Strategic Review Implementation – Where is it going?
13987 Bryan Bailey, Executive Director – RMC Club of Canada
Without doubt, the Strategic Review provided a detailed and frank assessment of the current state of the Club which clearly outlined the potential risk of decline or worse irrelevancy. Fortunately, the report also offered solid recommendations to better position the Club to meet the expectations of its members. While the Club was founded in 1884, and without question has served the military colleges alumni and the Colleges exceptionally well for the past 130 years, there is a continual need for the Club to evolve and adapt in order to remain relevant to its diverse generational membership.
While analysis and decision-making are vitally important they are often the easiest part of the change process. With the proverbial “devil in the detail”, it is not surprising that implementation of new initiatives requires resources, including time and effort which are usually the constraining factors. For that reason, the Club has opted to move out on two main axes; communications and governance, in an effort to focus on the more immediate priorities.
While improvements to strategic communications remains a high priority, the Club has also embarked on a significant restructure of the Club’s Governance model. This effort commenced in earnest last year and is gaining momentum thanks to the dedicated efforts of 5533 Glenn Allen, 4976 Reg Watts, H24263 John Cowan, 4459 Ed Murray and 5611 Gerry Stowe. The end state will be the development of a new governance model, supported by bylaws and policies, which blends the best of the Club’s heritage and tradition with the best practices of modern and effective non-profit organizations. The goal is to present the recommendations to the Club’s Executive Committee, General Council and to the AGM in September which is quite an ambitious undertaking. Throughout the process, there will be regular opportunity for quality review, discussion and feedback to ensure that the Club’s new governance structure will meet its strategic renewal needs.
4976 Reg Watts and 9143 Bruce McAlpine were the driving force behind the Strategic Review and Bruce, as a member of the Executive Committee, is leading the Club’s Strategic Review Implementation Team
supported by three committees. He has penned an excellent summary of where the Club sits in implementing its strategic renewal agenda which I encourage you to read…
Update on the Implementation of the Strategic Review – March 2014
Submitted by: 9143 Bruce McAlpine
In the summer of 2011, the General Council of the Royal Military Colleges Club of Canada created a Strategic Review Committee to address the broad issue of declining engagement within the Club. The project culminated in a 120 page report entitled “The Road Ahead”. It concluded with a Vision for the future of the Club, and a series of almost 30 concrete recommendations, falling broadly into 3 categories, namely:
Club Organizational Structure & Governance
Member Programmes & Services
Communications
“The Road Ahead” was unanimously endorsed by the Executive Committee and the General Council of the Club in the summer of 2012, and an Implementation Team was created to do the necessary staff work to bring the bring the recommendations to the point of implementation by the Club.
This report updates the Club on the progress of the Implementation Team since our update at last fall’s Reunion Weekend.
Work over the past 6 months has focused on 2 broad areas, namely Club Organizational Structure & Governance, and Communications.
In Organizational Structure & Governance, the committee has received funding for an external consultant to lead them through the development of an ideal model to govern the Club, to update our Constitution and By-Laws, and to develop an Operating Guidelines manual to clearly delineate responsibilities and limits of authority for the board and the management of the Club. This work will go a long way to increasing the agility and responsiveness of the Club. Meetings are going well under the leadership of Glenn Allen, and the committee should be in a position to make recommendations to the Club at the AGM this fall. Also, the Club has created a position on the Executive Committee for an RMC Senior Cadet to represent the Cadet members of our Club, and to foster engagement in the Club amongst the Cadets on campus.
In Communications, work is progressing well in the area of technology, with a new look and feel to eVeritas, and good progress towards a more interactive and “self-managed” web site. A Communications Committee has been approved by the Club to provide oversight to our communications content, technology, and our PR and Advocacy initiatives. A group of about 10 potential members have expressed interest in the committee, although we are still looking for a Committee Chairperson to lead the work. Anyone interested in this important role should contact Bob Benn at bennr@videotron.ca
Once our structure and communications are in place, we will be better able to focus on the programmes and services our members want.
Please feel free to communicate your thoughts, suggestions and critiques to myself.