Update #1
From the Implementation Team of the Royal Military Colleges Club of Canada
For the Strategic Review Report “The Road Ahead”
Current Status
This is a quick update on progress being made by the Implementation Team addressing the recommendations outlined in “The Road Ahead”, the report based on the year-long Strategic Review of the RMCCC conducted last year under the direction of the General Council of the Club.
The project is progressing on schedule, with 3 working teams having been created. All 28 recommendations have now been analyzed, and a “triage” has been done to prioritize the work.
The next major milestone will be the submission of Implementation Plans for Tier 1 recommendations by March 16/13, for approval by the EC/GC.
For handy reference, details of the recommendations and our work flow and schedule follow.
Terms of Reference
The Terms of Reference of the Implementation Team are as follows:
- Develop a priority list of the plan recommendations accompanied by an impact analysis (resources and staffing).
- Develop an actionable implementation plan for each of the recommendations.
- Ensure that all recommendations that could be quickly implemented are put into action in year 1.
- Evaluate ways and means to provide funding for the items which appear to be unaffordable by the Club.
- Report regularly to the EC and the GC.
- Communicate the plan and progress to Club members regularly.
- Complete the project by August 31, 2013.
Recommendations
The recommendations to be implemented are summarized as follows:
A) Organizational Structure and Governance
1. Review our Governance Model, looking at:
– Definition of “membership” and categories of membership
– Size and composition of GC and EC
– Official recognition of the role of the Class President and Secretary
– Terms of office for the Officers of the Club
– Official linkages between the Club and the Colleges, and the Club and the Foundation
2. Clearly define the functions of the Club’s National Office, and the role it plays in the direct delivery of services to the membership vs. the role it plays supporting the Branches and the Classes.
3. Structure our organization so that it is less reliant on the Branches and more dependent on the Classes in the engagement of the membership and the delivery of programme and service offerings.
4. Create a 4th year 4 bar liaison position in the Cadet Wing HQ to be a member of the GC, and ultimately to become Class President or Secretary of the graduating class. This would help build a strong connection to the Club amongst the Cadet Wing.
5. Make club membership automatic, not voluntary, perhaps paid for with automatic payroll deductions like mess dues.
6. Create Associate Membership category for parents of cadets, to raise public awareness and engagement with the college, increase College advocacy, support funding, and help track down lost ex-cadets. Programmes and services should be defined for this group.
7. Negotiate a resource sharing agreement with the Colleges covering administrative staff, funding, technology and space, in view of the value the alumni association provides the Colleges in terms of reputation building, recruiting, advocacy, and funding.
B) Programmes and Services
MUCH, MORE…
1. Develop programmes, services and linkages which cater to busy younger members and members not living close to an established branch. This might include such items as credit or non-credit courses (military, leadership, etc.) via distance learning or webinar format.
2. Create a Business Networking and Career Transition Programme, making use of existing programmes like Treble Victor, Canada Company, True Patriot Love, Veterans Affairs and DND.
3. Provide training and support to the Branches to offer services relevant to all generations within their catchment area. Support could include elements like a national speakers’ bureau.
4. Provide training and support to the Class Presidents and Secretaries to better communicate with and engage their classmates.
5. Develop a suite of financial benefits (e.g. insurance) for our members, perhaps linking with theUSmilitary colleges.
6. Re-examine the value proposition and format of theReunionweekend.
7. Re-examine the value proposition for the gift shop, including consideration of the on-site CANEX.
8. Involve ex-cadets in community activities, including speaking engagements, recruiting for the Colleges, etc., to raise the profile of the Colleges.
9. Develop a suite of services catering directly to the cadets while they are at the Colleges. This could include a mentoring programme with ex-cadets, the linking of cadets with Branch activities during the academic year and during vacations, and/or the direct linking of Club Branches to College Squadrons.
10. Create an ex-cadet “CUSO”, where ex-cadets can band together to offer consulting services on a volunteer basis to communities and countries in need.
11. RestoreCollegeand ex-cadet Heritage programs as instrumental in educating cadets, prospective cadets and families, and graduates on what our values mean when acted upon in action or in civilian life.
C) Communications
1. Develop a clear value proposition for the Club, and communicate it to all members.
2. Establish an Advocacy Committee to provide a significant external advocacy role.
3. Establish a Communications Committee to develop a strategic communications strategy catering to our multigenerational diversity internally and our various stakeholders externally, focusing on messages and media, including social media.
4. Create a centralized portal on the Club website for branches and classes.
5. Create regular columns for all the smaller sub-groups of our membership (cadets from CMR and Royal Roads, Masters Degree students, UTPO/UTPNCM, RETP, etc.) in all of our regular communications vehicles (e.g. VERITAS and eVeritas).
6. Increase the profiling of our members in our communications. Business success should not be the only criteria for member selection.
7. Create a centralized member list management function at the National Office. This would include assigning a permanent email address for all members.
8. Create a Standing Committee to be responsible for PR, and proactive and reactive advocacy to all stakeholders and the public at large. This would be in partnership with the same College function.
9. Create a forum for the members at large to engage and express their opinions on issues affecting the Colleges.
10. Communicate to our membership a summary of this report, and our action plan to address the issues raised.
General Work Process
The 3 teams will build detailed implementation plans for each of the recommendations for approval by the EC and GC, prioritized as follows:
Tier 1 – Recommendations which are “Early Wins”, i.e. which can be implemented quickly with minimal resources.
Tier 2 – Recommendations which are more difficult to implement, but can be implemented within the current year.
Tier 3 – Recommendations which will need to be implemented in the coming years, based on complexities, or more significant resources.
Schedule
|
Activity |
Responsible |
Date |
| Select Team Leads, discuss project, define outcomes | Bruce McAlpine | Nov 2/12 |
| Build Work Teams | Team Leads | Nov 16/12 |
| Create Team Work Plans with Recommendations broken into Tiers | Team Leads | Jan 20/13 |
| Submit Tier 1 Implementation Plans for approval | Team Leads | Mar 16/13 |
| Submit Tier 2 Implementation Plans for approval | Team Leads | May 10/13 |
| Submit Tier 3 Implementation Plans for approval | Team Leads | July 19/13 |
| Final Project Wrap-up | Bruce McAlpine | Aug 23/13 |
Submitted by 9143 Bruce McAlpine
Implementation Team Leader
Bruce.McAlpine@fulcrumsearchscience.com
416.847.4989 OR 866.409.4990