead to better use of overall resources
• Selection of appropriate people for Rotary GB&I roles, using a robust process was widely welcomed
• The timeline and proposed activities was largely in line with delegates’ thinking, apart from certain caveats such as how to monitor work already in progress and the need to bring forward certain activities e.g. Expressions Of Interest, the DG’s Forum and Nominations 

6.    Summary Conclusions

At this point, it may be helpful to reaffirm that the meeting for District 1020 were broadly supportive of the proposals, subject to certain caveats that were discussed on the day and are contained in these conclusions below. Most of the caveats have been raised because of a lack of clarity over the behind the scenes actions that are already under way.

These have been grouped for ease of reference into four areas of: Information & Communication, Transparency, Change Management, and Planning & Governance.

• Information/Communication – concerned with what is issued by Rotary GB&I & District to clubs and individual Rotarians as well as what is reported by District to clubs, Rotarians and Rotary GB&I
• Transparency – concerned with the requirement for openness and sharing of information between District & Clubs and vice versa
• Change Management – concerned with the structure, process and culture changes likely to arise from the proposals and how these might be identified, framed and prioritised
• Planning & Governance – concerned with the way on which the whole process is scoped, timed and the resources allocated to it overall as well as individual components. Additionally, concerned with the ownership, direction and pace of the proposals, including programme management and setting up of work streams.

Information/Communication

All information received regarding the proposals was issued to clubs and members, including all main reports. This was also raised in several media (paper, website, email) and forums, such as the District AGM, although attendance could have been greater. Despite this, there was a widely expressed need for either more or less, or clearer and more concise information. Without setting up a separate communication channel and resource to address this one specific change, it should be possible, in future to make more effective use of existing channels of communication and existing media (paper and electronic).

Transparency

Concerns were expressed about the consistency, quality and impact of DG communication from their Districts to Rotary GB&I & General Council in this period of change and along with everything else that DGs were tasked with communicating. Starting with this report, it should be possible to create short, focussed and regular updates that would serve the dual purpose of informing clubs and Rotary GB&I whilst ensuring accountability for its content.

Change Management

Managing any change is a complex and challenging undertaking. Rotary GB&I’s recent experience of such change has been limited and therefore clubs were concerned at the processes to be used as well as how these would be resourced. Greater assurance and regular status reports would reduce the overall and specific concerns raised within District, as would providing more specific details of resources being allocated and the individuals and groups tasked with managing the process and its component parts. 

Planning & Governance

Allied to change management, the scrutiny of the proposed transition programme raised concerns about the ambition and scale of the proposed changes as well how these would be sequenced in a coherent and credible way that enabled the changes to be made with minimum disruption to regular business. The need for planning and reporting to look forward explicitly to future milestones as well as report on past progress would also be welcome. This would have the dual benefit of providing sufficient rigour internally within Rotary GB&I and externally, for the comfort of individual members.

7.    Summary Recommendations

At this point, it may be helpful to reaffirm that the meeting for District 1020 were broadly supportive of the proposals, subject to certain caveats that were discussed on the day and are contained in these conclusions below. Most of the caveats have been raised because of a lack of clarity over the behind the scenes actions that are already under way.

These have again been grouped for ease of reference into four areas of: Information & Communication, Transparency, Change Management, and Planning & Governance.

Information & Communication

1. Without carrying out a media assault on club members and District Officers, try to maintain the existing use of a variety of media e.g. email, paper, and website, but without over-reliance on the District website.
2. Endeavour to ensure that all communication regarding the changes is suitably “badged” or identified as being for that sole purpose.
3. Without re-writing existing and future Rotary GB&I written material, try to provide a “cover sheet” for it with three features: a brief summary, some potential implications and an instruction for what the reader needs to do with it.

4.    Try to maintain lines of communication through existing channels and people e.g. via District Secretary to club secretaries and District Officers.

Transparency

1. DG to prepare specific, regular one page statements of their briefings to Rotary GB&I and General Council regarding the proposals for issue to clubs and District Officers, using the channels above.  
2. Similarly, any other information of a more detailed or general nature regarding the proposals to be posted on the District website and clubs and District Officers to be directed specifically towards it, using the principles in 3 above. 

Change Management

1. DG to seek greater detail from Rotary GB&I on the proposed transition programme, with a view to this being made available in line with the principles and practice above.
2. DG also to request specifics of how the programme is initially to be managed and resourced along its timeline, with names of groups and individuals allocated. This only to updated and issued in the event of major changes. 

Planning & Governance

1. Recommend the setting up of a formal “programme board” for the proposals, with appropriate Terms of Reference (TORs) to provide overall direction and governance
2. Recommend the appointment of a specific programme director, accountable for scoping, planning, delivering and reporting the changes.
3. Recommend the use of programme management reporting, through a dedicated support “programme management office”, that ensures timely tracking and forecasting against milestones. Emphasis to be on reporting against milestones reached or missed, as well as those still to be reached.  

Appendix – Programme of Event

Rotary District 1020 - Rotary GB&I Re-Structure Event