October 2024 – Strategic priorities update

| September 19, 2024

An update on the RSGB strategic priorities

We have been reporting on the RSGB strategic priorities every month since January 2024. As well as appearing in RadCom, each update is published on the website so they can all be seen in one place. Head to RSGB strategic priority updates.

RSGB members will be aware that the Society is currently focusing on four strategic priorities: growth of amateur radio; membership of the RSGB; spectrum and licensing; and ensuring the continued financial stability of the Society. In this month’s update I’m focusing on Growth and Membership.

Growth

You will recall that the RSGB held a workshop to focus on the strategic priority Growth. This priority is defined as:

To grow amateur radio in the UK in 2024, demonstrated by an increase in exams taken and through raised levels of participation by each audience segment (delivered through pro-active, engaged volunteers)

Following the workshop, this priority was broken down into a set of workstreams:

  1. Practical Outreach (Develop planned outreach activity targeted to different audience segments)

  2. Skills and Career Development (Demonstrate the skills contribution to careers in RF/engineering sectors)

  3. Getting Started (Create an easier path to getting into amateur radio)

  4. Positive Support and Encouragement (Ensure we have the right, positive volunteers in the right places to deliver our plans)

  5. Reimagination (Broaden the definition of amateur radio to increase appeal and attract diverse audiences)

  6. Young People Audience Segment and Mature Audience Segment (Tailor our growth activities to specific target audiences)

Below is an update on some of the workstreams outlined above:

Practical Outreach

  • National Coding Week (16-22 September) – Nigel Thrower, G3YSW has been appointed as the first RSGB National Coding Week Coordinator and is helping to lead the activities. The Outreach Team has developed two new activities for this year – a LoRa coding activity and an activity using the Raspberry Pi Pico 2. We want to encourage radio amateurs of all ages to get involved! FFI rsgb.org/coding

  • ARISS – four applications will be submitted for ISS contacts in the latter part of 2025, each one representing a school in a different country in the UK

  • Youngsters on the Air (YOTA) – the special call sign GB24YOTA will be available in December for this annual event and this year the Outreach Team is aiming for the call sign to be hosted every day in that month. Could your local school, university, scout or guide group host the call sign for a day or part of a day? If you would like more information on YOTA Month or hosting the call sign, please contact the RSGB YOTA Month Coordinator Jamie, M0SDV via yota.month@rsgb.org.uk

“GB24YOTA will be on the air in December for YOTA Month – could you help host the call sign?”

 Getting started

  • The need to pass an exam to obtain an amateur radio licence has been seen by some as an obstacle to getting started in amateur radio but is a requirement under international treaty

  • The RSGB is key to providing exam facilities with a total of over 2,000 exams being sat from January to August this year, surpassing last year’s total by a significant margin

  • A training and support programme is in development using both online text material and videos specifically covering topics which have caused exam candidates the most difficulty in the past

  • A low-cost training app which will generate mock exams based on the actual bank of exam questions in also in early development

  • It is proposed to review the exam question bank, starting with the Full licence later this year as it has the lowest pass rate, to ensure questions are at the correct level of difficulty and not worded in an ambiguous way. Other exam levels will be reviewed in due course

Mature audience segment

  • We have had an overwhelming response to comms asking radio amateurs who are involved in u3a to attend an initial online meeting

  • We are in new discussions with u3a, following contact with the organisation over several years. We are developing a presentation aimed at this audience with a view to having it delivered locally

  • Other avenues are being followed up particularly in the area of armed forces retirees

In addition to the above areas, discussions are underway that may enable the RSGB to link to RF engineering organisations. Further updates will be given in due course.

“…an overwhelming response from radio amateurs who are involved in u3a…”

Membership

On 31 August we held a virtual meeting with some members of the Volunteer Leadership Team (VLT). An update was given on the strategic priorities and discussion groups considered the broader RSGB membership offerings.

This was achieved through consideration of four very different proformas that presented an individual’s route into amateur radio and their interaction with the RSGB.

The attendees were asked to consider what the touchpoints with the RSGB were on these individual journeys, what they thought the perception of the RSGB would be for those four individuals and, in an ideal world, what our offerings would be to them.

The meeting was very positive, and some great ideas were shared. The output from this exercise will form the basis of a membership-focused workshop which is planned for early 2025.

Get in touch

If you have any input or questions on the RSGB Strategic activities, please contact us on strategy@rsgb.org.uk

Mark Jones, G0MGX
Board Director
strategy@rsgb.org.uk

Category: RSGB Notices, RSGB Strategic Priorities