Pilot Business Case
Executive Summary
Prepared By: Zone 8 Regionalisation Business Case Team
Prepared For: Rotary International Board and Trustees, Zone 8 Regionalisation Chairs
Date: March 2023
Note: The following was presented to the Rotary International Board of Directors in March 2023 to seek financial commitment to commence the Zone 8 Regionalisation Pilot. It was officially approved by the Board on 13 April 2023.
"If Rotary is to achieve its proper destiny it must be evolutionary at all times and revolutionary on occasions” ~ Paul Harris, founder of Rotary
Introduction
Our Governance model is out of date and to be fit for purpose now and into the future, it’s time to bring about bold and revolutionary change. Rotary International (RI) has given us the opportunity to be one of two pilot programs across the world to bring in a contemporary new approach.
One voice
We highly value our Clubs and volunteers and the work they do in their communities. They will continue doing what they do best. However, due to a complicated and complex leadership structure, our Members and Clubs are without national influence, limiting their ability to deliver new projects of scale and attract and retain Members, and attract public attention. The number of Clubs and Districts in Zone 8 limits interaction with larger Government and Corporate entities, who seek easier and single points of senior level access.
For the first time in our history, the Regional Council structure (at the core of the new Governance model) could give us a seat at the national table in each of our countries - the table that also seats Governments, multinational corporates, large philanthropic trusts, and high net worth individuals, all of which could leverage outcomes for community resilience within our Zone.
In doing so, we have the opportunity to enhance our brand understanding and comprehension in this region using one unified voice that delivers projects of scale and impact, enhances club unity, improves member experience, gains more media exposure, and unlocks greater opportunity for fundraising growth.
Disruption across many industries and organisations, and their supply chains, has been well underway for some time. Recent global events have highlighted that the world we now operate in is one of constant change and challenge with disruption becoming the norm and not the exception. Rotary at all levels is not immune to this uncertainty and this impacts on the effectiveness of our current model in Zone 8.
It’s within this context of challenge and disruption, coupled with a deep look over the last 20 years or so at our Zone 8 organisation, that leads us to the realisation that evolutionary change is not enough. We need a bold change to how we are organised, function and operate. We are proposing a pilot that allows flexibility to adapt to this changing environment.
A new Governance model
The objective of this business case is to gain approval, partnership, and funding to pilot a new Governance model. The pilot will explore, test, develop and evaluate a new model over a 3-year pilot period commencing July 1st, 2023.
The pilot is being led by a Steering group that includes DG Train and Rotaract leadership with Member engagement ensured via regular communication and consultation.
This revised and rejuvenated Governance model puts Clubs and Members at the core, but also seeks to arrest the rapid decline in membership, the systematic churn of members that do join, and the resulting ageing membership base that prevails. It ensures leadership is not only retained but enhanced, strengthened, and made more relevant at all levels. It tackles the current complexity and difficulty for partners to access and interact with us, offering up easier, more accessible routes to collaboration. The pilot model also considers external competitive pressures, the waning relevance and image of our brand in our Zone and addresses the negative impact of fixed costs against a diminishing membership base.
From July 1st, 2023, the existing implementation task force will begin working with the DGs and Districts, commencing work on recruiting the new Regional Council members and the Rotary Community Leaders who will be nominated and voted on by the Clubs.
From January 1st, 2024, the Regional Council would take office, continuing to operate in a matrix structure closely aligned to DGs and Districts. In practice, the new Governance model will continue to evolve as we explore, test, and develop our processes, programs, and structure.
From July 1st, 2024, The Rotary Community Leaders (RCL’s) will replace the Assistant Governor (AG) role and will be critical to the success of the pilot. They will work in collaboration with the District Governor (DG) during each year of the pilot to provide smooth transition and member experience for our Clubs and Members.
The Governance model will be constantly monitored and evaluated by a dedicated team to gather our Region’s learnings and benefit. They will report back to the RI Board at regular intervals to share those learnings so that, in time, potentially these may be adopted elsewhere.
Of key importance is the way in which the pilot program addresses the needs of the 16 very diverse countries that form our Zone, particularly those in the Pacific Islands, which are unique, have significant differences between them and have special economic needs.
Rotaract, Interact and Earlyact / Rotakids are also very important membership pathways for the pilot program and the Steering committee are already working in this space and will continue work with the Regional Council, DGs, Districts and Rotaract leadership ensuring the anticipated benefits of a Regionalised structure benefit all.
Over the 3-year pilot we seek an investment of USD $1,952,173 which includes additional staff costs at RISPPO for the term of the pilot. The maximum exposure on the model is estimated at USD $920,908 in the year of establishment (24/25).
As detailed throughout this business case, Zone 8 is well prepared to roll out a Regional Pilot – indeed the volume of pre-work already done has seen the RI Board consider us as prequalified to embark on such a project:
In February 2022 the RI Board granted approval to develop and pilot a new Governance solution, subject to Council on Legislation (CoL) Enactment. In April 2022 CoL approved Zone 8 along with RGBI to proceed with pilots.
In October 2022 the need for a new Governance model went to a vote of Clubs and Members to: “approve participation in a pilot to develop, test and evaluate a new regional approach to supporting and governing Rotary and Rotaract clubs and members in Zone 8 from July 2023 to June 2026”. 89.5% of Clubs voted in favour.
This business case represents the third decision point.
Our region represents a large geographic area, covering vast cultural diversity, encompassing sixteen countries, 31,000 Rotarians and 1,000 Rotaractors, and serves as an excellent “test bed’ for such a pilot.
The time has come to address some of the most persistent challenges in new ways, whilst remaining true to the 4 key priorities stated within the Rotary Action Plan. This pilot addresses each of these 4 priorities with particular reference to Adapt.
Whilst the change proposed may be challenging to implement, as people of action, we need to be impactful, relevant, and attractive to future generations who share and embrace our passion for service and leadership in building community.
