Stakeholder Consultation

From D2kin

Register at the following micro-site and be part of the consultation process: http://www.kin2kin.ca

 

Survey Says...

Do the survey: Stakeholder Survey

 

Kin Canada's Stakeholder Consultation Objective: Construct and launch meaningful, broad stakeholder consultations on matters that will affect the future direction and product of the Association to arrive at consensus on major topics, which will help to diffuse internal cooperation issues and move the Association toward sustainability. Kin Canada's Stakeholder Consultation Initiative has been created to be a defined, consistent process that we intend to adopt as a more inclusive and comprehensive replacement for our old methods.

1.) National HQ has committed to undertaking this consultation initiative, in cooperation with the National Board of Directors. Consultations will focus on both Operational and board priorities, as we gather member input, ideas and consensus regarding issues/topics that will include agreeing on and understanding Kin's identity; improving and evolving Kin product (clubs, service work and club culture), improving effective operations and identifying branding priorities.

2.) Once these broad stakeholder consultations are completed, the hope is that the use of the consultation process and its communication vehicles (ones created for this initiative and traditional methods too) will become second nature and that moving forward all initiatives, resolutions, etc. will use the process in order to create a viable business plan. Using a set, defined process of collecting member input will help to improve consistency and transparency, and will allow members to know and see how decisions are made and when/where their opportunities to be heard fit in. It is hoped that this will help to preclude some of the mistrust within the Association and will instill a level of faith from members that the proper homework has been done for each initiative.

3.) Begin to consult members about a wide range of topics that will affect Kin's future. Because Kin Canada is a member-driven association, every effort must be made to elicit as much input from as many members as possible to arrive at consensus regarding the future of the Association. The intensive portions of the Kin Stakeholder Consultations process will stretch over at least the next year and a half. During that time, we hope to explore a wide range of topics that will affect Kin's future. We'll initially talk big picture on things like Why does Kin exist?, What are Kin's values?, and How can we enhance National's services to clubs?

4.) The topics, issues and questions will gradually become narrower in focus as the consultation discussion with members moves from being broad in scope to being more specific and focused on certain areas of the discussion. It will also be important that each question is bite-size to allow for meaningful discussion and debate with a specific focus. While the topics to be covered with membership have been mapped out, we realize there are some burning issues within the Association that many members will not want to wait to discuss. Therefore, while for the most part the consultation process will follow a set road map, there will be important issues discussed due to an identified urgency and to keep members engaged in the process. It is also important to note that consultation will beget consultation. First, formative work must be done to ensure that members, Board and staff are all fully informed about the basic facts of an issue and aware that this issue is about to come to the front burner. This first step will ensure members have enough information and knowledge of the issue that they can give informed input down the line. For example, input from questions about improving the Kin product will include the need for ideas about improving club culture. First, background materials about club culture and the issues surrounding this topic would be made available to the members, this would include information about any past attempts at addressing club culture. Then, further questions about club culture would be asked to give HQs an idea of where the majority of Kin stand on a specific issue or topic. This may lead to other issues/ideas that also require member input.

5.) At appropriate milestones throughout the process, progress/interim reports will be created and provided to the membership. There is no point in collecting input if Kin Canada members are not continually made aware of the need for, and purpose of, their input.

6.) Many, but not all, issue/item(s) discussed will require implementation and follow-through (see implementation sequence); however, it is important to note that not every issue that arises through consultation will become the subject of more in-depth consultations or implementation plans. The process has exit strategies built-in to allow consultation to be terminated, if it is deemed (whether by the members or the board, based on input) that the initiative/topic is not worth pursuing (based on contributed input) or that no action is required.

7.) Ultimately, the goal of this process is to uncover a consensus on specific action items that the membership would like this Association to use in order to move it forward. By collecting the opinions of as many Kin members as possible, hopefully agreement and support can be found for a strategy (with resolutions, policies and other specific initiatives) to move this Association toward achieving long-term sustainability and an engaged, committed and unified membership.

8.) TIMING: Within Kin Canada's annual cycle of events (which runs from September of one year to National Convention in August of the following year and includes events like Fall Leadership Conferences, VG training at HQ, National President tours, Spring Zones, District Leadership Seminars, etc.) well-established opportunities for consultations already exist. In order to achieve the response rates needed to obtain proper consultation numbers/percentages, it will be vital to take full-advantage of the built-in consultation opportunities.

• a. National Convention, for example, is not only a great chance to move ahead with resolutions on which members have already been consulted, but it also presents an ideal opportunity to begin the c
• onsultation cycle on new ideas/initiatives/concerns. Break-out groups, town-hall meetings, forums and brainstorming sessions can be held, with a wide variety of members present, to gather the necessary initial input required for consultation. Additionally, Convention presents an ideal opportunity for raising awareness and education about an idea/initiative through presentations, speeches, hand-outs and information packages.
• b. In the fall, issues that were introduced at National Convention can be further discussed and/or examined during VG training at HQ and during Fall Leadership Conferences. Additionally, every National President's tour and FLCs present a unique opportunity for gathering input.
• c. Continuing along in the Kin calendar year, every club mailing, every KIN Magazine and KIN newsletter edition, and every conference call/meeting, present unique opportunities for relaying information to members and requesting input from members.
• d. Nearing the end of the Kin year, Spring Zones, District Leadership Seminars and District Conventions could be used to further solicit input. A train-the-trainer approach might work best, where one representative from each district is taught how to conduct focus group-like discussions on specific topics.
• e. While for timing sake it might work well to introduce a topic/ initiative/issue to members for consultation during National Convention every year, it is by no means necessary. Once members adjust to being consulted about items on a continuous basis, they will hopefully begin to adjust to having new initiatives/topics brought to their attention on a regular basis.
• f. It's important to note that it is unrealistic to expect that all consultation issues/topics will be resolved within one Kin calendar year. Some of the larger questions and issues will be multi-faceted and will require a more significant amount of time than others. Members must be educated about the potential for these issues to take time to ensure their expectations are properly managed.
• g. Additional communication tools, most importantly a dedicated micro-site and its e-newsletter, will be used along with other vehicles (like online surveys, phone surveys and questionnaires) that can be targeted at different audiences while being distributed and collected throughout the calendar year. Break-out groups, focus groups, townhalls, workshops and forums can be conducted during pre-arranged seminars or conventions or training exercises (however, they do not need to be limited to calendar events that are already in existence).
• h. When exploring or introducing new initiatives, new structures, new projects, etc. the National Board of Directors will also be able to use this initiatives process and its communication vehicles/mechanisms to secure member feedback and input.