Scouts Canada RFP: Preparing a Change Journey
Introduction
Scouts Canada’s Board of Governors is about to embark on a journey of organizational culture change in orderto establish a culture of belonging and authentic inclusion. We have three major areas of our organization that will need to be included and prepared for this journey: our Governance, our adult management systems through program and managerial volunteers, and our youth. We are looking for support from a third party to take this on and are inviting an opportunity to speak to you on how you may be able to support the early phase of this longer-term journey.
The Project
The goal is to prepare the organization at a governance level with the preconditions for change. This may include an approach that gathers data, involves key internal and external stakeholders, and developing a governance product that aligns with the grassroots on the strategic way forward. A position paper, key strategic principles with a roadmap, are possible products for this stage of our journey.The unique considerations of Canada's Diversity and Inclusion landscape, along with the history of the organization, should be taken into account.
Background
Scouts Canada facilitates a holistic youth-led and outdoor program for 55,000 youth in almost every community of the country. The organization relies on over 20,000 volunteers to deliver its Mission of developing well-rounded youth better prepared for success in the world. 20 Councils, determined by geographic boundaries, support the organization’s 1,500 Groups. All programming and management of the 1,500 Groups is completed by passionate volunteers (i.e. staff are not directly involved in program delivery or volunteer coordination at the Group level). Scouts Canada takes a shared leadership approach, involving its youth and volunteer stakeholders in decision-making and direction-setting on a regular basis. We are looking to embark on a change journey starting at the governance level down to the grassroots, articulate a compelling vision for diversity and inclusion, and effect a broad cultural change that enables Scouts Canada to become inclusive and truly representative of Canada.
For interested partners, I am looking to set up a conversation with myself and our CEO to walk through a proposal in presentation format in March 2021. While we have our AGM in November 2021, we are open to hearing the proposed project scope and timelines you advise for the best outcomes. Please let me know if this is something that is of interest to you and we can schedule that call.
