Annual Report 2018
Manager's Report (James Baker)
2017-2018 was another good year for the QSWP. We contributed almost 6,000 volunteer hours to events across the country, saw our membership grow again, and expanded both the number and range of events we attended. But rather than steal the thunder of the rest of the committee, I'll leave it to them to tell you about those things and focus instead on just some of the other things that have been happening this year.
The QSWP Portal is still proving a useful tool, and hopefully everyone is now comfortable using it. This year, we've added a Reports feature to the Portal - perhaps it's just me being a bit of a geek, but I think it's really interesting to see how our membership formed (i.e. location and age) and the range of events we support. I have some plans to expand the use of the Portal even further, particularly with regards to our application process - and I look forward working with the new Membership Coordinator on some of those ideas.
Over the past 4 months, we've held two 'Treasure Hunt' socials; the first in London in December and one a few weeks ago in Birmingham. I think these went well, and I hope that we can grow the number of socials throughout the year. As we get more and more members, I think these social events will become more important as a way of getting to know each other. To this end, I'm introducing the role of a Social Coordinator who will organise regular socials across the country and also lead on the organisation of Weekend Away. I hope everyone agrees this is a sensible idea, and will support the appointed coordinator as they take on the role.
Earlier in the year, our "line manager" Keith Jennings decided to step down from his post; and more recently, it was announced that the Team UK structure would be changing as of May 1st. As a result, we will shortly be reporting to new Head of Scout Active Support (unannounced at the time of writing this report). Whilst I'm not expecting this to change what we do significantly, I'm looking forward to working with them and seeing if they have any new ideas to keep us moving forwards.
Finally, but most importantly, there is once again a long list of people that I need to thank. If I tried to list them all, I would undoubtedly forget someone - but broadly speaking:
- The staff and volunteers at Gilwell who have supported us at a range of events and with a variety of issues
- The QSWP Committee, and in particular Jess Brown who steps down this year
- All of our members, and in particular those who have supported our new and smaller events in the past year
Finance Report (Emma Panton)
Well two years down and only one to go as treasurer, and it's all going well.
The bank account is healthy and the balance has increased again. This has enabled us to set aside a large subsidy for the 75th Celebrations next year.
With the introduction of social events, we have set aside a fund for these events. The budget is based on £1 per member at the close of the financial year. At 31st March we had 104 members on the Portal.
With your agreement, I would like to change our bank account from HSBC to Lloyds bank. I have been assured this will be a relatively painless process and any payments that are made into the old bank account will be automatically transferred for a period after. I would like to change the account over due to the pain and delays we had with HSBC when trying to change treasurer and chair on the account, and also for the support Lloyds can provide, both over the phone and online banking.
Many thanks for all your support over the last year, and I'm looking forward to the next year and our birthday celebrations!
Events Report (Caroline Hicks)
It's been busy for the QSWP with 30 different events in the last year, from Summer camp to Gold Award Presentations, supporting national Scout centre events and so much more we certainly get about all over the country!
Our most sought after events this year have been the Remembrance events along with the Gold Award Presentations, a huge thank you to everyone who puts their name down for every event, it's great to see so many faces, to get to know so much of our membership, and to see how everyone mucks in and lends a hand when things might not be quite as expected, or to cover any last minute issues, we make a great team!
I've spent my first year in post getting to grips with my new role and (hopefully) getting on top of the vast amount of information that comes at me for all of our events, I'm nearly there I think - if a little slow at sending info out sometimes. Hopefully I should now have a full years worth of pre-written info about our standard events, as ever, if you think I've missed something when I do send information out I really appreciate your input!
Finally, to encourage more of our new members to attend events I am looking at (re)setting up the buddy system, to hopefully give new members someone they can ask all of those silly questions to! Watch this space!
Members Report (Jess Brown)
Just a short and sweet report from me as I know you only really want to know the numbers and don't really need me to waffle on...
Last year's numbers - 141 Current Members with 100 Active and 41 Friends. This year's numbers - 169 Current members with 102 Active and 67 Friends.
I currently have 21 active applications with the MAJOR hold being reference returns. And finally... again a reminder to keep your Portal info correct and up to date!
Social Media Report (Sarah Paget)
For the past two years a report has been made which analyses the social media output for the Active Support Unit. At the AGM last year, it was voted by those present that the social media role should be an elected role on a three year rotation.
From discussions with our members it was decided that we would focus on the two main social media channels, Facebook and Twitter, with Instagram being reviewed after the first year. The analytics below show how these two channels have progressed since the last AGM.
| Period | Tweets | Impressions (Overall Total) | Engagement % | Followers / Gain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2017 Figures | 108 | 57.3k impressions, 14.3k average p/q | 1.4% average | 498 (+232) |
| 22 Apr 17 - 30 Jun 17 | +12 | 22.8k | 1.2% | +70 |
| 01 Jul 17 - 30 Sep 17 | +8 | 12.9k | 0.9% | +47 |
| 01 Oct 17 - 31 Dec 17 | +13 | 22.5k | 1.0% | +43 |
| 01 Jan 18 - 31 Mar 18 | +16 | 13.5k | 1.0% | +26 |
| 01 Apr 18 - 21 Apr 18 | +2 | 1.2k | 3.0% | +3 |
| Totals | 159 (+51) | 71.7k impressions, 17.9k average p/q | 687 |
For the third year in a row, the amount of followers and impressions have increased. However, the number of tweets sent out has decreased. This means that the tweets we are sending out are hitting a larger audience but also people are interacting more with the account ie tweeting at us.
Top Tweets from the Year
| Tweet | Impressions | Engagements | Retweets / Likes |
|---|---|---|---|
| This year's team are ready to represent @UKScouting With grateful thanks for those who have served and continue to serve #RemembranceDay2017 #Cenotaph | 6633 | 523 | 30 / 77 |
| They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them. #RemembranceDay2017 #LestWeForget | 5568 | 156 | 27 / 48 |
| Congratulations to all @UKScouting members receiving their @DofE Gold at Buckingham Palace today! | 3894 | 164 | 20 / 56 |
| Congratulations to all the new Queen's Scouts, Long Service & Gallantry Awards who celebrated their achievements today #DayOfCelebration | 3739 | 123 | 18 / 42 |
| @Poacher2017 QSWP doing what they do best - any job with a smile including washing 600+ staff plates! #whistlewhileyouwork | 3720 | 189 | 7 / 15 |
| Happy New Year from the QSWP! Last year, we contributed over 5,800 volunteer hours to events across the UK; we're aiming for over 6,000 in 2018, starting with Winter Camp at Gilwell Park. pic.twitter.com/Zrs0Dumz59 | 2046 | 94 | 6 / 24 |
In 2012 a Facebook page was created to run alongside the Group. Groups are designed to be closed; allowing for chat, instructions or complaints to be voiced without the wider world knowing. Pages are the public face of the organisation or company, with anyone being able to like the page and see what is being published. For that reason, the group will not be analysed for social media purposes, as the message and influence should be limited to the membership.
That said the posts and likes for the page can be compared below:
| Date | Posts | Likes |
|---|---|---|
| 2015-2016 | 19 | 195 |
| 2016-2017 | 7 | 248 |
| 2017-2018 | 9 | 284 |
Much the same as last year the focus has been on twitter with far more content accessible to share and interact with. Facebook has also changed the algorithm for pages, this means it is less likely to show in people's news feeds, they need to go looking for it. To make more posts on the Facebook page we need more images to be shared by those attending events. The most popular post was the Edinburgh Gold DofE Presentations in July 2017 with a viewed audience of 1,823.
Summary
This years summary has the same targets as the previous two years. The amount of active use has been a success, with Social Media usage and followers continue to grow. There are however long periods where Social Media dips, even in some cases where followers have unliked or unfollowed themselves, especially around the summer where big events do not tend to run.
Windsor, Remembrance and the Weekend Away all proved popular to both Facebook and Twitter audiences.
The aim from now on is to maintaim the followers and every effort to be made to improve the amount and quality of content being published – certainly on the lesser used Facebook Page. Interacting with National campaigns, rewarding successes such as QSA being presented and publishing photos from the events we attend are all great ways forward.
We should also be pushing our social media presence more – maybe by putting the Twitter Handle or Page link on any advertising: banners, leaflets, business cards.
Any member can help with the push of social media. If you are at an event, take a photo and either post it on twitter including the QSWP handle and/or send it to Sarah Paget or any of the other executive to put it on for you.