Background to the Consultation

The purpose of the 2023 consultation was to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the current committee structures within SCA and provide recommendations for improvement and/or restructure where necessary. The last formal review had taken place in 2016 and led to refreshed Terms of Reference and governance processes for all committees. 

The consultation focused on governance and organisational risks, financial responsibilities, composition, appointment and election processes, decision-making processes, communication, current Terms of Reference, and reporting arrangements to the SCA Board.

The review was conducted through a variety of methods including a survey to all current and recent committee members, SWOT analysis, desktop research of committee meeting minutes as well as compliance with policies and procedures, a rating of current committees across various factors, and a staff consultation. In addition, comparisons were made across other sports, looking at equivalent structures and functions in other SGBs, and across other British Canoeing national associations.

The consultation recognised a need for the following changes:

A Revised Structure

As part of the revised structure, Discipline Committees will migrate to Discipline Development Groups with up to 6 volunteers and a primary staff link. The new name reflects the focus on development of each discipline, in addition to events. In the past, discipline committees rarely had 9 volunteers. The consultation supported having a smaller, core group of volunteers who are trained and supported more closely by SCA staff.

In order to support integration and reduce crossover, a new Access & Environment Group will replace the separate Access and Environment Committees. This new combined group with broad expertise will strengthen the SCA’s capacity to achieve meaningful goals in this area.

A new Participation & Events Group will replace the separate Recreation and Coaching & Development Committees, following the consultation’s conclusion that there was an opportunity for a new group to focus on improving participation in recreational events.

Revised Terms of Reference have been published for all Groups. The Performance Group will continue without notable changes. 

Aligned Timelines and Standardised Tools and Processes

In order to remove complication and confusion, the application window for volunteer positions will be brought in line across all groups. In addition, all Annual Consultative Meetings (ACMs) for disciplines will take place in the autumn, rather than at different points throughout the year. 

Communications tools (e-groups) will be implemented and used consistently across all groups in order to eliminate informal decision making. 

Better Volunteer Support

The SCA has recognised the need for an improvement in support given to our valued volunteers. To help facilitate this, each group will have an assigned staff member as a principal contact who will be able to provide more detailed support and coordination between volunteers and staff.

Feedback from volunteers indicated a need for more training which would allow them to better understand and fulfil their role. This will be implemented with the roll out of new volunteer eLearning and more occasions for both virtual and in person support for volunteers.

Additional tools to support and reduce administration are being sought as the consultation highlighted how time consuming administration and coordination is for volunteers. There are ways to better support this, reduce it and manage it centrally at scale.

Better Governance

For a variety of reasons there is a need for better governance and further changes will be made to ensure this. Most notably, opportunities for improved governance of SCA Events were identified and requested in the review. The Event Organising Group roles will be recorded centrally moving forward, a practice which was not always adhered to in the past and will improve the support for volunteers.

As there is a need for robust and auditable processes across all committees and events, revised financial processes will also be implemented for all events.

The above changes are outlined in this graphic: