The Executive Committee presented its work on the strategic priorities developed over recent months in response to the Difficult Choices consultation with the denomination in 2010.
Our aim is to benefit our communities by:
•Encouraging and supporting leadership at local level
•Developing Ministry within the denomination
•Raising the visibility of the Unitarian movement
•Improving the services to the movement by staff and volunteers
Strategic Groups are to be be established to take forward the first three strategic priorities; local leadership, Ministry and Visibility. The EC held two question times to give an opportunity for comment and reported back to the plenary session of the Annual Meetings on the final day.
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The more that I think about this the more uncomfortable I become. Set aside my unease at calling anything 'difficult choices' when it should have been/was about making choices about our future - which should be exciting or engaging or thought-provoking - but not difficult.
ReplyDeleteWe have priorities without, as far as I can see, defining what is meant by a priority. For example is this all that will be focused on? Or are these the things that will get more financial and time support whilst recognising that other things need doing? Or is this just about development rather than maintaining other things.
Clearly the GA has other priorities such as managing its finances effectively and something about youth activity. Youth activity presumably is included in services to the movement - but is not prioritised. Unless there is to be a prioritising within the priorities. There is also the issue of social action which has been added into raising visibility - but clearly we don't take action to raise our visibility: we take social action to do some good - whether people know we have done it or not.
A concern of mine is developing leadership nationally (and at district level) - it is interesting to note that we are thought to need our leadership developing locally but not nationally. As long as we think that the only thing that the GA does is support local efforts and become visible nationally then we are missing a few tricks.
But if you ask people at the local level what the national level priorities should be you are likely to get this result. The EC with a national perspective needs to have led the creation of priorities. This is part of what I mean by developing national leadership.
Then there is plan to restructure our commissions and panels because we have this set of priorities - why? The EC knows by now that people are frustrated at the rate of change and yet here we go again on the restructuring merry-go-round. Two things - first what isn't currently working with the structure? And second why not start by giving the current structure the priorities and ask them to develop work plans to make these priorities real. If this doesn't work then that may be the time to reconsider.