A few things you might not have known about scouting...

Greater Manchester West is doing great things at the moment and I am very proud to be a part of it. Our County Commissioner is committed to providing every opportunity to young people in the County where he grew up. We both have our own companies, he works in the Financial Services industry, I work in the biopharmaceutical industry and so there is an understanding between us of the need to align with the National Strategy for Scouts to continue to provide #skillsforlife and we believe we have the capabilities and tools as well as the right team in this County to deliver. 

The transferable skills we bring are almost incidental. We are both in Scouting because it is fun, offers adventure combined with accidental learning to young people, enables us to model behaviours for young people, see them grow personally and be the very best version of ourselves that we can be. We need more volunteers to take on this mantel. There is a rather brilliant video short of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Manchester saying that what Scouting does for young people is needed now more than ever before. Find it here:

Scouts brings young people from diverse backgrounds, of all abilities and across an age range of 6-25 together where they build friendships, work together and learn to lead in a community reflective of the society they will grow up to live in.

Getting Stuff Done with Volunteers

The organisation of the Scouting Association is not always evident to those leading a Scout Troop in a District where information is cascaded down through a mixture of email, social media, noticeboards and word of mouth. For those who have served time in Scouting the relationships are visible and governance clear. Scouting has strict policies and processes to deal with behaviour it does not tolerate and is supported by the national organisation in its response. District and County Commissioners carry the burden here but my point is, despite the minimal governance structure and the fact that everyone is a volunteer, the Scouting Association is a fantastic example of people working together to deliver an outcome, even when, as is often the case, people come from very different backgrounds and have differing experiences of formal education. To communicate new ideas a pragmatic approach and confident delivery work well combined with a touch of deference towards those with seniority (time served). The County is organised as follows:

Each Group has a Group Scout Leader and an Executive Committee of Trustees and if they are a thriving Group, they have a Beaver Section with a Leader, Assistant Leaders and supporting volunteers; a Cub Section with an Akela, a Bagheera and other Jungle Book roles assigned to Assistant Leaders and volunteers; and a Scout Section, sometimes two, with a Scout Leader, Assistant Leaders and volunteers.

Each District has a District Commissioner and an Assistant District Commissoner for each Section and the ADC’s are responsible for organizing many of the District events. They also have an Executive Committee of Trustees and the ADC’s work with Assistant County Commissioners to put on County events. Each District has a number of roles, and several Explorer Units which draw from all the Scout Groups in the County. They may be co-located with a specific Scout Group but are part of the District provision as is the 18-25 provision or Network. These older Scouts are vital to the future of Scouts in the UK. Many have come through Scouts, attained DofE, Higher Awards and maybe a Queen’s Scout. As Explorers doing these awards they will have had to do some voluntary work and will have become Young Leader’s assisting at a Beaver, Cub or Scout Group for 12-18 months at a time. So that is why these young people are extremely valuable as section leaders of the future. 

The Scouting Association demonstrated its commitment to being youth shaped by introducing a role of Youth Commissioner at National, Regional, County and District Level. These roles enable young people to gather input at every level and sit on Executive Committees and Leadership teams to represent the views of young people. The Youth Commissioners hold Youth Forums and the reciprocity in information sharing empowers young people whilst keeping the Scouting Association youth shaped.

My eldest daughter as Deputy County Youth Commissioner has been very active in organizing these events, sharing all County events on Social Media and taking on key roles in the organization of County events, whilst completing her DofE Gold and Queen’s Scout. I’m glad she’s doing this and has found a role for herself. Even the interview process was a useful introduction to representing her capabilities to a panel of interviewers, great practice for real life. 

Whilst Scouts will recruit volunteers with no Scouting experience, seeing young people in key roles and on Executive Committees is what will ensure the association stays young at heart, and allow older leaders to coach and mentor the section leaders and even Chief Commissioners of the future.  

Each County, consisting of maybe 8 Districts has a leadership team and the ability of this group of people to work effectively together will determine the success of the County. Increasingly measured by Growth, success is in fact the ability of the County to reflect the needs of its young people and offer an experience which aligns with the National Strategy whilst preserving the core principles of fun and adventure. That’s why Greater Manchester West are ahead of the curve, opening Scout Troops in Special Needs Schools, participating in the community, offering new experiences and delivering a programme designed by young people for young people. And the Corporate Patrons Scheme, Preferred Supplier Scheme and One Good Turn project as well as the ambition to go after strategic fundraising means we are blazing a trail ahead of the ‘partnering with local businesses’ goal identified in the National Strategy 2018-23.

Corporate Patrons Scheme

The County Commissioner and I have been working with Gold, Silver and Bronze Patrons for the last year, developing a model for delivering and communicating the strategy to our County Executive, Extended Leadership Team and volunteers across the County. The County Commissioner, Deputy County Commissioners and County Chair and Secretary form an Extended Leadership Team who work to align the County Strategy with National Strategy, agree a Budget and look where the gaps are in terms of both provision and resources. This is where ambition meets reality as an entirely voluntary organisation seeks to offer Scouting to anyone who wants to be a Scout and ensure our volunteers are well trained and feel valued by the organisation.

At the launch event last year we recruited 8 Patrons: a Gold Patron, several Silver and several Bronze. The challenge, as with any new initiative, has been how to ensure our Patrons feel they are getting ‘value for money.’ For some it is enough to have their company logo on the Greater Manchester West website and be able to advertise themselves a Patron, but for others, the Patrons Scheme is an opportunity to partner with the Scouts and undertake further ventures to leverage the relationship for publicity and promote further fundraising. I am trying to think about the offering we have across our Gold, Silver and Bronze and what this means in terms of an overhead for myself and the level of ‘Customer Service’ I know we need to offer. Bathroom Takeaway sponsored our Cardboard Canoe Competition and we are hosting two Away Days for them at Bispham Hall, providing activities for employees to practice team building and leadership skills. Putting on an event like this is like falling off a log for our permit holders and leaders but putting it on during the working week becomes a challenge…and so we have it the challenge of delivering the package to those who support the Scouts without putting too much pressure on our volunteers.

I need to monitor carefully the package we offer to Patrons to keep them engaged and to ensure our volunteers can see the benefit of giving up their time to support events like the Away Days for Bathroom Takeaway. The success of these events will help us to to recruit more Patrons but we have to be able to manage those relationships and resource those commitments. This September I will be inviting Patrons old and new to attend a Patrons Breakfast which will provide them with an opportunity to network and provide myself with an opportunity to measure 'Customer Satisfaction.' I intend to use the event to find out what matters to our Patrons, what they want from us (as a County) and what they can offer, besides funding. The Patrons Breakfast will be on the morning of the Leaders Conference which we, as a County, are running to provide Training, Development and a voice to our 1200+ volunteers. Bringing them together and overlapping the agendas gives us the opportunity for our Patrons to see the army of volunteers it takes to run the 88 Scout Groups we have across the County and the commitment they have to young people as well as enable direct relationships to be established as with 2nd Urmston Track car which Bathroom Takeaway sponsored before they committed to the County as well as Gold Patrons.

The County Commissioner and I will continue to manage the relationships we have with Greater Manchester West’s Patrons, seek to build new relationships with businesses in our communities but also are reaching out to some of the larger corporate companies in Greater Manchester to ask for their support. Hollinwood, our new campsite, will require at least a ￡1m investment in the coming year, and funding to ensure overseas expeditions are available to all as well as equipment and activities offers companies an opportunity to make public their support for an organization which almost everybody supports as being a good thing. How many times have I spoken to a Director of Talent who says he is always relieved to get an application for a scout with a higher award because he can assume that candidate already works well in a team and has leadership skills which other candidates do not.

Greater Manchester West

We have 5,000+ young people attending meetings weekly, doing activities extending from traditional bushcraft and pioneering, camping and kayaking to axe-throwing and something akin to being Macgyver (too long ago, reference too old?) Strengthening the links between Scouts and the community, specifically businesses in the community, is a reciprocal arrangement that supports our National Strategy’s focus on Growth, Inclusivity and Diversity.

Just take a look at some of Greater Manchester West’s recent achievements which reflect the heart and soul of the County:

• First Buddhist Scout Troop – 1st Buddha’s Light
• GME and GMN, GMW came up with the Bee Badge raising ￡64K for Manchester Emergency Fund from sales around the world.
• Designed a Bee from competition entries to be part of the Bee Art Trail. See video:

https://www.facebook.com/themancuk/videos/2097132873880013/

• Wear their Necker Scheme – putting young people in the shoes of their leaders.
• Refurbished Subaru Track Car 2nd Urmston Scout Troop
• Nominated for National Diversity Awards (Community Organisation Award) 2018
• First Cub Scouts to sleep at the top of Blackpool Tower
• Marshaling at Water Stations, Manchester 10K and Greater Manchester Run 2018
• Winners Regional Lord Derby 2018
• GMW Scout created winning design of a badge for Tim Peake, worn in space.

And recent/planned International travel:

• Mad4Malawi 2018
• Climb Morocco 2018 #climbmorocco2018
• 24th World Scout Jamboree 2019, West Virginia, US
• Philmont Expedition 2019, US
• USA 2019
• Roverway 2018, Netherlands

And all of this is delivered by volunteers.

There are couple of direct asks associated with this article:

1.    I am looking for a motivational speaker of some repute/recognizable in their achievements to the scout leaders of Greater Manchester West County for the Patrons Breakfast and Leaders Conference to be held on Saturday 29th September 2018.

2.    I am looking for contacts within companies based in Greater Manchester area, both small and large to initiate a conversation about being a Patron or direct funding. We are just getting started – please join us and be part of a great partnership between business and young people of Greater Manchester.

Please get in touch and start a conversation. Associate your company with The Scouts, offer financial help, or help in kind, be a Patron, a Preferred Supplier or Corporate Sponsor. Support us locally in Greater Manchester West or talk us about city centre events and how to reach 20,000+ young people across the whole of Greater Manchester. We’re thinking big, we’ve a track record of delivering big and we need your to support making this happen.

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