The European Scout Region of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) is proud to present to you the adopted the Operational Framework 2022-2025 under which the new volunteer structure will operate to support the delivery of the Regional Scout Plan 2022-2025 “strong.innovative.green”.
The Journey of an Improved Selection Process
True to the requests of the Member Organisations and following the guidelines and recommendations of the Continuous Improvement Team for the Triennium 2019-2022, we focused efforts to achieve:
More transparency in the recruitment and selection phase by defining clear criteria for recruitment and directly involving Committee, Coordinators and Team Leads in the recruitment of the volunteers for various levels in the framework. Moreover, the Open Call was defined in two steps, allowing more clarity of teams and roles, and allowing applicants and to choose the relevant positions based on their interest and expertise.
More agility and flexibility of the framework by creating time bounded and project-related teams with clear deliverables and expectations.
Better balance on all criteria by bringing further attention to the diversity of the team, in addition to the expected skills and competencies.
To this effect and as per the process described in the document “Volunteering at European Level - Open Call 2022-2025”, a series of steps were followed:
- June 2022: A generic Open Call for volunteers willing to become part of the Operational Framework was launched (Regional Circular 11 2022).
- August 2022: A second phase of the Open Call was announced to all those interested, with details and choices of the various teams defined by the European Scout Committee following the adoption of the Regional Scout Plan in Rotterdam.
- September 2022: The European Scout Committee defined the Operational Framework and selected the Coordinators for each of the Areas of Operation identified, on the occasion of its Induction.
- October 2022: The Coordinators’ Team, defined the set-up of their Areas of Operation and, based on a series of criteria (including those related to the Guiding principles: diversity, youth empowerment…), selected Team Leads and identified potential team members which were, subsequently, approved by the Committee over its first Business meeting.
- November 2022: Coordinators and Team Leads worked together to finalise the composition of their teams, reached out to all the people and arranged the details of their engagement.
The Volunteer Management team ensured the online induction for everyone in their roles and shared a Regional Volunteer Pack as a starting toolkit for all.
The Achievement of the Selection Process
As a result of the feed-back from previous Triennia, the Open Call was organised in two steps, allowing for interested volunteers to apply for the teams defined as a result of the approval of the Regional Plan.
- We continued strengthening the role of the Coordinators’ team, reinforcing the Committee’s involvement in the group and further clarifying the strategic role of the Committee and the operational role of the Coordinators
- We expanded the use of an agile system, which keeps to a minimum the teams' set-up for the Triennium and focuses more in task-oriented, time-bounded groups of volunteers, streamlining and making the work more efficient, while giving all volunteers the proper sense of accomplishment, all while using wisely the resources of the Region. Specific teams have been set-up to report directly to the Committee, as their mandate concerns transversal topics, such as Monitoring and Evaluation or Volunteer Management.
- Ensuring the balance in terms of gender, age, geographical representation, previous experience in the regional structures, etc. was at the core of all discussions and meant that a lot of coordination had to happen among all Areas of Operations and teams.
- Last but not least, the European Scout Committee decided to continue to use a Triennium- long open call which allows the Region for far better flexibility for its teams, with current structures much better defined in time and with new ones potentially being set-up as project groups or planning teams all along the triennium.
The Operational Framework 2022-2025
The Operational Framework (OF) of the European Region represents the structure for our volunteers collaborating to oversee and implement our Regional Scout Plan 2022-2025 (RSP).
In this triennial cycle, the Operational Framework is largely grouped into three key Areas of Operation (AoO):
- Organisation
- Innovation
- Education
These areas are supported and overseen by the "C-Team" or Coordination Team which involves three volunteer Coordinators, one attached to each area, two members of the European Scout Committee, and three staff members from the World Scout Bureau - Europe Support Centre.
As per the Legend in the OF image, there are five types of volunteer-led structures that comprise the OF:
- Triennial Teams - A core team of the Operational Framework, these teams will work across the triennium on their area following the scope and priorities of the RSP.
- Taskforces - Time-bound volunteer teams established to support specific areas of operation or strategic planning.
- Project Teams - These teams support the implementation and oversight of projects funded by the Region.
- Consultant Groups - Groups of WOSM Consultants trained in specific areas that will support on an ad-hoc basis, specific tasks on core areas of work for the Region.
- Networks - these are informal self-managed thematic groups representing Member Organisations that support, advise and collaborate on certain areas of work undertaken by the Region.
Under the Organisation AoO there are the following structures:
- Membership Development Team
- Organisational Development Team
- Impact of Scouting Project Team
- Growth Network
Under the Innovation AoO there are the following structures:
- Joint Work Follow-Up Taskforce
- Regional Fees Taskforce
- Continuous Improvement Team
- Youth Empowerment Team
Under the Education AoO there are the following structures:
- Mental Health and Wellbeing Team
- Innovation and Relevance of Programme Team
- New Ways of Volunteering Team
- Earth Tribe Project Team
- Educational Methods Networks
Outside these three key areas there are a number of additional structures directly reporting to the European Scout Committee. These are:
- Sustainable Region Team
- Monitoring and Evaluation Team
- Volunteer Management Team
- External Representatives Team
- Youth Representatives Network
- RSP 2025-2028 Taskforce
- Candidate Journey Taskforce
Directly supported by the World Scout Bureau - Europe Support Centre are:
- Consultants Teams working on Safe from Harm Compliance and on Crisis Response
- Regional Decision Committee
Together, all these teams will work to ensure a strong regional impact over the coming three years!
A long process started at the beginning of the summer, is now finalised and we’re grateful for all those involved, from all enthusiastic volunteers who selflessly offered their time and expertise to the Region to the selected Coordinators and Team Leads for the countless conversations and analysis to ensure the best and most balanced outcome.
We would like to offer a special thank you to the outgoing Volunteer Management Team who supported the recruitment and induction of all Regional Volunteers and for all the time they have allocated to ensure the best possible outcomes of this process.
- Matthew Foster - United Kingdom
- Febe Van de Veire - Belgium
- Ana Vallejo Buitrago - Spain
- Nuno Jorge Cruz da Silva - Portugal
and to the newly appointed Coordinators
- Monika Woźnica - Poland
- Máire Fitzgerald - Ireland
- Allan Simpson - United Kingdom
Welcome to all the newly appointed Regional Volunteers of the Operational Framework 2022-2025.
Annexe:
- Operational Framework 2022-2025: List of Volunteers and Some Figures (available in English only)