REGIONAL SCOUT PLAN 2019-2022

A mid-term review

WELCOME

RSP

THE MID-TERM REPORT

Hello and welcome to the Mid-term Regional Scout Plan 2019-2022 Report.

We're proud to present, for the first time, a comprehensive view of the achievements and challenges in the European Scout Region, as we enter the second half of the Triennium.

Scrolling below you can find out more about the work of regional volunteers and NSOs /NSAs in addressing the strategic priorities, details about the direct services offered to our associations, an overview of the Regional day-to-day activities as well as the efforts made to promote the principles adopted in Split.

REGIONAL SCOUT PLAN

COORDINATING AND MONITORING THE PLAN

ESC

European Scout Committee

Elected by the Regional Conference in August 2019, 6 European Scout Committee members - Lars Kramm (Chair), Martin Persson (Vice Chair), Elena Sinkevičiūtė, Joaquim Castro de Freitas, Julijana Daskalov and Matthias Gerth, together with ex-officio members Abir Koubaa (Regional Director) and Thankmar Wagner (Regional Treasurer) have been successfully steering the path towards implementation of the Regional Scout Plan “Growing Together in Europe”, which has now reached midway. By supporting growth and development of Scouting in the Region, the Committee is taking further decisions to ensure strong achievement of goals set, while ensuring its relevance to the changing needs. The Committee, as a team, inspires the Region to achieve the full potential it has. 
Highlights so far include a successful and timely approval of the RSP Goals, KPIs and Action Plans, coordination of Growth Potential Project, Sustainability and Sustainable Events task forces. Furthermore, continued the joint work with WAGGGS and other decisions made to support the transition of the Region in the changed environment since the start of the pandemic. To add, a new way to engage with NSAs and NSOs during online Campfires and sharing Records of Decisions was tested and will be continued.
WSB-ESC

Regional Support Centre

Coordinating core operations of the Region, the Regional Support Centre led by Abir Koubba (Regional Director) and Radu Stinghe (Deputy Regional Director) unites up to 14 dedicated professionals located in Geneva and Brussels. Organised in 4 teams, members of the Centre have been supporting or directly leading different teams, project and event groups contributing to the goals set in the Regional Scout Plan. Regional Support Centre, embodying the values of Scouting, is dedicated to delivering support to all Member Organisations by building trust, care and respect to the diversity of the Region. 
The highlights of the work so far include facilitating a fluent transition to the new triennium, the implementation of 100 days plan by organising regional sessions and contributing to the Word level events, successful regional Academy and reaching out to NSAs and NSOs by organising 26 calls with 29 associations which overall took 54 hours! 
C-Team

Coordinating Team

The complex relationship and interdependence of all actions is oversought by a team comprising the three Coordinators (Lana, Laura, Beatričė), a representative of the European Scout Committee (Joaquim) and Deputy Regional Director (Radu). The team acts as an interface between the strategic oversight of the Committee and the actions of the volunteers within the Operational Framework. Besides harmonising and creating synergies between various actions, the Coordinating Team is responsible for mainstreaming the Principles defined in the Plan and monitoring the delivery process of the Plan.
The highlights to be mentioned include a smooth initial and second round (2020 Autumn) of volunteer selection, transitioning teams and all the work into a virtual setting and re-assessing the action plans to better suit the changed reality. Throughout the first half of the triennium, the team has organised 4 All Group Meetings (1 as a physical event in Jan 2020) with different delivery & engagement methods that proved to be rewarding.
SP-AoO

Strategic Priorities Area of Operations

Led by Lana Husagić and Raül Molina, the Strategic Priorities area brings together all actions and structures in relation to the three strategic priorities - the main focus and direction of the Region this triennium. Devoted teams working on Sustainable Development, Diversity and Inclusion and Impact of Scouting aim to facilitate a platform of exchange, mutual learning and further development of the resources and support to Member Organisations uptaking their journey in the three priorities.
CS-AoO

Coordination and Support Area of Operations

Led by Beatričė Leiputė and Radu Stinghe, Coordination and Support is an area covering all actions and structures in relation to the overall coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the process of delivering the ongoing and drafting the next Regional Scout Plan. Teams working in the area are excited about seeking to continuously improve all working methods of the Region, facilitating the splendid journey of regional volunteers and supporting delivery and promotion of WOSM Services.
ER-AoO

External Relations Area of Operations

Led by Laura Neijenhuis and Marguerite Potard, the External Relations area covers all actions and structures in relation to the Region’s position in the political and NGO based structures at European level. Teams proactively aim to foster Region’s partnerships, facilitating cooperation and learning on the main focus of the Region - 3 strategic priorities. The work in the area also aims in attracting and managing funds and continuously improving the quality and level of regional communication.
M&E

The Monitoring and Evaluation Team

The success of a Regional Plan is seldom measured by the success of measures at European level – its meaningfulness is determined ultimately by the positive changes its actions bring to the provision of Scouting to young people in local communities. The Monitoring and Evaluation team - Jérôme Walmag (Team Leader), Jane Plavevski, Kiia Huttunen, Marina Polo Gonzalez, Leslie Bonnici - aims to monitor, evaluate and report on the status and success of the joint effort of Regional teams and Member Organisations in achieving the agreed goals set by the Regional Scout Plan “Growing Together in Europe”. This midterm report you are reading is one of the deliverables of this team.

REGIONAL SCOUT PLAN

RESPONDING TO THE COVID CRISIS

SATISFACTION SURVEY

(0 - not satisfied -> 100 - extremely satisfied)

All member organisations in the European Region were sent a survey in the beginning of January 2021 asking them to report their impressions on the progress of the Regional Scout Plan both at national and at European level. A total of 34 responses from 27 countries were received. As well as providing quantitative feedback, respondents were given an opportunity to expand on their answers by providing qualitative feedback.

  • Member Organisations
  • The Region

Adapting to the Health Crisis

Since the outbreak of the new coronavirus, COVID-19 and its rapid spread across the world, serious measures of social distancing have been implemented worldwide. These safety regulations affected Scout activities as well:  physical meetings, travels and outdoor activities had to be either postponed or cancelled. But Scouting never stops. Many National Scout Organisations are moving to online platforms to support their members all over Europe, while others take it a step even further and help their communities by taking concrete actions such as: delivery of food to elderly or assisting medical staff.

Reaching Out to NSOs/NSAs Report

In November and December 2020, the European Regional Support Centre has engaged in an effort of reaching out to all NSAs willing to follow-up on the Global survey on the impact of CoViD on Scouting. This was a great opportunity not only to discuss the impact of the pandemic in our Region., but also to share updates, news and interesting developments from NSAs and the Region alike. The amount of information was significant, but here is an overview of the main points identified and compiled after the calls.

REGIONAL SCOUT PLAN

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES

REGIONAL SCOUT PLAN

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES - DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

SATISFACTION SURVEY

(0 - not satisfied -> 100 - extremely satisfied)

  • Member Organisations
  • The Region

The Diversity & Inclusion Team: Ibis (Team Leader), Monika, Jana, Hamady, Sian and Marguerite together with the Dialog for Peace Team: Jon, Maja, Oana, Anca, Graham and Nikola, started the journey together and in the first part of the triennium really grew as a team. They managed to take part in different WOSM events like the Academy, Jota/Joti, etc. and their own Diversity dinner.

In France, more than 3 million young people do not go on vacation. And among them, two million do not even leave on for a weekend. Our goal is to offer these young people...

In Belgium Scouting is for everyone. Meet Murtada, a refugee from Irak and a Scout leader in Belgium.

RAINBOW SCOUTING - NETHERLANDS

REGIONAL SCOUT PLAN

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES - IMPACT OF SCOUTING

SATISFACTION SURVEY

(0 - not satisfied -> 100 - extremely satisfied)

  • Member Organisations
  • The Region

The Impact of scouting team, Allan, Venusia and Ana started working at the beginning of the triennium and have achieved positive results. The biggest challenge they have encountered in their work has been the recognition of the complexity and challenge associated with the ask from NSOs.

Impact of Home Scouting - Report

Early on in the Covid-19 pandemic, the majority of MOs across the WOSM Europe Region had moved to some form of a “home scouting” model, where scouting activities were delivered as remote activities using online platforms like Zoom. Home activities were sent to young people by email or other means to complete in their own time, or a myriad of other approaches that didn’t include traditional meetings at a central location on a weekly basis were implemented.

The Scout Association of Slovenia received a national award for outstanding achievements in the youth sector. The award was announced at the Youth Sector National Conference

The idea of analysing to what extent the scouting movement with its more than 100 years of traditions has influenced and guided the development of youth in Estonia had been in the planning for many years.

IMPACT OF SCOUTING STUDY - SPAIN

REGIONAL SCOUT PLAN

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES - SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

SATISFACTION SURVEY

(0 - not satisfied -> 100 - extremely satisfied)

  • Member Organisations
  • The Region

At the European level, two temporary task forces have been appointed in the very beginning of the triennium: the Sustainability task force and the Sustainable events project team. Despite the Covid crisis and the short deadline, both succeeded to produce their report for the European Scout Committee in due time, with a good dynamic and team spirit. It was a real challenge to figure out the current status and the expectations of the Region in the area of sustainability.

Towards a More Sustainable Region

Sustainability Think Tank Report

The team members of the Sustainability Think Tank who are responsible for this report are Caroline Arragon, Joana Bacelar, Margrethe Grønvold Friis and Dominik Naab. A special thanks goes to Julijana Daskalov from the European Scout Committee and Samia Fitouri from the European Scout Office for their excellent guidance and support. 

CHecklist for Sustainable Events

Sustainable Events Project Team Report

Being sustainable is about doing things with minimum long-lasting damage to our ecosystem. As scouts, we always strive to do our best and we hope that this checklist will motivate you and spark new ideas on how to create more sustainable events. Because events are one area where we can do the most harm, it is important to organise them differently. 

The Portuguese Scouts are taking this commitment to the next level by inaugurating an open SDGs exhibition that is expected to run untill 2030.

The Green Scouts in Iceland have been working on Sustainability for a long time and have become specialists in the collection of returnable packaging, cans and bottles.

BORANKA - CROATIA

REGIONAL SCOUT PLAN

WOSM SERVICES

SATISFACTION SURVEY

(0 - not satisfied -> 100 - extremely satisfied)

DIRECT SUPPORT TO NSOs

The WOSM Services team – Eirik, Monica, Stefano and Lisa are happy to share that the main areas of work have been successfully launched. The team has run a round of one-on-one conversations with the WOSM Services Consultants in Europe to check-in on the experience in delivering support to NSAs/NSOs in Europe, the consultancy journey and reflections so far and possible support needed. The team is running a communication channel for Consultants to get to know each other’s work a bit better and share any upcoming news. Even though the planned Gathering for Consultants in Europe had to be postponed, an online weekend is already scheduled ahead. To better anticipate and prepare for the upcoming services needs, the team launched a survey for the NSAs/NSOs also looking into areas for improvement in the service delivery.

The nearest plans are launching a promotion of the benefits of WOSM Services to NSAs/NSOs and, through it, support the achievement of the Strategic Priorities. The team shares that it has not been easy to disconnect COVID-19 from other issues and it has been challenging to run the team and to communicate enough and in the right way. The team is reflecting on the journey and looking into ways to further spark the inspiration which can be seen by so many shared stories and successful WOSM Services delivered!

WOSM SERVICES TEAM

WOSM SERVICES (1.09.2019 - 1.02.2021)

REGIONAL SCOUT PLAN

THE REGION AS A STRUCTURE

Continuous Improvement Task Force

External Representatives

Events Impact Assessment Task Force

SATISFACTION SURVEY

(0 - not satisfied -> 100 - extremely satisfied)

COMMUNICATIONS

EVENTS SUPPORT

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

FINANCE

FUNDING

WORKING METHODS

VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
The Continuous Improvement Task force - Adrian (team leader), Melissa, Erik and Antti  pride themselves in their ability to complete a report proposing a way forward and focus areas for improvement in the Region . The Task Force has looked into the RSP 2019-2022 drafting evaluation and proposed the general framework for the work with the upcoming RSP. A new team who took over the work is already up and running. Similarly, the task force has looked into the way we manage volunteers in the Region and consequently, a Volunteer Management team was set up. Several other areas relating to the way the Region engages NSOs, manages knowledge and ensures the number of diverse Candidates to run for the ESC were looked into. Although the task force found weekly online meetings challenging – from time to time it would have been more beneficial to meet face-to-face – they managed to conduct their work to a high standard.
The Events Impact Assessment team - Berglind (team leader), Ana, Rosie and Alexander, managed to gather and deliver recommendations to the European Scout Committee on ways to improve the underlying processes of Regional Events. The team has looked into the impact of events hosted in the previous triennium by organising interviews and a survey of 3 target audiences: event participants, event organisers, NSOs. Most of the recommendations focus around the improvement in the pre- and post- event phase. The team was challenged by the size of their task, but thanks to the dedication and hard work of the whole team, their work was a success. They look forward to sharing their successes to a wider audience in an online campfire as part of the Stronger Together series.

External Representatives team - Nandesh (Team Leader), Natascha, Noah, Reinout, Sophie, Marta, Ville, Silja and Caillum - have already achieved many great results while facing a very different than ordinary way of work. The first half of the triennium has in any case been difficult for such a team as many external representation and advocacy opportunities have changed or cancelled and hence events the team would normally attend were not there anymore, which has impacted the advocacy work of the team. Nevertheless, the team is glad to share the highlights of the work.

One of the main wins is the successful election of Silja Markkula as the President of the European Youth Forum. To add, throughout 2020 the team managed to engage in many external processes such as EU Youth Dialogue, Lifelong Learning Platform. A lot has been done to engage with platforms that have a specific focus relevant to the Strategic Priorities of the RSP: taking part at the UN Environment Assembly’s 5th Virtual Regional Consultation for Europe; becoming candidate members of Generation Climate Europe and pledging as ambassadors for European Climate Pact. Lastly, the team continued to hold webinars, seminars and sessions at both Regional (the Academy) and External events (European Youth Event with more than 60 thousand views; discussions with MEPs on European Green Deal and Erasmus+ and others).

We invite you to watch some of the sessions the team has hosted online: 

The MoP Regional Decision Committee - Thomas (Team Leader), Sofia, Rose-Marie, Vojtech and Kristina are leading the work related to the Messengers of Peace grant implementation in the Region. In the first half of the triennium, the team has carried out ‘new normal’ field visits to NSAs/NSOs as an online evaluation and follow-up. The overall evaluation of the MoP Initiative was done by interviewing 3 NSAs/NSOs and 10 local groups that benefited from the MoP support. The team noted that these virtual field visits cannot fully replace the face to face visits that provide the real feeling of the project. 

The team also encountered some other challenges on the way, one of which is recurrent issues with Fluxx online platform that resulted in a longer process between the document analysis and acceptance of the project applications or reports. Some greater support from the platform managers is needed to further improve these processes. The team, finding ways to overcome the issues, also reached out to NSOs/NSAs interested in MoP and instructed them on how to use the platform. While at the moment the MoP initiative long-term perspective and the role of the team is not entirely clear, despite all external & internal challenges, the team managed to continue their work. 

The Finance Support Group - Thankmar (Team leader), Tanja, Stephanie, Marcus, Siegfried and Anne-Christine, as one of the highlights of their work carried so far, emphasizes the financial risk assessment, done to evaluate a possible impact of the COVID-19 on the Region’s finances, which turned out to be correct. The Group believes that the successful analysis carried can be later turned into a comprehensive way to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the financials of a NSA/NSO and help develop actions to mitigate the financial and legal risks arising from such a crisis. Forming a team over distance and establishing methods & channels of communication has been a small challenge to overcome, however the team is happy about the continued work, which led to maintaining the motivation and remote work. 

Building on the Region’s efforts in the area of Growth, a Project targeting NSOs with Growth Potential was launched at the beginning of the triennium. This project is run by a team of Consultants composed of Rose-Marie, Jordan, Kevin, Andrea and Pieter, with an oversight of Matthias and Lars from the Committee. The team’s objective is to support further growth of Scouting and facilitate a platform for mutual exchange on experiences in recruiting, retaining and diversifying the membership. The NSOs involved in the project are representing Montenegro, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Croatia and Romania.

The team of Consultants had a great chance to kick off their work by having a physical meeting back in February 2020. Since then, the team set up a detailed action and monitoring plan, established working relationships with the NSOs and further worked with each organisation and their dedicated teams providing tailored support. It is planned that each participating NSO will start the project by a GSAT WOSM assessment identifying further opportunities to facilitate their growth journey.

Continuous Improvement

Continuous Improvement Task Force Report and Recommendations

Continuous Improvement should be embraced as an underlying principle and every team and group should embrace the Region’s aim for continuous and sustained learning, encouraging the review of its systems, the outline of the results to key stakeholders and, the implementation of positive changes. Recognising this, The European Scout Committee appointed a Continuous Improvement Task Force to investigate and recommend a way forward with a term of service until 1 August 2020.

Towards More Impactful Events in the Region

Events' Impact Think Tank Report and Recommendations

Over the previous triennium the Region has supported or hosted 31 events. These events fall under two main categories: training and networking. The European events ecosystem is diverse and evolved over time and many of these events have been delivered successfully for a number of years. However, in the context of the wider discussion on assessing the impact of the working methods of the Region and identifying ways to improve the way we support member organisations...

MoP Regional Decision Committee

FInance Support Group

Growth Potential Project Team

REGIONAL SCOUT PLAN

PRINCIPLES

The chapter outlines the Principles which guide the work of the Region in all its tasks and responsibilities. In many ways, the Principles are as important as the other Chapters as they set a benchmark for the work of the Region. Ensuring the transversality of the Principles as well as mainstreaming them to guide the work across the different areas, teams and task forces, event teams and project groups is an important aspect of the work of the whole Operational Framework and the Region.

To pinpoint some of the highlights:

SATISFACTION SURVEY

(0 - not satisfied -> 100 - extremely satisfied)

VISION 2023

  • Member Organisations
  • The Region

YOUTH EMPOWERMENT

  • Member Organisations
  • The Region

TRANSPARENCY

  • Member Organisations
  • The Region

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

  • Member Organisations
  • The Region

SUSTAINABLE GROWTH

  • Member Organisations
  • The Region

Nevertheless, one of the best ways to evaluate the trends is to directly ask the NSAs/NSOs how they feel the Region Is guided by these principles. NSAs/NSOs are quite satisfied with themselves and are a little bit more demanding with the Region (in particular about the Sustainable Growth). The only exception is the Continuous Improvement.

Vision 2023

The strategic priorities of the Region are in line with Vision 2023. The Region is aiming to improve in measuring the impact that Scouting brings to young people and the communities around them as well as ensuring that more children and youth, coming from diverse backgrounds, are able to embark on a Scouting journey

Youth Empowerment

A significant number of young people are involved in the teams of the operational framework - 70% of the volunteers currently involved in the Regional Reams are under 35 years old, out of which one third are under 26. The External Representatives of the Region are actively involved in different European platforms advocating for youth with recent efforts focusing on COVID19 impact as well as joining platforms and partnerships in the areas of Strategic Priorities. 

Transparency

The KPI monitoring platform and the present Midterm Report is a substantial effort towards transparency. New ways of engaging and informing the NSOs such as Records of Decisions and Campfires by the European Scout Committee are explored.

Continuous Improvement

The Continuous Improvement and Events Impact Assessment task forces looked into and proposed ways forward in terms of the working methods, ways we manage volunteers & knowledge within the Region & provide support via events.

Sustainable Growth

A number of associations are still growing even in this pandemic time, there are no serious concerns about the sustainability of the Region’s NSAs/NSOs in terms of membership.A Growth Potential Project is being implemented to support further Growth of Scouting in South-East Europe. Significant efforts are put in further exploring and supporting the development of Scouting in Albania and Kosovo.

TO CONCLUDE...

Most of the first half of the triennium has been characterized by countless hours of staring at screens. 

Many of the activities we are used to conducting in physical meetings with other people had to be changed into online formats. This did not always come without its issues, but it had to be done. As a Region and as societies, we have been through so much more than anyone could have anticipated back in 2019 when the Regional Scout Plan was adopted. 

Yet, as a Region we stood up to the task of doing our best in the circumstances we found ourselves in. The regional teams worked hard to discover ways to conduct their work that was originally reliant on for example meeting people at the Academy or at the European Jamboree. Several task forces completed their work to a high standard, whereas others cracked on with their work and despite the challenges have been able to stay on track with their KPIs. The Region found new ways to connect with Member Organisations and provided opportunities for them to share their concerns and successes. Some online sessions did not always run without technical problems, but lessons were learnt and methods further developed. The outstanding work done by each and every one in the Region is a testament to the Scout motto. Being prepared does not necessarily mean that we know what is coming, but that we are ready and willing to do our best in the circumstances we are in. With the light at the end of the endless tunnel of virtual meetings growing brighter, the work in the next half of the triennium will hopefully be characterised by more face-to-face meetings.

Although several task forces came to an end during the first half of the triennium, new ones are already hitting the ground running. We have teams dedicated for Volunteer Management, Sustainability and Sustainability Monitoring, as well as of course a new Regional Scout Plan team. We also look forward to seeing how the current teams continue to develop innovative ways of achieving their KPIs. The Region will continue to support Member Organisations, and their valuable feedback provided through various consultation methods will be considered especially where areas for improvement have been indicated. In terms of events for the next half of the triennium, we have at least the Educational Methods Forum, the 2021 version of the Academy, Communications Forum, Youth Advocacy Training Symposium as well as the European Scout Conference and others to look forward to. 

Let’s continue to work together to reach our goals, to make the world a better place, and look forward to the days when a meeting is no longer yet another video call!

FOLLOW US

Copyright World Scout Bureau © 2021. All rights reserved.

GET A FREE QUOTE

Please fill this for and we'll get back to you as soon as possible!

TOP