Rover Round Table – Terms of Reference

Bonus points if anyone can name the reference

At the last (and first for that matter) meeting, there was discussion on how to best start the Round Table.

One side saw the argument that elections should be made, for a shortened term, and the Round Table activities move on from there.
The second side saw that founding documents should be made first, then elections based off of those.

So here we are today, with no elections having happened. Can you guess who made the better argument?

How we craft the Terms of Reference will effect how the Round Table will operate. Let’s dig into some discussion.

Most of what sits below is an amalgamation of the old By-laws, Policies and Procedures of the Pacific Coast Region Rover Roundtable (ie. the Roundtable before the restructuring in 2002)that I have a copy of, an example terms of reference from ScoutsDocs.ca and my own personal touch.

Membership

Who counts as a member of the Round Table?

Do we only allow Scouts Canada members who have Rovers as a primary or secondary role in their profile? (The Rover list) That would leave us at 100 members.
Do we open that up to any Scouts Canada member who is Rover aged? (Rover Aged Member list) Now we have ~280 members.

Right debate, wrong answer. Traditionally the concept of a Round Table is Crews coming together, much like sovereign nations at the UN or treaty negotiations. Therefore we would have to look at how many crews are registered with Council, not Rovers. There are at least 56 groups with Rover aged members yet I don’t know how many crews are registered with council. I doubt it’s over 20. Unfortunately the profiles of many rovers (half the ones I’m familiar with) are incomplete and do not list Rover crew as a role.

So I propose we go with the open list, but only to begin with. Over time, we can work to bring the profiles closer to reality, and those who wish to be involved can update their profile to include a Rover Crew. The others, who don’t wish to be involved and just wish to be leaders, can keep their profile as is.

Voting

Now that we know who’s involved, how do we get agreement. As mentioned above, the entities coming together are crews. Therefore each crew gets a vote for attending a meeting, not the individual. This is to stop block voting from large crews over smaller crews. As incentive to attend the meetings in person, only crews in attendance can vote. As a further incentive, a second vote can be cast if you get a second Rover to attend.

In regards to quorum, I’d pick a number out of my ass and say 10% of the crews with a floor limit of three.
The old Round Table in Vancouver didn’t call for a quorum, but I think there should be something included in.

Executive Positions

Here is where we get to have a bit more fun and creativity. I’m going to use general terms for the names of the positions, but I’m going to give you permission and encouragement to come up with proper Rover-ised names.

• Chair
  • Pretty self-explanatory, but I’m going to list things off none the less
  • Preside over meetings
  • May appoint committee chairpersons subject to approval by the Executive and by a motion at a Round Table meeting. The appointment must be for a set period of time and must be ratified every year during the annual elections, until the end of the mandate.
  • Be a liaison between the Round Table and the Council Management team
  • Vote in event of a tie
  • With the aid of the Executive, draw up a business plan and budget.
  • Must not be also currently holding the position of Deputy Council Commissioner – Youth (or council equivalent) or the Council Rover Crew Chair (or council equivalent).
• Vice-Chair
• Shares duties with the Roundtable Chair
• Secretary
• Record and distribute the minutes of Round Table meetings
• Receive and keep copies of the minutes of all Round Table committees and sub-committees.
• Keep a current copy of the Bylaw, Policies, and Procedures of Scouts Canada as a reference
• Keep a current listing of email addresses and telephone numbers of all Executive members, PCC Crew Mates (or equivalent), PCC Rovers, and PCC Advisors
• Treasurer
• Maintain accurate and up to date records of the financial activities of the Round Table and report on said activities at each PCC RRT meeting.
• Be in charge of finding sources of funding, such as donations, grants and fundraisers
• Advisor
• Advise and aid the Round Table and the Executive
• Represent the Rovers of the Council to the Council by attending relevant Council meetings with the Chair
• Promote Rovering in the Council
• The Advisor is normally the Council Rover Coordinator, appointed by the Council Commissioner

The Old Pacific Coast Region Round Table only had three positions. Mate, Vice-mate, and Secretary/Treasurer. I don’t think that’s enough. Plus as shown above, the vice doesn’t do much.

The ScoutDocs sample had Chair, Vice-chair, Secretary, Public Relations Officer, Advisor and Provincial Round Table Representatives. Well we can’t have provincial Round Tables these days (finger nose tap) so they aren’t needed. ScoutDocs gave the role of treasurer to the Vice-Chair, but I think that’s too much power with one person, especially if they can effectively become chair. I do think a perfect role for the Vice-Chair is the Public Relations Officer. They would be tasked with getting Scouting, and Rovering into the public eye in a positive way, organize a membership campaign each fall (or whenever) and advertise upcoming events. Sounds like a match made in heaven.

I added the clause to the chairs position that they couldn’t hold any of the other big two youth positions. I want three strong voices for youth involvement and issues when dealing with others. Losing a voice by combining positions does not help the cause of Scouting. If Scouts Canada can’t produce three young adults that are of high enough caliber for those positions, we are in deeper trouble than we think.

Any comments, suggestions, concerns, gifts are welcome and encouraged.

I will have a second (albeit hopefully smaller) post with more discussion points in a few days.