Here is a reminder of what we said to all stakeholders in October to outline the context of the survey.

Why are we doing this piece of work?

There are two major drivers for this piece of work. Firstly, we have a new strategic framework and with every new strategy, it is a worthwhile exercise to look at how we best deliver it. Our branch and club infrastructure are a crucial aspect of how we deliver into local communities.

Secondly, there are many branches across the UK that have been struggling for some time with the demands of the charity's work. Many branches work extremely hard to meet the necessary functions of a branch, this is a lot of work for volunteers and can have an impact on available time to deliver work that progressively promotes the charity to new and existing audiences. The charity is evolving, our environment is evolving, and so we want to understand how we can effectively help branches evolve.

What do we aim to achieve?

We don’t know what the outcome will be, it is so important that members drive this conversation. We do however want to approach this exercise with a blank sheet of paper. The environment around RLSS UK has changed significantly over the past year, not to mention the past few decades and so it is crucial that we are forward-thinking and are responding to meet the challenges of growing our community and membership base and creating a sense of belonging for ALL RLSS UK membership groups.

Our intention is to keep moving forward and improving. This may have an impact on the way branches currently operate but it may not, we want all of our members to help us decide. We do however want branches to be open and prepared for change, no matter how small.