RAF REGIMENT ASSOCIATION
BUSINESS PLAN
2014 AGM
About this document
The following pages contain the RAF Regiment Association’s Business Plan to be approved at the 2014 AGM. The focus of the plan is to make a meaningful forecast of the strategic direction of the Association and its sustainability over the next 5- 8 year period. The Plan details the Association’s financial activities over the same period. However, as with all such plans, forecasts are subject to continuous reviews through prudent governance, and the National Management Committee (NMC) will revise these as required to negate any risks, and also to capitalize on opportunities.
Contents
Section / Subject / Page No01 / Introduction / 4
02 / Mission statement, Ethos, Values and Core Competence / 5
03 / Organisational Analysis / 5-9
04 / Strategy / 9
05 / Objectives and Action Measures / 10-16
06 / 5 Year Financial Plan / 16
07 / Conclusion / 17
1.Introduction
Background
The RAF Regiment Association was born in thelate 80’s and early 90’s. It sprang from a number of unofficial groupings which had their roots on the War Time and National Service eras. The Officers Dining Club and the WO’s and SNCO’s Association preceded it, both of which had eligibility criteria which did not allow universal membership. The Associations that emerged had widely divergent views on structures and philosophies. These differences were initially merged through a shot gun wedding into one organisation, directed by the serving Corps. This proved divisive and toxic and merely provoked another split some years later. In 2005, the CG brought the split to a halt and directed that the RAF Regiment Association needed to be a Veterans Association that mirrored the professionalism of the existing Corps and as such would be re-launched. This was achieved and we have since carried on moving our Organisation forward. The first stage objective of avoiding another damaging split has been achieved. The second stage of moving and developing our Organisation into a capable and long term partner for the serving Corps is now our priority.
We have a shrinking membership base and need to develop the Association to maintain connections between our veteran members and the serving Corps. We have conducted a far ranging review over the last 3 years and have commenced on a development process to enhance the organisation. This business projection looks at the organisation, the environment we operate in, our strengths weaknesses and the risks attendant to our cohesive development in order to put us on a more sustainable basis both financially and culturally, in order to enhance the serving Corps and “round out” our Regimental family. Our first stages in this process have now been completed and we have achieved with the restructure of the Governance of the Association as approved at the last AGM and the achievement of legal Charitable Status.
This plan will look in more depth at the challenges and opportunities before us
Our Organisation
We are a group of individuals both serving and retired who have served in and who wish to continue to support the RAF Regiment. Our Vision is :-
The Association of choice, for past and serving members of the RAF Regiment to maintain their interest and support to the Corps and its traditions
We do this in a variety of ways these include:-
- Maintaining and promoting esprit de corps and comradeship amongst all RAF Regiment personnel, both past and present.
- Strengthening the bonds between veterans and serving members of the Corps through the enhancement of clear communications and accessibility.
- Join with and support the Corps in honouring our fallen, representing the Corps at ex service forums and acting as advocate for the retired veterans of the Corps.
- Supporting the maintenance of the collection of Corps assets, be they in the Heritage Collection, Alrewas or St Annes Chapel or any other location.
- Advising retired members on issues of a Corps nature and provide signposting to agencies for veterans in need of help.
- Fundraise and contribute to service Charities beginning at home and for important Corp landmarks.
- Assisting veterans in developing social functions and networks including Social Media.
2.Mission statement, Ethos, Values andCore Competence
To support in the recognition and promotion of the Corps, its good name and reputation, through the maintenance of its traditions, esprit de corps and comradeship. This will be achieved through a uniquely recognized Charitable Interest Organisation. It will be the Organisation of choice for serving members, veterans and supporters of the Corps to maintain their links and support. It will enshrine democratic, ethical and transparent governance processes and renew itself continuously. This will be accomplished with the support of our branches and any other groupings that seek to ally themselves to the aims of our Association.
As a one-member-one-vote, democratically representative organization, the Association will maintainthe highest standards of corporate governance in accordance with UK Charity Commission’s regulations and other statutory requirements. The Association will conduct all its business in a transparent, ethical and inclusive culture.
All members of the Association will be encouraged, and expected to show respect on one another, in the spirit ofcomradeship, regardless of former or current rank or length of service. The Association will promote a culture of social engagement, participation in public events and wherever possible retain, and grow the membership of the organization.
3,Organisational Analysis
Positives
Our overriding strength is the ties that bind us, forged by our common service and heritage. No matter how long individuals served there is a common understanding and language that is not shared even with members of other military units, we are unique. This lends itself into a distinctly family type relationship between retired and serving members of the Corps. We are now, for the first time, able to boast 3 living generations who have served in the Corps and 2 of them have been as professional servicemen. This unique bond provides us with that most powerful of tools, the personal linkages to all levels going back more than half a century.
We have a structure that is capable of evolving to meet the changes of the future. Our membership as it stands is changing. Originally the recruitment pool was based on the days of 1944, with 80,000 plus. By the time of the first incarnation of our Association, many of these would have been approaching retirement and seeking to renew their service bonds. Our recruitment pool has shrunk enormously, to 8,500 in the Middle 50’s to around 2000 today. One of the strengths we have is that the loyalty of our members with many in their 90’s.
We now enjoy a greatly enhanced reputation with the serving Corps. The traumas of the late 90’s and early 2000’s is now firmly behind us as the organisation and those that direct it have shown that the practices and structures introduced latterly have ensured that there is a firm grip on the tiller of the Association. The achievement of Charitable Status has demonstrated enormously that there is significant skill and talent within our Association. Our rationalization of a checks and balances management process again mirrors good practice elsewhere. Responsibility to the membership enshrined in the Articles and the Rules of the Association with fresh pairs of eyes looking at the risks and the progress, and not the “Usual suspects”.
Added to this we now have considerable experience of electronic media, be it on our formal website or through out Facebook pages and other on line forums. Electronic commercial transactions will soon be possible especially for joining and renewing memberships. There are significant opportunities in looking at joint initiatives with the RAF Regiment Fund; also established as a Charity with emphasis on the Heritage Centre. We are the single approved Veterans Association open to all ranks who have served and who are serving and need to ensure that we maintain that position in as much that it provides us with a firm footprint for goods and media services that will enable us to connect and generate income to enhance our services. The Corps 75th Anniversary is a mere 3 years away and it is implicit on us that we need to provide a fitting monument in conjunction with the Corps as a testimony to our service. The process of addressing this will need to start in the next few months if we are to make a valued contribution.
Not so Positives
There are some not so positive aspects to our present organisations that pose real risks to the Association’s survival and method of operating. The first of these is the membership issue. At present with the existing criteria we are losing some 5% per annum as the large recruiting base stemming from the Second World War and National Service days ages. Most of our WW2 veterans are now in their late 80’s and 90’s. The youngest National Serviceman will be in their 70’s. This has a huge impact on the association not just because of the loss of revenue from membership fees but also the loss of the history and skills our Veterans bring to our Association, it is a rich table but will soon lose its lustre if some form of redress to the decline of numbers is not found. The traditional approach of recuiting members to the Association must be be addressed if we are to continue into the 2020’s and beyond.
The dependence on a single form of income i.e. membership dues is frighteningly risky. A single year of bad retention would cripple the Association, resulting in both cut back in what we need to do and loss of credibility with partner Associations and the Serving Corps. A solution to this problem is the most pressing problem for the Association. It may well be that there is not single answer to this and a range of initiatives may be needed. This must be addressed in the next 6 months.
The third pressing issue is the skill shortages that permeate at both national and Branch level. That there are more skilled members around is without doubt, what is not known is what are the issues that prevent them being harnessed for the good of the Association and hence the Corps.
The passage of information in some cases from and to the membership is poor. We have invested much in electronic media to mitigate this. The established means of passing information on at branch meetings is simply not being able to keep up with the pace of the information being distributed. Some branches still have no contact electronically and it then takes time for messages to permeate all levels of the Association membership. In the past a lot of disquiet has been generated by the constant mantra of older members having no IT access or skills. This was taken as a showstopper but must be addressed and measures to enhance the IT skills and access of our older members must be undertaken.
We have a residual problem stemming from the precious incarnations that is still to be overcome of a bad image and infighting. This does us no favours but the simple fact that the number of people who will hear a bad report of an issue, true or not, will be geometrically greater than news of a good report. Unfortunately, some members within the Association fail to see how an Association, which is weakened by constant negative sniping, is diminished in supporting the Corps and in attracting a younger element to the Association.
Finally, there is still a perception in some areas that the Branch is what is joined rather than the Association. With the advent of Charitable Incorporated Status, all branches and members should be made aware of the legal position their actions may impose on the Association as a whole.
Impacting Factors
Political
The main event in the Political aspect during the span of this business plan will undoubtedly be the 2015 General Election and the proposed 2017 in/ out Referendum on EEC membership. Additionally, there will be another SDSR in 2015, with possible significant impacts on the Corps. As for veterans organisations, the maintenance of the Armed Forces Covenant is supported by all three main parties. The Association, through its alignment to the RBL, RAFA, and other organisations, including participating in state and local ceremonies, will maintain a prominent position in the public domain, in order to be able to canvas and influence on the Corps behalf through different channels than those available to the serving Corps.
Should the 2017 EEC referendum see the UK leave the union, it could impact significantly on service for some of our older members and also in the levels of income and pensions, further curtailing the services that the Association may be able to offer. The Association must maintain a watching brief on its fees in comparison to the income levels of our most elderly and disadvantaged members.
Economic impact
Economic recovery is the major element of all of the UK’s efforts at the moment and for some years in the future. The long-standing and structural fiscal mismanagement of the economy since the 1960’s will not be solved in the next 6 months. The aspiration of running a budget surplus, the first since the early 2000’s is unlikely to be achieved in the forecast timeframes as whilst jobs have been created, they are of a level where the earnings generate little tax revenue. Austerity measures proposed by the major parties will only differ in the rate by which the debt is reduced and the amount of pain for ordinary people in terms of impact on their personal incomes or access to services.. Retirement and pensions and the funding of the NHS will all have impact in the next few years especially our older members. The price of fuel for transport will curtail many of the activities for older members in the next 5 years. The Association will devise measures by which we can enhance the quality of the engagement with our members as a major priority.
Social impact
The Association membership covers a wide age group of diverse social and economic background. However, over 60s, are a predominant segment within the membership which is also the fastest-growing age group in UK society.There is considerable state support for this group, but veterans, often need advocacy and local support, to attain services and welfare. The Association,although not a welfareorganisation, has a record of referring potential caseloads to dedicated charities with professional expertise.The Association should seek to formalize this with training given to selected branch members to handle the signposting and advisory role in their geographic area. Measures to address this should be investigated and formulated within the next 2 years.
Additionally, austerity cuts to income and pensions may result in choices being made of membership fees and basic needs being met. The Association through its branches will institute a monitoring buddybuddy system that will give early warning on this. These buddy systems will also ensure that any members of the Association can seek help and advice confidentially through the local advisor.
Large reunions are becoming less attractive. As the balance switches between War Time and National Service members to predominately career veterans less formal social events are becoming the norm, predominately unit based. Our previous C&R’s indicated that we should support these reunions, it is not in the Associations remit to organize them. We must assist but the main responsibility for the Association is to deliver its Annual General meeting.
Technological impact
IT will continueand increase its impact on everyday lives. The Web, (WWW), and social media networking has changed the way people, work, and socialize. Electronic communications and digital technology has become a critical in our daily lives. All our lives will continue to be shaped by ever increasing development in home use of communication devices such as i-phones, androids and tablets to mention a few. The Association has continued to embrace with these changes through refurbishing the website, electronic newsletters, and developing social media networking. However, for the foreseeable future some of the older members will still be unable to embrace these technological advances; the Association is aware of this potential communication and will look at possible ways of bridging it. This will including training and low cost provision of hardware and software through existing provision for elderly people.
Social Media is allowing much easier facilitation of social events. News can ne passed much more quickly using electronic means. The fact that there is such a thriving RAF Regiment Community on the new and the fall in formal membership for our Association means that we are not fulfilling what todays veteran wants. We must tap into this and, if needed, re-orientate our offering.
Environmental impact
The impact of global warming and increase of greenhouses gasses are a macro level issue, which the Association can have little direct impact on. As a responsible organisation, however, we have a responsibility to contribute towards Governmental targets. As such the Association will endeavor to reduce its carbon footprint. The main measure to achieve this will be the reduction of travelling to meetings and where possible the sharing of vehicles. Branches will be encouraged to do the same. Other measures will be considered by the NMC.