February 2025 – Strategic priorities update

We’re a membership organisation

It might come as a surprise to some that I start this strategy update with that reminder, but it should be key to everything we do.

These days I see many organisations consider what their key role is amongst all the services that either they deliver, would like to deliver or people expect them to deliver. They ask themselves the question – what is important?

My professional role as General Manager is to “manage the business affairs of the Society, develop and market a range of publications, represent amateur radio to Government, media, press and other relevant audiences, work effectively with Ofcom and other key stakeholders and coordinate the provision of a range of services to Members and the amateur radio community”. I do all this through the management of the 18 staff at HQ (many of whom work part time), plus a significant number of volunteers who work directly with me and my team at the RSGB National Radio Centre, supporting our Comms activities or as part of the GB2RS News team. All of the technical and regional, Committees and Honorary Officers report directly to the Board, as I do.

The RSGB is rightly regarded as one of the leading national societies, enjoying considerable respect and influence around the world due to the hard work, skill and dedication of our staff and volunteers. We are proud of our achievements and use them to help people discover amateur radio and support the Society through membership.

Which direction?

We have a professional team at HQ, hundreds of expert volunteers, and excellent, established, worldwide channels which we use to attract and retain members, while also supporting and representing the wider amateur radio community, both nationally and internationally. But as we start a new year, I believe that as a Society we should ask ourselves the question I highlighted at the start – what is important and what is our direction?

When we launched the original strategy in 2017, it had a Purpose, four Values, a Goal and eight Priorities, all of which are important elements for a membership organisation. In 2023 the Board decided to focus on four Priorities to give a more concise framework, but those four still encompass too many possibilities in terms of activities, ideas and suggestions to do them all at once and do them well. Amateur radio, technology, environment and society all change, so a clear focus is needed so we can prioritise:

• It would help to make decisions easier when choosing which new activities and projects to launch

• We can gather together volunteers with the right expertise and enthusiasm

• We can identify the messages, tools and channels to deliver what is needed and the media outlets to target

• We can achieve much more – a ‘scattergun’ approach dilutes our effectiveness

People who know me, and I’m happy that many of you do, will know that I often ‘bang on’ about people doing practical things being the key to engagement. It’s something I really believe, and I tell anyone who will listen, sometimes quite often! Maybe, the key to a direction is to have a theme, and perhaps that theme could be that of practical activities across the priorities of Growth and Membership? Carry on reading for a few minutes and see if you agree.

Practical activities as a theme

• We know many radio amateurs enjoy practical activities but some don’t have the opportunties to help them start, learn something different or more challenging

• There is such a wide range of practical activities in amateur radio. There is something for almost everyone: operating, contesting, DXing, experimenting, software, construction, SOTA, POTA, ARDF… The list is almost endless, which is why it’s such a great opportunity to widen the reach of amateur radio

• Non-radio amateurs enjoy practical activities of various kinds – this opens up avenues into many other communities who could add amateur radio to their own existing interest, or discover amateur radio as a completely new interest

• Young people, in particular, find amateur radio much more appealing if it involves doing something like building a simple Morse key or programming an Arduino or a BBC micro:bit to send Morse for them

Practical activities could also help to shape: what events we organise; how we develop the RSGB Convention; which other organisations we look to work with; what invitations to events or activities we accept (or decline); which topics we include in our Tonight@8 and Convention programmes; which additional books to add to our stocks; the speakers or innovators we work with; the communities we build relationships with; and the stories we share…

Concentrating on one overarching area for both Growth and Membership this year would help us to focus our resources, make setting specific goals easier, and would help to attract and retain people to amateur radio and RSGB membership. And that goes back to my very first statement that we need to remember that we’re a membership organisation, which works for the good of amateur radio.

Most of these activities aren’t things that can be driven from the business side of the Society at RSGB HQ in isolation. HQ supports strategic direction from the Board and technical leadership of the teams of volunteers who report to the Board, as well as engagement with the amateur radio community. We need everyone to offer a warm welcome with support and encouragement for people trying new things, a widespread positive attitude and a desire for amateur radio to grow in the modern world.

The right people in the right places, doing the right things to encourage everyone. I believe that is the way to start 2025.

Steve Thomas, M1ACB
RSGB General Manager
strategy@rsgb.org.uk

• You can also find this update in the February 2025 RadCom

Category: RSGB Notices, RSGB Strategic Priorities