DOCUMENT. The Evaluation of the Strategy for Scouting

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1 DOCUMENT 6A The Evaluation of the Strategy for Scouting

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3 THE EVALUATION OF THE STRATEGY FOR SCOUTING 1. INTRODUCTION The World Scout Committee (WSC) elected at the World Scout Conference in Korea in 2008 decided to create a Strategy Coordination Group (SCG), requesting this group to propose to the WSC the overall direction for the future of the Strategy for Scouting, focusing on the plans to achieve both the Mission and the Vision of the Movement in the medium to long term. Consequently, the main objectives of this new group were to: 1. Propose a direction for the future of the Strategy for Scouting. 2. Identify the key actions needed to develop the Strategy for Scouting up to and beyond the next World Scout Conference in Brazil Co-ordinate the plans for the implementation of the Strategy in relation to the work of the Educational Methods Committee, the Scouting's Profile Committee and all other related financial aspects. 4. Develop a plan to measure progress and achievements in the former period of the Strategy. The SCG soon became both a pool of thinkers and an open space to generate and explore new ideas and projects related to these objectives and to shape the future direction of the Strategy. Accordingly, different projects attempting to develop indicators of the quality of WOSM's services (customer service satisfaction surveys), indicators of the impact of NSOs' growth development strategies (evolution of membership figures) and indicators of Scouting's relevance (study on the perception of Scouting) were launched by the SCG during these years of work. An evaluation of the Strategy for Scouting was also undertaken. This Conference Document 6A contains the results of the evaluation of the Strategy. Conference Document 6B contains a proposal for a new approach to the Strategy for the triennium EVALUATION OF THE STRATEGY FOR SCOUTING The SCG identified two pieces of work in relation to monitoring and evaluating the Strategy: progress in the implementation of the Strategy during the triennium , and an evaluation of the results achieved in the Strategy for Scouting since its adoption in Some of the key features of WOSM to be taken into account when reflecting on the Strategy and the work of the World Bodies (World and Regional Committees and World Scout Bureau Central and Regional Offices) to support the Strategy are: WOSM is one World Organization with world and regional support structures working together to complement each other in providing support to NSOs. The World Organization preserves the unity of the Movement, assures its expansion and facilitates exchange of knowledge and resources between NSOs and between Regions. The Regions provide specific support to their constituency within the global framework. The focus of everything WOSM does at world and regional levels is to support NSOs in their efforts to grow. The basis for this is the understanding of the specific challenges, opportunities and problems of each NSO and providing concrete support according to each NSO's specific needs by volunteers and staff at world level, in the Regions and in other NSOs which have the relevant capacity. Progress is monitored through constant tracking of membership development and other quantitative and qualitative indicators. The relevance and quality of world and regional support programmes are regularly monitored through customer satisfaction surveys that focus on NPS (Net Promoter Score) and measure impact. Document 6A - The Evaluation of the Strategy for Scouting Page 1

4 3. MONITORING PROGRESS IN THE STRATEGY FOR SCOUTING RESULTS ACHIEVED In relation to the three Drivers of Change identified for the triennium, a key indicator (dashboard indicator) was identified for each so that progress in each of the Drivers of Change could be monitored. The dashboard indicators for the three Drivers of Change are: 1. Young People: enhancing the growth of the Movement analysis of the membership figures in relation to global, regional and national figures and the membership share in NSOs 2. The Regions: improving the support to NSOs to provide better Scouting an analysis of the perception of the support NSOs receive from WOSM, using the Net Promoter Score 3. Telling the Story: developing effective communications with all stakeholders (internal and external) perception of the Brand health 3.1 Young People: enhancing the growth of the Movement analysis of the membership figures (including membership share) at national, regional and world levels The SCG received reports on the membership figures over a ten year period. It was recognised that the different models of Scouting that exist in NSOs (school-based Scouting and community based Scouting) can result in very different percentages of membership share from 0.1% to 100%. It was also noted that there are countries with very large membership figures (e.g. Indonesia) and changes in these membership figures have a dramatic impact on the overall membership of WOSM. There are also many NSOs that do not have a system to measure membership accurately so it is difficult to know if the overall membership is growing or declining. However it is encouraging to note that in early December 2010, of 74 NSOs (representing 81% of WOSM s membership) which had filed their 2009 Census, 50 had increased their membership over the previous year by 410,391 and 24 NSOs had reduced in membership by 78,365 resulting in an overall increase of +1.07% over the previous year. The outcome of the focus on membership figures was the recognition that NSOs need assistance to identify more accurately their membership figures and declare these results to the World Scout Bureau. The following actions have been taken to help to achieve this: The development of a simple membership management tool that will be presented to NSOs in a workshop at the Conference and will be available for NSOs to use immediately after the Conference. The proposal set out in Conference Document 10 concerning the future WOSM Registration Fee System. 3.2 The Regions: improving the support to NSOs to provide better Scouting results of the Net Promoter Score The Net Promoter Score was determined by sending an electronic questionnaire to all the NSO contacts that are contained in the WOSM database, asking two key questions: On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your overall satisfaction with the services provided by WOSM? (1 means "Highly unsatisfied" and 10 means "Highly satisfied"); On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely is it that you would recommend WOSM services to a colleague or friend in Scouting? (1 means "Very unlikely" and 10 means "Very likely"). The Net Promoter Score identifies the percentage of people that promote the services provided by WOSM. Three surveys were carried out and the results have been shared with NSOs through Scoutpak and are available on the WOSM website. Page 2 39th World Scout Conference - Brazil 2011

5 The results were as follow: Net Promoter Score 1: (August 2009): -3% Net Promoter Score 2: (February 2010): -5% Net Promoter Score 3: (October 2010): +12% This shows a small but significant increase in the score which is hopefully a result of the World Bodies focusing more clearly on their support to NSOs. The plans for the future development of the Strategy (see Conference Document 6B) aim to further develop a consultancy approach so that individuals and NSOs can be a pool to provide expertise to support the development of the Movement in NSOs. 3.3 Telling the Story: developing effective communications with all stakeholders (internal and external) perception of the Brand health. The work of the Scouting s Profile Committee focused on identifying the perception of the health of the World Scouting Brand and strengthening it. This was done through consultations in a series of Regional Communications Forums held in all Regions during 2009 and The results of this work are contained in Conference Document 8: Strengthening the World Scouting Brand. 4. EVALUATION OF THE STRATEGY FOR SCOUTING THE RESULTS In response to Conference Resolution 08/08, the World Scout Committee with support of the SCG designed an evaluation of the Strategy for Scouting, implemented by the World Scout Bureau Central and Regional Offices. To articulate the purpose of this evaluation, the original aims that encouraged the development of the Strategy for Scouting were used as reference. The aims of the Strategy for Scouting were to: help NSOs to achieve Scouting's Mission guide the work of the members of the Movement to achieve common objectives, through the definition of Strategic Priorities promote cohesive actions among the members of the Movement serve as a framework for integral action offer a framework for NSOs to adapt the Strategy to their own reality, recognising that each NSO has particular needs and challenges 4.1 Based in these original aims, the purpose for the evaluation of the Strategy for Scouting was stated as follows: The evaluation of the Strategy for Scouting will gather evidence regarding the level of accomplishment of the original aims of the Strategy. It will look for lessons learned during the process of implementation; will enquire for specific benefits perceived by key stakeholders, as well as for opportunities for improvement. The evaluation should spot which elements of the Strategy for Scouting should be kept and which need strategic changes. 4.2 The methods implemented for conducting the evaluation were: i. Analysis of existing documentation regarding the development and implementation of the Strategy for Scouting. ii. An electronic questionnaire, sent to 159 NSO and NSA contacts. Forty eight contacts from a similar number of NSOs/NSAs responded to the questionnaire, giving a response rate of 30%. In WOSM experience, this is an acceptable response level as other global questionnaires addressed to similar audiences have provided a response rate of 20%. iii. Structured interviews with key informants. These were developed with participation of 11 individuals with recognized experience in planning at the NSO level and with knowledge of the Strategy for Scouting, being 5 from the Asia- Pacific Region, 3 from the Eurasia Region and 3 from the European Region. Document 6A - The Evaluation of the Strategy for Scouting Page 3

6 4.3 The aspects of the Strategy for Scouting that were selected to consider its performance are: i. The level of correspondence of the NSO's Mission, Vision and Priorities with those proposed by the Strategy for Scouting. ii. The level of awareness among official NSO contacts and other key stakeholders regarding the structure and content of the Strategy for Scouting, with specific attention to the Strategic Priorities. iii. The structure and content of the Strategy for Scouting, with specific attention to the Strategic Priorities. iv. The perception of official NSO contacts and other key stakeholders about the benefits and limitations of the Strategy for Scouting, with specific attention to the Strategic Priorities. 4.4 The key questions that the evaluation of the Strategy for Scouting was expected to answer: i. Has the Strategy for Scouting guided or supported the work of NSOs in any way? ii. Have NSOs used it to adapt their national plans, strategies or activities? iii. Are current strategies, plans or activities in NSOs in line with global aims and priorities? iv. What are the benefits that having a global strategy have provided to NSOs? v. Which elements of the Strategy for Scouting should be kept and which need strategic amendments? vi. What is the relevance of the actual strategic priorities for NSOs and key stakeholders? vii. Have NSOs used/adapted the global Vision and/or Mission? 4.5 The main findings of the evaluation of the Strategy for Scouting were: i. There is a high level of awareness (95%) among official NSO/NSA contacts about the Strategy for Scouting and its components. The qualitative feedback indicates that it is possible that the knowledge of the Strategy for Scouting and its components is high at national/official levels, making it important to promote among NSOs/NSAs to expand the knowledge of the Strategy below the national structures. ii. The main components of the Strategy for Scouting (the Mission, the Vision and the Strategic Priorities) are still relevant and are being used by NSOs/NSAs. It was found that almost 9 out of every 10 NSOs/NSAs have used, adapted or adopted the global Mission for Scouting and believe there is no need for any adaptations to the global Mission. Regarding the global Vision for Scouting, 7 out of every 10 NSOs/NSAs have used, adapted or adopted it and the majority would not suggest any adaptations or changes to the global Vision for Scouting. iii. Half of the NSOs/NSAs that responded to the survey indicate that they have used the global Strategic Priorities when developing their own plans or strategies and that these priorities have guided their strategic planning. Seven out of every 10 NSOs/NSAs indicated that their current strategy (or plan) is in line with these global priorities. Besides, there is a high proportion of NSOs/NSAs working in the majority of the actual Strategic Priorities as follows: 9 out of every 10 work in Communications; 8 of every 10 work on Youth Involvement, Adolescents, Adult Volunteers, Reaching Out and Organization for the 21 st Century and 7 out of every 10 work in Partnerships, Resource Mobilization and Gender Equality. The responses in both structured interviews and the electronic survey do not suggest major adaptations or changes to the Strategy for Scouting, nor to the Mission, Vision or the global Strategic Priorities. Regarding the last of these few suggest some simplification and some form of prioritization or focusing on fewer priorities. It is important to emphasise that the global Strategic Priorities are still considered Page 4 39th World Scout Conference - Brazil 2011

7 relevant for Scouting. The only components of the Strategy that seem to be used in a lesser proportion are the Global Objectives and Outcomes (37%). The benefit of having a global Strategy that was singled out by most participants in the evaluation relates to the capacity of the Strategy to help NSOs to identify with a global approach helping national levels to see where WOSM is heading and confirm that they are moving in a similar direction. It is indicated that the Strategy has helped NSOs to get elements and ideas to use in their national strategies, and has been a guideline, an inspiration or a reminder not to leave out certain topics. The Strategy is seen as an aid to show that there are goals shared at all organizational levels. As much as the awareness and the perception of usefulness of the Strategy for Scouting to set a common path for the Movement is acceptable, it is not the same with its use at operational level. Half of the NSOs/NSAs indicate that the Strategy for Scouting has not contributed to focus or define their goals and 50% of them believe the Strategy has not been useful for the operational work in the NSO; also half of the NSOs could not list specific benefits that having a global Strategy for Scouting has provided to their NSO/NSA. Although only 1 out of every 5 NSOs/NSAs believe that the Strategy has not contributed or helped them in practical aspects, it is a challenge that only 50% of NSOs/NSAs believe that the Strategy has been useful to focus their support to local Scouting. Attention has to be drawn to the fact that there is a pattern among those NSOs/NSAs that indicate not to have used the Strategy for Scouting as a whole or in part or believe it has not been as useful as others. Almost all these NSOs/NSAs are in industrialised countries, mainly from Western Europe and some from the Americas and Asia. Qualitative information also indicates that the real challenge is implementation at national and local levels, acknowledging that developing and implementing strategies or plans are different challenges at national levels. It is said that more support, advice, tools and financial resources are needed to make national strategies a reality at operational levels. In general, the difference between the number of NSOs that indicate they have used the Strategy for Scouting to adapt national plans (49%) is not that great compared to those that indicate they have not used it for this purpose (42%). 4.6 Based on these findings the conclusions are: 1. The aim of having a global Strategy for Scouting is being achieved: to promote cohesive actions among the members of the Movement, serve as a framework for integral action and guide the work of the members of the Movement. 2. The Mission and Vision for Scouting are relevant, being used and do not need changes or adaptations. 3. The Strategic Priorities are still relevant for NSOs, with their current strategies or plans based on all seven strategic priorities; however it is suggested as useful but not absolutely necessary to exercise some form of prioritization and focus on fewer priorities. 4. The main challenge that the global Strategy faces is its actual capacity to facilitate implementation and delivery of local Scouting. More support and resources should therefore be made available to support national implementation of strategies and plans and ensure that these impact Scouting at local level in NSOs. Based on these results, it will be recommended to the World Scout Conference that there are no changes in the framework or content of the Strategy for Scouting. Document 6A - The Evaluation of the Strategy for Scouting Page 5