young people and the 2014-18 strategic plan the be … be report_final.pdf · we set out in vision...

scouts.org.uk/2018

YOUNG PEOPLEAND THE 2014-18STRATEGIC PLAN THE BE... INITIATIVE FINAL REPORT ANDRECOMMENDATIONS

Young People and the 2014-18 Strategic Plan 2scouts.org.uk/2018

SHAPED BY YOUNG PEOPLEScouting has some big ideas for the future. The aspirations we set out in Vision 2018 were bold and ambitious, ensuring everyday adventure would change lives across the UK, creating a new generation of active citizens and ensuring Scouting would be enjoyed by even more young people, regardless of their background. We wanted a movement that young people and adults alike would feel proud to be part of, empowered to lead and which would value them for doing so.

But perhaps one of the most important goals we set ourselves was to ensure our Movement would be truly shaped by young people, in partnership with adults.

It was this ambition that led to the Be... initiative: a programme of work to find out how young people think we should deliver on Vision 2018. The answers were insightful, inspiring and challenging in equal measure and ultimately led to much of what you will find in Scouting For All, our strategic plan for 2014-2018.

This report outlines what The Scout Association did to involve young people in our strategic planning, what worked, what didn’t, and what young people said they wanted the future of Scouting to look like. Those voices will now be front and centre to the thinking of our Senior Volunteer and Management Teams as we go towards turning Vision 2018 into a reality.

We would like to thank all the young people who took the time to participate in the initiative. It’s clear to us that the future of Scouting is in good hands. We can’t wait to work with this new generation of young leaders to make sure our Movement grows, becomes even more inclusive, impacts positively on our communities and, most important of all, continues to be shaped by young people in the future.

Wayne Bulpitt Matt Hyde UK Chief Commissioner Chief Executive


EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThe Be... InitiativeBetween August and December 2013 a number of activities were undertaken to ensure that the content of the new Strategic Plan for 2014-18, Scouting For All, was shaped by young people, as well as to test different ways of involving them in strategic discussions. This involved physically consulting through existing local youth engagement forums, creating a dedicated microsite for young people to discuss ideas and an online survey focussed on Community Impact.

In total, over 3,300 young people were directly engaged in discussing how our Strategic Objectives could grow, become more inclusive, create a positive impact in our communities and be shaped by young people in partnership with adults.

This report outlines what we learned in terms of how to engage young people in strategic conversations, what they said when we did and as a result of both, what The Scout Association is going to do about it.

What We Learned...Here is what we learned about how to engage young people in strategic planning on a national level:

�Visits to youth forums as a way of gathering feedback for national initiatives should continue. Further thought is needed to map where these happen and how they can still contribute when staff visits are not possible due to time and/or resources. �We should develop dedicated digital spaces for young people to discuss their Scouting experience and views more generally. �We should invest in a method of consulting with young people on national issues in a much faster and less resource intensive way, both face to face and online. �Our policy on conducting research with young people is confused and needs clarification so that we can better understand their views and the impact Scouting has on their lives, in terms of safeguarding and implications/restrictions for different channels. � Future strategic planning should involve young people leading the process from inception; defining the purpose and parameters of the consultation, designing the formats used and interpreting the results.

What Young People Said...And here is what young people actually told us:

� Investigate how/if an increase in advertisement and publicity can shift perceptions of Scouting amongst young people who are not currently involved, reducing stigma and increasing popularity. �The successful implementation of youth forums at District, County/Area/Region and National level should be a measure of success in terms of Scouting being shaped by young people. � Inclusivity and acceptance of difference is something Scouts do well and should be better promoted both within the Movement and to the wider public. �We should consider partnerships with schools to widen the reach of Scouting and enhance its reputation within young people’s peer groups. �Connect individual young people with regional or nationwide events to avoid a postcode lottery in terms of access to a high quality programme. �Adopt an agile way of working to connect the needs of communities with skills Scouts can offer. �Ensure that Community Impact projects have a strong hands-on element to them, are visibly led by young people and are celebrated by the public. Harness connections around the world while also providing a network and resources for local community action.


What We’ll Do...And most importantly, here is what we’re going to do about it:

Youth Shaped:1. We will create a Key Performance Indicator in Scouting For All, the 2014-18 Strategic

Plan, for ‘Every young person’s view to influence decisions in Scouting’ by 2018.2. We will support youth forums on the ground and establish ways to collect those

discussions nationally.3. We will create a National Scout Youth Council so that there is a space for the views of

young people locally to be discussed nationally.4. We will create the position of UK Youth Commissioner, a young person on the same

level as the Chief Commissioner, Chief Executive and Chair of the Trustee Board, appointed to ensure that young people are involved and engaged in every decision that shapes their Scouting experience.

5. We will create and improve a suite of digital spaces for young people to shape their Scouting experience, including the Be... website, a proposed online area for Network members , a dedicated young person’s social media channel and improved online content.

6. We will create a Scout polling App so that we can quickly poll young people on their views of Scouting and contribute to social change.

7. Our Activity Centres will use large camps and a dedicated online space to ask young people for their views of Scouting.

8. We will ensure we have ‘gold standard’ practice in conducting research with young people so that we can measure the impact of Scouting on their lives from 6-25 years old, as well as seeking their views of Scouting and other issues generally.

9. We will launch a Scout Onesie.

Inclusivity:10. We will promote a range of inclusive messages and case studies to showcase

where true inclusive Scouting is working really well to inspire other members to do the same.

11. We will seek partnerships with Stonewall, Scope, Mermaids and the Gender Trust, support young people to attend Pride, launch projects on Scouting in local Eastern European communities and provide more support for young people with autism.

Growth:12. We will deliver community, adventure and international events for Network members on

a national level, promoted through a digital space, to increase the amount of high-quality activities available to them.

13. We will continue to invest in improving the image of Scouting in local media, via dedicated media staff on a regional level.

14. We will support young people to become qualified and lead our adventurous activities, strengthening and promoting adventure as a key offer to young people.

15. We will create a test campaign, which, in partnership with young people, will develop and create messages that appeal to young people not already involved in Scouting.

16. We will explore existing examples of where Scouting is delivered in partnership with a school or other education providers, and consider the merits of such models.


Community Impact:17. We will work with non-Scouting organisations, focussed on making positive change, to

create four Community Impact initiatives for the movement as a whole (one of which with an international focus) based strongly on hands-on, practical actions young people can take to improve the lives of others on specific social issues.

18. We will fund five districts to pilot local Community Impact projects, extracting what they learn and creating a toolkit for the entire Movement in taking action locally on the issues their young people care about.

19. We will create a Staged Community Impact Badge to ensure Community Impact is embedded in the 6-25 Programme, rather than requiring additional time from young people.

20. We will create a National Awards ceremony to shout about the achievements of our young people and adult volunteers to the outside world

21. We will bring together a group of young people nationally to own and lead our work on Community Impact.

22. Scout Community Week from 2015 will focus on the impact the entire Movement can make on four specific societal issues, rather than generic community engagement.


YOUTH FORUMSThe ProcessOutline:Scout Association staff members ran a 45-minute session at four youth forums, in Hampshire, Buckinghamshire, Preston and South Yorkshire. One forum was Network only, one was Explorers only, and two covered Scouts, Explorers and Network. Approximately 55 young people were at the sessions, and the majority were Explorer age.

A DIY discussion kit was also created, containing a similar session and sent to five youth forums across the UK. However, only one youth forum supplied feedback.

Effectiveness:Sessions facilitated directly by HQ were more effective than the DIY discussion kits. Only one out of five forums used the kit and returned feedback. Most of those who had been sent the DIY discussion kit indicated that they hadn’t found the time during their meeting to run the session.

Young People’s ViewsGrowth:We asked: ‘What would make your friends more likely to join Scouting?’ The most common theme throughout was advertisement that showed Scouting as fun and exciting – highlighting big, exciting opportunities such as camps and overseas trips, rather than traditional elements such as the uniform. They thought advertising should be targeted at parents as well as young people and should focus on removing the perception that ‘Scouts is lame’. They said we needed better social media presence as well as showing off how impressive the Programme is at local events and through taster sessions.

A number of comments were made about the uniform, namely having fewer items of formal uniform and more informal/casual iScout clothing. iScout Onesies were a very popular suggestion. The personal development opportunities in Scouting, in particular linked to CVs and employability, were also highlighted.

Inclusivity:We asked: ‘How do we make Scouting open to everyone?’ Advertisement and publicity was again the most common suggestion, specifically to make people aware that Scouting is already open to all. Of the two focus groups carried out prior to the announcement of the additional alternative Promise, both mentioned that it was important to allow atheists into Scouting.

However, young people did suggest that improved training for leaders to include those with disabilities, and that cheaper membership fees, would help to make Scouting more accessible.


Community Impact:We asked young people to complete the statement: ‘Scouting can help my local community by…’. In terms of why Scouting should help communities, young people highlighted that we would be helping to overcome stereotypes of young people by being good role models.

Specific types of actions included being visible at community events by taking part as well as helping to organise them, helping with community projects (litter picking, renovation, raising awareness etc.) and advocating greater youth democracy by representing the views of young people locally and including local councillors in forums and AGMs to show them what Scouting is doing. However the most common suggestion was fundraising.

In terms of existing activity in this area, young people thought that Scout Community Week should be bigger and more extensive.

Youth Shaped:We asked young people to complete three statements in this area. First was: ‘Leaders can help young people shape Scouting by being…’.

Answers included being open to new ideas, enthusiastic, more modern and aware of what will interest young people (‘not being Scouting dinosaurs’), having a large number of young leaders and providing practical support to organise things for themselves.

Our second statement was ‘Young people can shape Scouting by being…’. In terms of attitudes, they said young people should be active, involved, creative, enthusiastic and motivated. There was an acknowledgment that they would need to feel a sense of responsibility and be willing to organise things themselves, as well as being confident enough to voice their own opinions.

Finally, we asked young people ‘How will we know when Scouting is shaped by young people?’

�Successful forums in all Counties/Areas/Regions and Districts (that influence the way Scouting is run) �Young people’s views are acted upon at District, County and National level �Young people can get involved in all aspects of Scouting, right up to the top (eg attending meetings with Wayne) �Scouting’s image/perception has improved (‘when young people can join without worrying friends will laugh’) �More young people take part in Scouting (‘when 9/10 young people are involved in Scouting’ or ‘when world domination is achieved’)


The Future of Scouting GenerallyWhen asked to complete the following statements, starting with ‘iScout because…’, young people said:

� ‘I enjoy it. I love every new adventure and I think it is the best community you can be part of.’ � ‘My CV looks immense but also because I am passionate about making the world a better place. You help Scouts and they help you.’ � ‘It gives me incredible opportunities’ and ‘I know it will offer more opportunities than anything else.’

‘In the future, Scouts will…’ � ‘Be easier and more desirable to join, and then, once people have joined, fewer people will leave. [...] and when/if people do leave, they will leave as better, more social and more effective members of society.’ � ‘All wear iScout Onesies during flag break, and have internet on camp.’ � ‘Influence areas of community it doesn’t already by offering opportunities to everyone removing barriers like finance/accessibility.’ and ‘enable community cohesion.’ � ‘Be everywhere and everyone will want to be involved.’

‘I wish Scouting…’ � ‘Had improved media relations - reduce the use of stereotypes by the media and better use of photographs to potential inspire volunteers and potential youth members.’ � ‘Had a better reputation. That friends at school would think it’s cool not lame and wish they would get more celebs involved. Had more leaders that were young.’ � ‘Was more youth-led. More well-known and publicised. Had a Onesie. Is more known for both genders not just for boys. Had more young leaders.’ � ‘Would banish mud coloured shirts… make Scouting look more exciting by bright colours!’ � ‘Encouraged more young people to be leaders after Explorers. Because at the moment the only leaders who join are dinosaurs. We are the future.’

‘If I was Chief Scout Bear Grylls I would…’ � ‘Have a local Chief Scout representative who could take opinions of young people to the Chief Scout/ National HQ.’ � ‘Eliminate discrimination, or at least try to; whether this involved educating leaders or inspiring young people.’ � ‘Publicise more and make the stereotypical image change.’ � ‘Advertise Scouting in a better way to make kids go “wow”.’


Recommendations �Visits to youth forums as a way of gathering feedback for national initiatives should continue, though further thought is needed to map where these happen and how they can still contribute when staff visits are not possible due to time and/or resource.

– We will support youth forums on the ground and establish ways to collect those discussions nationally.

– We will create a National Scout Youth Council so that there is a space for the views of young people locally to be discussed nationally.

– We will create the position of ‘UK Youth Commissioner’, a young person on the same level as the Chief Commissioner, Chief Executive and Chair of the Trustee Board, appointed to ensure that young people are involved and engaged in every decision that shapes their Scouting experience.

– Our Activity Centres will use large camps and a dedicated online space to ask young people their views of Scouting.

� Investigate how/if an increase in advertising and publicity can shift perceptions of Scouting amongst young people who are not currently involved. Young people felt that this would lead to growth and also help Scouting to become more diverse and inclusive by making people aware of what Scouting had to offer, and also by removing the reputation Scouting currently has of being ‘uncool’.

– We will create a test campaign, which, in partnership with young people, will develop and create messages that appeal to young people not already involved in Scouting.

– We will support young people to become qualified and lead our adventurous activities, strengthening and promoting adventure as a key offer to young people.

– We will seek partnerships with Stonewall, Scope, Mermaids and the Gender Trust, support young people to attend Pride, launch projects on Scouting in local Eastern European communities and provide more support for young people with autism.

�The successful implementation of youth forums at District, County/Area/Region and national level was a clear measure of success in terms of Scouting being shaped by young people. (However, it is worth noting that all young people taking part in this strand of the consultation were actively engaged in a youth council, so their views on this may not be representative of all young people in Scouting.)

– We will create a Key Performance Indicator in Scouting For All, the 2014-18 Strategic Plan, for ‘Every young person’s view to influence decisions in Scouting’ by 2018.

� Introduce a Scouting Onesie. Call it The Bear Hug.

– We will introduce a Scouting Onesie. We will not call it The Bear Hug.


MICROSITEThe ProcessWe created a microsite (be.scouts.org.uk) so young people aged 12-25 could share their opinions (through video, audio, images of text) on five questions related to the objectives in Scouting For All, the 2014-18 strategic plan.

Having visited Scout groups to generate content before the launch, a Beta version of the site was sent to around 40 young people who became the Be... ambassadors. At full launch, the site was publicised on social media, the scouts.org.uk website and through leaders via Scouting Plus. Between 17 November and 16 December 2013, the microsite generated:

�7,000 page views and 3,000 unique visitors. �246 signed-up users, 202 answers posted and 40 comments (video, images and text).

Young People’s ViewsGrowth:To test views on attracting more people to the movement, we asked: ‘How would you get more people to join Scouts?’ and ‘Sell Scouts in 30 seconds’. The main themes were:1. Advertise (TV/radio/magazine/social media): Young people don’t understand

why we don’t advertise and wish we would use it to raise awareness and change Scouts’ image.

2. Address stigma: many of the respondents said they got picked on at school, or believed that people left Scouts because of its poor image and peer pressure. (7-10 answers).

3. Promotion in the community: at schools and community events and through word of mouth. (7-10 answers).

In terms of selling Scouting in 30 seconds, people focussed on life skills, fun, adventure and friends:

� ‘We should have more advertisement. We need to try to give Scouting a better name, the amount of times I got laughed at and picked on at school for being a Scout, is far more than I can even remember, it needs a better name.’ � ‘Scouts? It’s something many people condemn as only knots, lashings, chores etc. But it is much more: fun, adventure, friendship, opportunity and a of course a challenge; the greatest and best challenge you could possibly find.’

Inclusivity:We asked ‘How should Scouts make sure everyone can get involved, regardless of background?’ The answers ranged from those addressing attracting people of different faiths and cultures to different social groups. No answers addressed gender or sexuality.

Again the image and perception of Scouting was prevalent in answers. Young people believe Scouts is inclusive, but think that it is perceived not to be by many. Some mentioned reduced fees for those on benefits. There were also suggestions of advertising in media and promotion in schools to attract new groups and communities.

� ‘Work with local religious groups to educate young people about different beliefs.’ � ‘Scouting could be made more integrated if it was advertised through schools. This is because most of us only know about it through friends, which means we only get a certain group of people.’ � ‘The Scout Association should think about offering fee reductions to those on benefits, so that everyone can still enjoy what the scouts have to offer.’ � ‘Scouting is already inclusive but people don’t know that so they exclude themselves from it before they’ve even tried it.’


Community ImpactWe asked ‘What’s the biggest problem in your community and how can you solve it?’

The problems identified included negative stereotypes of young people, a lack of places to meet for young people and boredom/lack of direction leading to crime; with the presence of Scouting seen as a way to prevent bored young people turning to anti-social behaviour and changing negative stereotypes of young people.

� ‘Scouts of all ages would be involved in projects in their local area. Every individual in Scouting has aspirations for the future and concerns about the present, no matter how small.’ � ‘Scouts will provide a platform for any member wishing to improve their community... Scouting will not only recognise the problems, it will also provide solutions – Scouting and community impact will be indistinguishable.’ � ‘I think a main problem is starting to be health and boredom, health being that not many want to go outside and see the world! And boredom ending up turning people to do stupid things in their communities, which creates a terrible stereotype on the young people of today. However, Scouts/Explorers are helping to get rid of the stereotype!’


Recommendations �Maintain a digital space(s) for young people to shape their Scouting experience and contribute to social change.

– We will create and improve a suite of digital spaces for young people to shape their Scouting experience, including the Be... website, a proposed online area for Network members, a dedicated young person’s social media channel and improved online content.

�Consider TV, radio, print and web advertising to address stigma, change perceptions and promote Scouting.

– We will create a test campaign, which, in partnership with young people, will develop and create messages that appeal to young people not already involved in Scouting.

– We will continue to invest in improving the image of Scouting in local media, via dedicated media staff on a regional level.

� Inclusivity and acceptance of difference is something Scouting does really well and should be better promoted.

– We will promote a range of inclusive messages and case studies to showcase where true inclusive Scouting is working really well to inspire other members to do the same.

�Consider partnerships with schools to widen the reach of Scouting.

– We will explore existing examples of where Scouting is delivered in partnership with a school or other education providers, and consider the merits of such models.

�Provide a support network and resources for local community action.

– We will work with non-Scouting organisations, focussed on making positive change, to create four Community Impact initiatives for the movement as a whole (one of which with an international focus) based strongly on what hands on, practical actions young people can take to improve the lives of others on specific social issues.

– We will fund five districts to pilot local Community Impact projects, extracting what they learn and creating a toolkit for the entire Movement in taking action locally on the issues their young people care about.

�Connect groups with regional or nationwide events and organise exciting activities centrally or regionally to avoid a postcode lottery in terms of quality of the Programme.

– We will deliver community, adventure and international events for Network members nationally, promoted through a digital space, to increase the amount of high quality activities available to them.


COMMUNITY IMPACTSURVEY ProcessOutline:To inform the Community Impact Strategic Objective specifically, we conducted research on what issues young people in Scouting wanted to take action on, in what way and how best to motivate them to do so. The survey was sent out to 20,000 Scouts between 12-25 that TSA has contact details for, promoted through targeted social media and through regular updates on response rates to Regional and County/Area/Regional Commissioners. A prize draw of £500 to spend on either Scout Shops, Scout Activity Centres or funding towards a local community project was used as an incentive.

The survey secured a robust sample size of 3,000 Scout respondents across the UK. Balanced responses were received in terms of gender, geographical location and age but not in terms of ethnic minorities or disabilities. Using top-line findings from the survey, a separate workshop session was designed to delve deeper and expand on key findings and glean qualitative insights and anecdotal evidence. This session incorporated both Scouts (x10) and non-Scouts (x5) from across the UK.

Effectiveness:Although 3,000 responses represents a good sample for the purposes of this research, on the County level this only equates to between 2 and 80 responses, with the majority of Counties securing less than 40. If polling of young people is to become more important with the introduction of the Youth Shaped Strategic Objective, thought will need to be given as to how to drive responses in a less resource intensive and more rapid way.


YOUNG PEOPLE’S VIEWSWhat is community impact and do young people want to do it?

How would they describe ‘social action’?We asked young people how they would articulate ‘social action’ to test against our emerging definition of Community Impact, namely: ‘Young people taking practical action in the service of others in order to create positive social change that is of benefit to the wider community as well as to the young person themselves.’

Young people view social action as pro-active and feel a sense of personal responsibility as an individual to their community. This indicates that Scouts’ perception of social action is closely aligned to TSAs own definition, supported by the fact that one of the most common phrases used in answer to this question being aroundʻ making lives better.

The most frequent descriptors: In your own words how would you describe ‘social action’?

Community

Social Doing HelpingPeople

Taking Action


100

80

60

40

20

0

Support for Social Action: Please pick how much you agree with the following statements. (% ‘strongly agree’ and ‘agree’)

Scouting provides me with enough opportunities to improve the lives of people in my community

Scouting should help me to take social action

Knowing I have made a difference to people/the environment through Scouting is important to me

Improving the lives of others is an important part of Scouting

Do they want to take action?We asked young people if social action should be part of Scouting.

With 87% of young people agreeing or strongly agreeing that Scouting should help them to take social action, there is strong support for developing our Community Impact Strategic Objective.

– Scout Community Week from 2015 will focus on the impact the entire Movement can make on four specific societal issues, rather than generic community engagement.


Would action encourage rentention?Not only do young people think social action should be part of Scouting, they thought it would have a demonstrably positive impact on growth and retention, with 65% saying it would encourage them to remain a member of the Scouts are they grew older and 81% saying it would inspire them to talk about Scouting in a positive way.

100

80

60

40

20

0

Make your friends want to join the Scouts

Inspire you to talk about your experiences to others in a positive way

Encourage you to remain a member of the Scouts as you got older

Growth and Retention: Do you think taking part in more social action as part of Scouting would... (% agreement with first second or third preference)

No

No

effe

ct

Yes

No

No

effe

ct

Yes

No

No

effe

ct

Yes


What issues do they want to take action on, and how?

What scale of action?We wanted to know on what scale (local, national or international) and on what issues young people wanted to take action.

Local community means the most as these people are closer to the people they are helping and involves more personal experience. They also identify with global issues as they feel they have capability and resource through a strong international network to make a difference, which is unusual for this age group.

100

80

60

40

20

0

Scale: What scale of action is most important to you? (% agreement with first, second or third preference)

International

3rd pref

2nd pref

1st pref

National

3rd pref

2nd pref

1st pref

Local

3rd pref

2nd pref

1st pref


Issues: Which of these issues do you strongly agree the Scouts should be taking action on, regardless of your personal priorities? (% strongly agree)

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Rights of the elderly

Homelessness

Community facilities

International aid

Education

Poverty

Employment

Sexism

Homo/Transphobia

Environment

Mental health

Ableism

Racism

Community cohesion

Bullying

Young people’s rights/wellbeing

What issues work for Scouting?We then asked what specific societal issues they would want to make a positive impact on, both personally and as part of Scouting.

There were some issues that young people ‘strongly agreed’ to as being issues Scouting should take action on:

1. Bullying2. Young people’s rights and wellbeing3. Community cohesion (bringing people in the

community together)

However, no single issue received less than 74% of young people agreeing or strongly agreeing, meaning there are few limits to the issues in which young people would be willing to engage with as part of Scouting.


What issues matter to young people personally? When asked what issues mattered to them personally (rather than what was most appropriate for Scouting to take action on) the following issues came top in terms of ‘very important’:1. Bullying – 65%2. Education – 63%3. Mental health – 57%

Those who selected ‘other’ and gave open comments focussed heavily on equalities, international issues, mental health, education and skills.

The most frequent descriptors for those answering ‘other’: Which of these issues do you think The Scouts should be taking action on, regardless of your personal priorities?

2. Community 1. Equality3. Education4. Young people5. Bullying


If young people ran the country...Finally, to try to ask what issues were most important to young people in a different way, we asked what single part of Government they would invest in if they were in charge of the country.

Budget question: If you were the Prime Minister and could spend money on only one thing, what would it be? (% chosen)

15%

2%

2%Education

21%

29%

Our country’s environment and farming/fishing/wildlife

International development(helping poorer countries)

Skills, employment and business

7%

14%

Health care

5%

5%

Community and youth services

Transport

Culture, media and sport

Climate change and energy production


How do they want to take action?Having explored the issues young people wanted to make change on, we wanted to know how they would want to do it.

Practical, hands-on projects was the clear preference in terms of how to take action, followed by partnering with non-Scouts, fundraising and influencing decision makers.

– We will work with non-Scouting organisations, focussed on making positive change, to create four Community Impact initiatives for the movement as a whole (one of which with an international focus) based strongly on what hands-on, practical actions young people can take to improve the lives of others on specific social issues.

100

80

60

40

20

0

Action: How do you think the Scouts should help tackle issues? Please pick the top three that you would be most excited to take part in through Scouting. (% agreement with first, second or third preference)

SponsorshipDemonstrating

Social media and online

actions

Practicalprojects

Fund- raising

Influencing decision makers

Giving information

/advice

Action with external

organisations

3rd pref

3rd pref

2nd pref

2nd pref

3rd pref

2nd pref

1st pref

3rd pref

2nd pref

1st pref

3rd pref

2nd pref

1st pref

3rd pref

2nd pref

1st pref1st pref

3rd pref

2nd pref

1st pref1st pref

3rd pref

2nd pref1st pref


What motivates young people to take action?

What are the important factors to consider?We wanted to know what type of outcomes and leadership would help young people to run Community Impact projects.

The overriding motivation behind Scouts taking social action is the knowledge that they have made a difference to other people rather than seeking individual reward. The activity also needs to be challenging and fun.

Motivational outcomes: What are most important things in deciding what social issues to get involved with? (% young people citing factor as important)

Will I be rewarded or win something?

Will the event be during a Scouting event or trip?

Will people I know be there?

Will it contribute to an award/badge?

Will I make new friends?

Will it be challenging?

Will it help to make me a better person?

Will it be an adventure?:

Is it something I am passionate about?

Will it be fun? Will I feel good about it?

Will it make a big difference?

22 44 45 47

72 76 81 83

83 85 90 91


What is the role of leadership?We also wanted to know whether who was seen to be leading and supporting Community Impact projects would motivate young people to take action.

60

40

30

20

10

0

50

Other young people leading social action projects

Influential figures/famous people leading social action

or supporting social issuesOther organisations

you are familiar with leading social action or tackling

social issues

None

Leadership: Do any of the following really inspire you to take social action? Please pick any of the ones that do. (% young people who picked each factor)


The most frequent descriptors: If you chose influential figures/famous people leading social action or supporting social issues, what type of people would motivate you (eg celebrities, sports, music, political, artist etc.)?

Politicians

Celebrities

ArtistsSportsFamily

Who would they like to be involved?We asked what individuals or external organisations young people would like to be associated with our Community Impact work.


Is decision making a motivational factor?Ambassadors and partner organisations can help raise awareness of social issues but must be relevant to the cause, but it is other young people who are seen as being most inspirational in encouraging Scouts to take social action.

Testing this further, we asked if being involved in decision making concerning Community Impact projects would motivate them to take part, or not.

Decision making: It would motivate me to be involved in social action if I am involved in making decisions about what to do. (% agreement/disagreement with statement)

Yes74%

No7%

Don’t know19%


How would they like to celebrate positive impact?Finally we wanted to know how to celebrate the positive impact young people made through Community Impact projects.

Scouts didn’t feel the need to have their social action work celebrated or rewarded directly but believed increased profile can help to raise awareness of important social issues, with an awards event and external media popular choices. Scout leaders celebrating their work directly was also important.

– We will create a National Awards ceremony to shout about the achievements of our young people and adult volunteers to the outside world.

– We will bring together a group of young people nationally to own and lead our work on Community Impact.

Celebrating: How would you like to see the work you’ve done with the Scouts celebrated around the UK? Please pick your top three. (% agreement with first second or third preference)

Existing Scout E-newsletter or email3rd pref2nd1st

Existing Scout website

Existing Scout magazine

Social media

I am not bothered about seeing the work I do celebrated

Media eg newspaper, magazine

At an event

Directly from Scout leaders

Awards ceremony

60403020100 50


What stops young people being involved in Community Impact projects?

What are the barriers?We wanted to know what barriers stop young people taking social action.

More than 50% of Scouts don’t feel they have enough guidance or support in taking social action. More than 40% also feel they are not asked their opinion on what issues they’d like to take action on. Young people also identified how important buy-in from adult leaders would be, as well as not having additional time to commit.

– We will fund five districts to pilot local Community Impact projects, extracting what they learn and creating a toolkit for the entire Movement in taking action locally on the issues their young people care about.

– We will create a Staged Community Impact Badge to ensure Community Impact is embedded in the 6-25 Programme, rather than requiring additional time from young people.

Barriers: What do you feel are the problems stopping you from taking social action as a Scout, if any? (% agreement with statement)

I am not passionate about the causes we

act on

Other

We don’t always know how to help people/our community

We’re not asked what social issues we’d like to

take action on

It is not currently

included in our weekly programmeNone

100806040

200


COMMUNICATION OF BE...ProcessOutline of channels used:

�Email sent directly to all young people held on HQ database. �Social media on TSA Facebook and Twitter (both corporate and Explorer/Network pages) feeds to promote the Community Impact survey and microsite. �News story and email to adult members to share campaign and ask them to encourage young people to take part (including ideas on how to build this into a meeting night). �Email engagement: nearly 70% of interaction was on iPhone, Android or iPad. � Launch email 33.4% open rate, reminder email 28.7% open rate – this is in line with our adult member email open rates. As this email was to an audience we don’t usually communicate with this is good engagement. �Across both emails a total of 1,250 young people clicked through to the survey link.

Effectiveness of channels used:

�Email promotion worked well and this can be improved over time as we develop our youth contacts and communications policy with youth. With more time more local engagement could have been stimulated to share on local youth social media pages and communications. � It took considerable resource and/or time to generate interaction with the microsite or Community Impact survey - if a rapid consultation is to be required with young people in the future, we do not currently have the tools to achieve this. �Responses were particularly hard to elicit in the Nations (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). �Our policies on how to communicate with young people of different ages directly through social media and email, particularly in regard to safeguarding, were found to be unclear and inconsistently implemented by different parts of TSA.

Recommendations � Invest in a method of consulting with young people in a much faster and less resource-intensive way.

– We will create a Scout Polling App so we can quickly poll young people on their views of Scouting and in contributing to social change.

�Develop and mainstream the concept of a digital space for young people to discuss and debate their Scouting experience and views more generally.

– We will create and improve a suite of digital spaces for young people to shape their Scouting experience, including the Be... website, a new Network members site, a dedicated young person’s social media channel and improved online content.

�Develop our policies on communicating directly with young people of different ages and disseminate throughout the organisation.

– We will ensure we have ‘gold standard’ practice in conducting research with young people so that we can measure the impact of Scouting on their lives from 6-25 years old, as well as seeking their views of Scouting and more generally.


WHAT NEXT?Making Young People’s Views a Reality...You can see all of the actions we plan to take as a result of the Be... Initiative in the Executive Summary at the start of this report. Although the views of the young people involved in these activities have substantially influenced our plans for the coming year, not all of the recommendations will be acted upon. We have had to prioritise and be realistic about what we could achieve but hope that this report represents a transparent way of showing a direct link between young people’s opinions, our work in supporting the Movement and a genuine ambition to get even better at involving young people in our work nationally. This is certainly not the last time we will use the results of the Be... Initiative to inform our work nor the last time we engage young people in our strategic conversations.

It’s Local That Really Matters...‘Youth Shaped’ is now one of our four strategic objectives in our 2014-18 Strategic Plan, Scouting For All. That means we will prioritise supporting you to become more youth shaped locally, but what does that mean for my:Area, Region or County? Ensure that young people are at the heart of your County/Area/Region strategies and represented on key committees; consider developing a youth council.District? Ensure young people are represented in a meaningful way on District teams and are actively influencing District plans.Group?Check young people are represented in the Group Executive and have the opportunity to develop through the Young Leaders’ Scheme.section?Ensure that you hold regular consultations with young people in the form of Beaver ‘log chews’, Sixers’ meetings, Patrol Leaders’ forums and Network/Unit discussions.youth members?Have your say about what Scouting should look like; if you are 14 or over, think about becoming a Young Leader.

If having read this report you are as excited as we are to put young people in the driving seat of their Scouting experience, then remember there are plenty of examples and resources available at: members.scouts.org.uk/supportresources or email [email protected].

Towards Vision 2018...With the creation of the new UK Youth Commissioner role, the National Scout Youth Council and the development of digital tools to engage our young people, the Be... Initiative represents only the start of an exciting journey to become more youth shaped nationally. Every day we also hear amazing stories of how local Scouting is putting their young people in the driving seat. Together, we hope to go much further over the next four years in realising our vision to become youth shaped, in partnership with adults. We’re up for the challenge. Are you?

http://www.scouts2018.org/

https://members.scouts.org.uk/supportresources/search/?cat=708


© 2014 The Scout AssociationRegistered charity numbers:306101 (England and Wales) and SC038437 (Scotland).

scouts.org.uk/2018

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