NEWS & EVENTS
Speak Out Magazine | AUTUMN 2020
NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE BODY UPDATE
T
he Collective is the National Representative Body (NRB) of Who Cares? Scotland. It is made up of Care Experienced members of Who Cares? Scotland and functions as a congress representing the broader membership between annual Members’ Assemblies. Over the past few months, we’ve been working on crucial areas and we’re pleased to share details of progress with you, our fellow WC?S members.
• Developing an activist training programme, which will include a range of resources available online and for local groups; an enhanced representative training programme for NRB members; and a spokesperson module for NRB members involved in front facing influencing activity.
THE NRB METHOD STATEMENT Our key functions are to: • Support the design and delivery of Who Cares? Scotland’s Annual Programme of participation and influencing work, as approved by Who Cares? Scotland’s annual Members’ Assembly • Operate as a reference group for new projects and initiatives, sense-checking and supporting the design of activities proposed by the organisation and broader membership • Directly support Who Cares? Scotland’s influencing work by representing the organisation as spokespeople and contributing to the production of reports, press releases and news articles • Support membership appraisal of organisational activity and shape of organisational priorities through engagement with advocacy and participation outcomes, design / interpretation of the annual Member Survey, reporting to the annual Members’ Assembly and other activities
We’ll keep you up-to-date on our progress on these goals in future issues of Speak Out.
CO-DESIGN OF THE ANNUAL PROGRAME The Collective have recently supported the co-design of the Annual Participation Programme, which you can read more about on page 23 of this issue of Speak Out. We’re also working alongside Who Cares? Scotland staff to co-facilitate the national engagement sessions that members can attend.
DEMOCRATISATION Who Cares? Scotland developed its membership model after constitutional change in 2014. There are now over 2,800 Care Experienced members nationally. Who Cares? Scotland’s 2018-2022 strategic plan describes the organisation as being “owned and governed by Care Experienced people” and commits to having “Care Experience at the centre of our governance, through representative and inclusive processes”. The next steps to make this vision a reality include: • Asking Who Cares? Scotland members to change the organisation’s constitution in order to secure for the National Representative Body a permanent and formal place within Who Cares? Scotland’s governance structure • Developing the National Representative Body as a members’ congress representing the membership between Members’ Assemblies and comprising volunteers elected from local groups and representing underrepresented constituencies
NRB RECRUITMENT We are currently supporting the co-design of the recruitment process for Care Experienced applicants who want to get involved in the National Representative Body in future. Who Cares? Scotland will soon be announcing when recruitment will open up for the next cohort of representatives. ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP SURVEY The Collective have also helped to shape the questions in this year’s annual membership survey, which you can read more about on page 21 of this issue of Speak Out. We wanted to ensure all questions asked reflected the wider membership. We hope you’ll all take the time to give your feedback in this survey as it is part of the WC?S democratic approach, to ensure your voice is heard at the centre of the organisation.
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