SSAGO Blog

July 2021 update

Joe Barnes, Quartermaster

Thursday 1st of July 2021

Report

• Clearing old orders: There is a backlog of nearly 100 orders in the Shop that need either extra items sending out, or are waiting for new stock to arrive before I can complete the order - so thank you for being patient. I am in the process of sorting out the outstanding orders offline, but work has got in the way in the last few weeks.
• Neckers: Several suppliers have been / are being contacted for samples based on the closest matched swatches; the supplier with the best quality/cost combination will receive a very large order of neckers!
• Badges-at-home: I have most of the outstanding badges that people have ordered, most orders are waiting for badges that are stranded in the Netherlands before being posted out to people.

Aims

• Reopening the Shop: My number one task is to get the shop back up and running efficiently. However, Oli has announced that the same problem that has caused some issues with other parts of the SSAGO website has completely destroyed the shop, so the Shop may well not be back online for some time. Once the backlog of orders is sorted, I will look at taking orders directly if the website isn’t back open then.
• Restocking: By the time the shop reopens, I aim to have a full barrage of your favourite merch ready to buy (who remembers what a SSAGO necker looks like?! :'( )
• Long term: POS Efficiency. I'm working with Oli to make the shiny new electronic Shop system work more efficiently for us, including being able to use it as a more integrated till at Rally, which will make stock control much easier and mean that hopefully none of these problems we’ve had will happen again...

June 2021 update

Charlotte Simmons, Archivist

Monday 28th of June 2021

Report

• Exploring the archives: Following taking over the role from Larah I have been continuing to explore the archives to see what is in there and to try and learn more about the history of the organisation.
• Archives online: I have started to work towards getting some of the archived materials onto a public facing website over the next few months.
• Club closing policy: Had a meeting to discuss a new policy to help us protect club records when they close.

Aims

• Archives online: I will be working to try and get some of the materials in the SSAGO archives onto a public website so that more people can access it.
• Photo archiving: I will be working to archive some of the photos that were uploaded into the SSAGO facebook group in the days before Google photos were used to compile photo albums at SSAGO events.
• Amalgam: I will be working over the next year or so to put together an archiving drop-in activity session for Amalgam.

June 2021 update

Oli Bills, Webmaster

Sunday 20th of June 2021

Report

• Managing Virtual SSAGO: Continuing to manage Virtual SSAGO and it's assets, including the Discord reorganisation to make it easier for newer members.
• Easter Egg Hunt: We ran the Easter Egg Hunt, even larger than last year, which was well-received by many SSAGOers and a great time was had by all.
• Event System: Adding cloning events and other features to help make it easier to create, copy, run and manage events.
• Supporting Projects: Supporting various events and upcoming projects, including the Eurovision event and the production of the Badges API and Points API and other features.
• EGM: Preparing for the SSAGO EGM and everything that goes with it

Aims

• The future of Virtual SSAGO: Working with the Virtual SSAGO team and the Exec to think about the future of Virtual SSAGO as things return to normal - what do we want to keep, what do we want to change, what do we want to drop?
• SSAGO Website Development: Over the Summer continue to work on the new SSAGO Website and the future of SSAGO's technological systems
• Virtual Summer Fun: To support those Summer events that are still virtual-based and make sure we end Virtual SSAGO as it has been at it's best.
• Exec Ideas: To work with the Exec on some of their new ideas for the website and associated systems.

June 2021 update

Samir Soares, Chair

Sunday 13th of June 2021

Report

• Hello there!
• The SSAGO Chair Samir is here to update you with what I have been doing. I have been making sure SSAGO can safely return to face to face activites talking to the NYA and Scouts ensuring this can be done safely among other behind the secnes stuff with the Scouts, Guides and SAGGA. We have begun to look at SSAGO policy changes aswell as progressing with SSAGO becoming a charity.
• Finally I have been organinsing an EGM for this summer to elect 2022 national SSAGO events so keep an eye out on that!!

Aims

• Face to Face SSAGO: Supporting SSAGO clubs and events to return to face to face meetings safely
• Events EGM: Organising elections for 2022 national SSAGO events, watch this space!
• SSAGO, Scouts and Guides: Continually communicating with Scouts, Guides and SAGGA working together for to collaborate for everyone's benefit and raising SSAGO's profile positively.

May 2021 update

Rose Moran, Members

Sunday 30th of May 2021

Report

• Socials: In the last month I joined in with NUSSAGG, DUSAGG and SAGGY's joint social night and had an in-person picnic with BUSAG.
• New Clubs: I have gotten in contact with some university networks in Northern Ireland in the hopes of creating new links.

Aims

• Closing clubs: Started working alongside Charlotte (Archivist) on a new official process for closing clubs. I hope to have this sorted by the end of June, including a new closing clubs factsheet.
• Regions: Working with each region to discuss what they want/need from their region.
• Participating in as many club events as possible!

May 2021 update

Tom Webster, Secretary

Wednesday 19th of May 2021

Report

• Meetings: I've been to lots and taken lots of minuites.
• Policy: Restarted the policy fixers project with lots of regular posts.
• Safeguarding: Dealt with issues and met with The Scouts for a better process going forwards.

Aims

• Policy: Updating and creating lots of new policy on safeguarding, welfare, GDPR and national events.
• Emails: Sending and recieving lots of them!

May 2021 update

Alex Banwell, Treasurer

Saturday 1st of May 2021

Report

• Charity: I have started updating the constitution, as well as I have had meetings with various groups to gather more information.
• Bank Accounts: I have been working on changing the signatories for the accounts to enable me to apply to set up additional accounts, and perform other administrative tasks with them.

Aims

• Charity: To work on updating the constitution to turn SSAGO into a charity
• Bank Accounts: To set up new accounts (shop/indie/events (including regional)) to improve the operation of the SSAGO finances. I also intend to make some operational changes to make the running of the finances smoother.

March 2021 update

Rose Moran, Members

Tuesday 9th of March 2021

Report

• St. George's Event: I worked alongside the publicity and international officer to run this years St. Georges event.
• Socials: In the last month I have participated in Lancaster and Derby's joint fussion day festival, joined DUSAGG's baking social, and joined in with NUSSAGG, DUSAGG and SAGGY's joint social night

Aims

• Working with each region to discuss what they want/need from their region.
• Participating in as many club events as possible.

March 2021 update

Leon Brindley, Publicity

Monday 8th of March 2021

Report

• Social Media: I've been consistently posting on the SSAGO social media pages- particularly Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. I've also scheduled posts for important dates in the future (like Pride Month and Father's Day).
• Additional Promotional Videos: I've put together a new National SSAGO Promotional Video, which I'll be publishing shortly!
• SSAGO Support: I've communicated with partners about future SSAGO Support events.

Aims

• Promotional Videos: I've been working on new promotional videos for SSAGO- if you have any video clips which you want to be included, you can send them in at ssago.org/special/upload!
• Customisable Advertisements: I'm planning to create new advertisements (social media posts, flyers, etc.) which local SSAGO clubs can customise to their liking!
• Online Publicity: I'll continue to publicise SSAGO on social media.
• SSAGO TikTok: I plan to create more content for our new SSAGO TikTok! If you want any SSAGO-related clips to be featured on there, make sure to send them in! :P

February 2021 update

Oli Bills, Webmaster

Saturday 27th of February 2021

Report

• Virtual SSAGO: I have continued to my best to support Virtual SSAGO - from Zoom to Discord, Minecraft to Events, Badges at Home to Secret Santas!
• Events: Continuing to work with Green Rally Yellow Rally and Amalgam and providing digital support for their events and requirements.
• Reps: A lot of work has been done on the Reps system to improve it's usability, including keeping track of and highlighting new responses and discussions.
• Online AGM: Have worked with the Exec to prepare for SSAGO's online only election and consider the ways in which it could be done and how it could work and then implementing SSAGO's preferred choice.
• Online Club Elections: Have continued to develop and improve the online elections system for clubs to use who are holding virtual AGMs.
• Emails: Lots of work on improving SSAGO email deliverability following emails with our previous provider and moving over to a new system which should help.
• SSAGO Christmas: Created the SSAGO Christmas Cards for sending and receiving to bring a little festive cheer.

Aims

• Virtual SSAGO Team: The Virtual SSAGO team is continuing to grow and we are having a meeting shortly to discuss where we can go next, as well as how to develop and evolve the SSAGO Community.
• Virtual SSAGO Activities: Building a small set of virtual games suitable for SSAGO to play that can be used in club meetings or national events - from Pictionary Whispers to Overwooded to a SSAGO card game!
• Event Support: Continuing to provide and develop as much virtual support as can be done for upcoming events.
• SSAGO Website Upgrade: Working with the Web Team to bring the SSAGO website more into modern designs and technologies, a long term project but a good chance to get more people involved!
• Handover: To support the new incoming Exec with the handover process and getting set up and ready to take the helm of SSAGO.

February 2021 update

Joe Barnes, Quartermaster

Saturday 27th of February 2021

Report

• Clearing old orders: There is a backlog of nearly 100 orders in the Shop that need either extra items sending out, or are waiting for new stock to arrive before I can complete the order - so thank you for being patient. While the Shop website has been broken I haven’t had access to these, Oli has now given me a spreadsheet so I’m wading through that to work out how each order can be sorted, contacting people and making changes / refunds where necessary.
• A massive stock take: such fun! I noticed that I haven’t got many recent event badges - I can’t think why… If any event committees have left over merch or badges, these should be with me once your accounts have been handed back to exec so please get in contact with me about how I can get them from you.
• Neckers: I’m still waiting for an agreement on the best colour and quality match from all our options for necker suppliers, as soon as a decision is made the order will be placed.
• Badges-at-home: I’ve helped the badges at home team with keeping track of payments and some of their badge ordering.

Aims

• Reopening the Shop: My number one task is to get the shop back up and running efficiently. However, Oli has announced that the same problem that has caused some issues with other parts of the SSAGO website has completely destroyed the shop, so the Shop may well not be back online for some time. Once the backlog of orders is sorted, I will look at taking orders directly if the website isn’t back open then.
• New items: We have some ideas for new items to add to the shop; not just more green clothing! This includes the possibility of notebooks, sporks, tea towels etc! As always, if you have any suggestions for things you’d like to see in the shop, or questions about orders or anything I can do for your event or club, get in touch at [email protected].
• Long term: POS Efficiency. I'm working with Oli to make the shiny new electronic Shop system work more efficiently for us, including being able to use it as a more integrated till at Rally, which will make stock control much easier and mean that hopefully none of these problems we’ve had will happen again...

February 2021 update

Adele Upton, Chair

Monday 22nd of February 2021

Report

• AGM: Aided in the organisation of the new-and-improved (hopefully) AGM method. If you haven’t heard, it’s online & we aren’t electing events right now, for obvious reasons.
• SAGGA: Met with the SAGGA committee to try and bridge the gap between our organisations. They have had a change in leadership recently, so are looking forward to helping the next exec. I suggested they help us train our treasurers, to make their role easier, and advertise themselves at reps meetings & on our website. They are also willing to guide the next exec in all things charity.
• SASU Manager Meeting: We now have a strong contact within the Scouts, who is more than willing to help us with things such as providing training, giving new awards and they actually reply to emails too!
• Preparation for Event Postponement: Alongside the AGM, I have been working on a range of timelines for rearranging current events and event elections, to ensure SSAGO will have an in person event as soon as possible.
• General Chairy Admin: You know, meetings, emails, spamming the ‘suggest for exec’ button and prepping a good handover document. Also I finished my last ever uni exams!

Aims

• Handover: I want to ensure the next exec have a much better start to their year than we did. Creating this handover document and ensuring the next chair has active contacts in SAGGA, Scouting and Guiding will help grow SSAGO and hopefully ease any challenges they may face.
• Policies: The 2020/21 exec focussed our spare energy on updating all policies. We hope to review a few more before we leave.
• Personal projects: In a time that is almost unimaginable (i.e. one without Covid), I ran for exec with all these ideas to implement. Unfortunately that got railroaded significantly, so I am hoping once the next chair takes on the boring admin stuff, I will have the time to do what I set out to!!
• Graduating!:

Manifesto for Chair

Samir Soares, Chair

Monday 22nd of February 2021

Hello there!

I am Samir, your favourite cheeky Brazilian, 1^st year PhD student and member of Nottingham SSAGO, previously part of Liverpool SSAGO when I was an undergraduate, some people refer to me as the “King of the North”.

You may have seen me at SSAGO rallies or online during where I have done all sorts like running kahoot quizzes on St Georges day and other events such as ScotNorth and Step Into Christmas. I am also Activities Assistant for GRYR, where I will be mainly heading up the gaming zone (Mario Kart anyone???)

Within SSAGO I have held various committee roles on a club and event level:

• Activity leader at Liverpool University Science Jamboree (2016 - 2019).
• Publicity officer (2017-2018), then President (2019-2020) of Liverpool SSAGO.
• Chair of 2019 Northern Freshers Camp.
• Led North Western SSAGO Wirral Walk.
• Committee member of ScotNorth Freshers
• Secretary of SSAGO Step Into Christmas.
• Green Rally Yellow Rally Activites Assistant

My core areas to improve as chair:

SSAGO is for everyone.

However, just stating this is not enough. I want everyone to feel welcome and able to fully participate in SSAGO, of any and every orientation, ability and background. Everyone. Unfortunately, this isn’t the always the case in SSAGO and I want to change that. Inclusion isn’t just about saying that everyone can join in, it’s making changes and opening conversations with people in under-represented communities to learn how we can improve as a national organisation, and at club level too. I plan on inviting everybody within the under-represented group (Like LGBTQ+, disabled, neurodiverse, etc.) want to contribute to improving the inclusivity of SSAGO. I would like to create a working group of people and others to develop inclusion resources such as “How to run an inclusive Freshers” packs for clubs and create a place on the SSAGO website for this information to be available for everyone to make use of.

A simple step I will make is a preferred name option on the SSAGO website, in addition to legal names, and explore the option of making some SSAGO themed pronoun woggles for anyone who wants to display their pronouns and rep SSAGO at the same time!

Empower clubs and regions

I find SSAGO is most rewarding and enjoyable when we make friends/collaborate both within our clubs, with local clubs, those across the country and even across the world! This has been particularly evidently this recent year, with plenty of online collaboration, events and the birth of the SSAGO Discord.

Once it is safe to do so, I will encourage spontaneous, self-organised meetups and events between clubs and regions. These have mainly taken place in the form of regional freshers camps in the past, but I wish to expand the breadth of these even further! I believe Exec should empower clubs and regions to self-organise joint activities as this is how I believe regions will thrive, be dynamic and successful. I want to create a more open environment where clubs are encouraged to collaborate to create a greater community between clubs and also indies.

The SSAGO of Tomorrow

We have recently been allowed time for reflection on what SSAGO means to us all and what can be improved upon. I will produce a one off “The future of SSAGO” constitutional survey, which involves every member. This will highlight everything SSAGO does well and what opportunities and ideas we have to improve SSAGO. Although similar to every the SSAGO survey done every few years the aim of this is to cast a longer term fundamental look into the future at what the SSAGO of tomorrow could be.

Once the survey is complete, I will:

• Set up a working group to analyse the results and produce key messages, areas to be commended and areas of improvement.
• Discussing the areas to be improved/issues raised via Reps throughout the year.
• Discuss the wider outcomes with SAGGA, Scouting and Guiding to gain their thoughts and insights.
• Produce a full report for the 2022 AGM with full results and recommendations to improve SSAGO.

Other Objectives

• Explore new and improved ways of doing SSAGO AGMs (like this year!)
• Ensure a safe return to face-to-face SSAGO activities, in clubs and events in line with the government, scouting and guiding guidelines. Providing any support needed.
• Help facilitate the running of 4 SSAGO events (3 rallies and a ball) this coming year at least, albeit physical or digital.
• Support any other activities that may self-develop by clubs or individuals if needed.
• To be open and visible about what the SSAGO Exec do, they do alot of behind the scenes work that people don't realise. I want to be open about what Exec does so that more people run for Exec positions the next year.
• Reaffirm that National SSAGO has an open door for any person or club that has questions or concerns regarding SSAGO and provide support within our means to them.
• Formalise and support the SSAGO discord and online activities that have helped us stay together during these times.

Assisting long-term SSAGO Goals

• Continue the existing work on the Charity Status of SSAGO.
• Develop a framework to help members complete top awards such as Queen Scout/Guide, Explorer Belt, DofE and others.
• SSAGO constitution update, set up a working group supervised by exec to address this long talked about issue.

SSAGO to me has been the most beneficial when it provides support to all it's members allowing them to thrive beyond what they thought they could have. We are there to all members of the student scout and guide organisation, scout, guide, network, inspire, indie or none of the above, we are there. I hope to become the Chair who can help make this organisation even more fulfilling, inclusive and open to any student, scout and guide who is a member.

Also my dog tried to join SSAGO...                                        Visiting Edge Hill SSAGO last academic year.                                      We don't know why this happened at Gilwell 24...

Wirral Walk with Liverpool, Lancaster, Salford  and Manchester SSAGOS

Manifesto for Publicity Officer

Leon Brindley, Publicity

Monday 22nd of February 2021

Who am I?

 Hi, my name is Leon! =D
 I was the Publicity Officer for Build-A-Rally 2020.
I'm the Webmaster of Southampton SSAGO.
 I'm studying MEng Electronic Engineering with Computer Systems at the University of Southampton.
 I've been a member of the Scouting movement ever since starting Beavers at the age of 6!

What previous experience do I have related to the role of National Publicity Officer?

 As the Publicity Officer of Build-A-Rally 2020, I worked hard to make Build-A-Rally as successful as possible, including via...

 The Build-A-Rally World Cup of Construction Sets.
 Build-A-Rally Merchandise Advertisements
 Meet The Build-A-Rally Committee Posts
 Build-A-Rally Bookings Leaderboards
 Promotion of activities during Build-A-Rally itself, like our Southampton SSAGO Construction Challenge, Woggle Making and Playdough Challenge.
 Designing of the official Build-A-Rally Neckers.
 Working on the Build-A-Rally Page on the SSAGO website.
 General contribution to the planning of Build-A-Rally throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, and working to alleviate the uncertainties the pandemic introduced.
 Usage of the National SSAGO Publicity Resources, including SSAGO's Open Sans Font.
Consistent cross-platform promotion of Build-A-Rally on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
 Memes, of course. :P

 I've undertaken lots of publicity work as the Webmaster of Southampton SSAGO, including...
 The creation and editing of various engaging promotional videos, including the main Southampton SSAGO Promotional Video and The A-Z of Southampton SSAGO.
 Administering the Southampton SSAGO Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts. I've consistently posted custom promotional posts on each platform to advertise Southampton SSAGO.
 Uploading a variety of different types of social media posts, including #OnThisDay posts, trivia posts, fun posts and event posts.
 Managing the Southampton SSAGO Page on the SSAGO website.

 I've contributed to SSAGO planning at a national level outside of Build-A-Rally also, including...
 Working on acquiring summaries of each SSAGO Discord channel with Larah, the National SSAGO Archivist at the time.
 Working as part of the Minecraft Team for the SSAGO Minecraft Server.

 I've been a keen member of the Scouting movement for many years...
 I've been a member of the Scouting community since I joined Beavers at the age of 6- being part of Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorers, Network and SSAGO over the years.
 I volunteered as a Young Beaver Leader for over 4 years, improving my leadership and planning skills.
 I've shown great commitment to attending SSAGO events, and I'd love to further my passion for everything SSAGO as part of Team Pink!

What would I do as National Publicity Officer?

 Create new and engaging promotional videos for National SSAGO.
 As National Publicity Officer, I would create new, professional-looking promotional videos for the National SSAGO YouTube channel, as I did for Southampton SSAGO, inspired by the National SSAGO Promotional Video from 2016. I believe that a key strength of SSAGO is the diversity of activities we offer- there's something for everyone in SSAGO! My main Southampton SSAGO Promotional Video focused on this unique strength- with such a close-knit community of friendly Scouts and Guides from across the UK, there's nothing quite like SSAGO!

 Continuously publicise the awesome work that SSAGO clubs are undertaking!
 I will compose more frequent articles on the SSAGO website detailing recent events within SSAGO- including regular news updates, showcases of activities being carried out by local clubs, photos and videos of both Local SSAGO and National SSAGO events and various other posts to help the world see what is going on in SSAGO!

 Engage with and widely promote SSAGO projects.
 I will work with the SSAGO Project Teams (including Badges At Home, the SSAGO Podcast, SSAGO Get Active, Minecraft and more awesome teams) to showcase their brilliant work and encourage other people to get involved. I will also cooperate with the National SSAGO Archivist to add interesting articles about the history and traditions of SSAGO, so members can uncover more about the national movement that we love so much!

 Provide additional promotional materials to local SSAGO clubs.
 I will design new templates for SSAGO promotions which local SSAGO groups can share on their social media channels and at their respective universities. These templates can save time for promoters in SSAGO committees, so they can dedicate their time to making their club the best it can be, and each individual club will be able to customise the templates to fit their club's own brand image!

 Propose new awards for the annual SSAGO Awards Evening.
 I would like to introduce brand new SSAGO Awards alongside the Cutlery Cup and the Committee Colander, to celebrate the contributions of more dedicated SSAGO members at both a local and a national level.

 Cooperate with The Scout Association and Girlguiding UK to promote SSAGO to younger people.
 I believe that the gap between Explorers/Rangers and SSAGO is a key issue for SSAGO, as too many Scouts/Guides leave the movement at 18 and don't return. I believe that we can do more to raise awareness about SSAGO before people start their university lives-  so to encourage more young people to continue their Scouting or Guiding journey beyond Explorers/Rangers and join SSAGO, I will enthusiastically promote our movement in cooperation with TSA and Girlguiding UK on social media.

 Engage heavily with the SSAGO membership.
 I will communicate frequently with SSAGO members over various different platforms, including via the SSAGO Discord. I will listen to and act upon all feedback and suggestions from members of SSAGO throughout my term as Publicity Officer- I believe that it is vital for members of the SSAGO Exec to interact with other SSAGO members on a daily basis, and that we are only able to achieve our best if we are fully accountable to the entirety of the SSAGO membership. 

 Diversify the range of publicity channels SSAGO frequently uses.
 I will promote SSAGO more widely and via more social media channels than ever before, to ensure more people are aware of just how awesome SSAGO is! I will expand our usage of Instagram, Twitter and YouTube for publicity, as I have done with Southampton SSAGO.

Why should I be elected as National Publicity Officer?
 I have a wealth of past experience regarding SSAGO publicity, which I believe will help me succeed as National Publicity Officer.

 Via my development of previous promotional videos and social media campaigns, I have shown my commitment to dedicate tonnes of my spare time to promoting SSAGO!

 I'm friendly, approachable and passionate about all things SSAGO!

 As I have done as the Publicity Officer for Build-A-Rally 2020 and the Webmaster for Southampton SSAGO, I'll work my absolute hardest to make SSAGO as successful as it can possibly be!

Manifesto for Treasurer

Alex Banwell, Treasurer

Monday 22nd of February 2021

A bit about me:

• I’m Alex, a second year MEng Electronic Engineering student at the University of Southampton, and an active member of Southampton SSAGO.
• I have been the Southampton SSAGO Treasurer for the past year, and was joint Activities Officer for Build-A-Rally.
• I have been in Scouting ever since Beavers, and am still involved now!
• I took over as Southampton SSAGO Webmaster on my very first Freshers Camp after joining, and still have the same enthusiasm for furthering SSAGO as I did then

Aims while on the National SSAGO Exec:

• Finish turning SSAGO into a charity

  This has many benefits for SSAGO (e.g. improving the email system, being able to apply for grants/free software, and gift aid). This would cut some costs e.g. SSAGO normally spends about £550/year (£1000 this year) on website/digital infrastructure, which could be significantly reduced with free software.

• Decrease event costs

  For example, from initial research and calculations, SSAGO could buy a marquee, store this in self storage, and still recoup the cost of this within just 1-2 years, without even considering hiring it out to other groups. Self storage could also be used to store national kit (solving the issue of national kit going missing). This is a significant cost saving to SSAGO.

• Improve the efficiency of keeping SSAGO records, and transparency of what SSAGO is spending money on

  SSAGO members want to know where their membership costs and event costs go, so I intend to make this information freely available for membership and event costs. Also, once we become a charity we can access free accounting software through Charity Digital, which will make the record-keeping and report-producing process far less time-consuming.

• Improve access to National SSAGO for regions and smaller clubs

  National SSAGO should be more than just 4 events per year, so I intend to set up a SSAGO Innovation Fund to allow people with great ideas to be able to realise them, for example to make it easier for the Badges-At-Home team to loan the money to buy the badges. I also intend to improve access to National SSAGO for the regions, by providing the ability for regional events to access bank accounts and loans.

• Explore the option of partnerships with external companies

What benefits will I bring for...
...SSAGO Members?

• Reducing costs in the background will enable more money to be spent on things that matter to you!
• Improving transparency means that you can better see where your money is being spent.
• Exploring the option of partnerships with external companies, to provide useful discounts to SSAGO members (e.g. 25% off of OS maps, which has been done before).
• Better communications due to a more robust email system, to allow you to be better informed about National SSAGO and national events.
• Having a large National SSAGO marquee will mean that there will never be the need to have a ceilidh in a small, cramped space ever again!
• A SSAGO Innovation Fund will allow you to start projects that are important to you, with helpful financial support where needed.

…Club Committees?

• Better resources such as better access and easier to use emails, and access to Google Drive/Office 365 for all committees.
• Having a central store for national kit will allow us to have more national kit for loaning out to smaller clubs.

...Regions/Larger Events?

• Having more national kit will make it easier to run larger events, and especially having a marquee will allow us to run more popular SSAGO Support events.
• Having better access to loans and bank accounts will make it noticeably easier for regions to run events.
• With the increasing numbers of international attendees to rallies, having the ability to loan kit to them will be incredibly convenient for them- thus improving the participation rates of international members.
• Having partnerships with companies will allow event committees to access beneficial discounts e.g. on coaches, making it easier to plan an event.

Experience as Southampton SSAGO Treasurer:

• Changed Southampton's bank account provider from HSBC to MetroBank.
• Created detailed and easy-to-use spreadsheets which automatically calculate the expected bank balance to keep track of every penny spent.
• Produced an extensive summary report of all income and outgoings.
• Compiled Southampton SSAGO's full membership list for 2020/21.

Why I am the best person for the role of National SSAGO Treasurer:

• I have done a significant amount of research to be sure I can achieve my ambitious aims.

  I’ve read through all Exec minutes, and most of the Reps minutes, from the last 3 years, and have done a significant amount of research into Charity (CIO) Status, so that I can be confident that as National Treasurer I can quickly get started on completing my manifesto, as my plans are ambitious and very forward thinking.

• Experience being part of a virtual event committee (Build-A-Rally 2020).

  This will give me valuable insight into planning SSAGO events during the Covid-19 Pandemic, and some of the important decisions that have to be taken as a result of that, developing skills for the National Treasurer role.

• I have also had experience obtaining free software.

  I have obtained the free software referenced here through Charity Digital for my scout group, so I know which hoops to jump through to get it set up quickly.

• I am great at getting things done, and done well.

  My determination to get the new Southampton SSAGO bank account open before the end of the spring term (which with Covid-19 proved to be essential) shows this, and this will be useful in ensuring I can complete my ambitious manifesto.

• I am enthusiastic about everything to do with SSAGO!

  I’d love to play a part in helping SSAGO thrive both during the Covid-19 restrictions, and after they are lifted!

In conclusion, I intend to make SSAGO significantly better for all of you!

Manifesto for Secretary

Tom Webster, Secretary

Monday 22nd of February 2021

Hello, I'm Tom and am currently a second-year PhD student at Edinburgh, having previously been part of Cambridge SSAGO for my undergraduate I'm now part of the Indie Club. You may know me as:

• The 2019/20 Member's Officer on the national exec,
• The chair of the upcoming virtual Green Rally Yellow Rally,
• Part of the team behind the ScotNorth fresher's camp,
• The chair of 2018's Cambridge Duck Rally,
• Past Chair, Adventurous Activities Coordinator, Social Sec, and rep to Scouts, Guides and SSAGO for CUSAGC, 
• Someone who's been around SSAGO since 2014.

I'm running for Secretary as I want to make changes and provide some experience to the next executive, while much of the focus will be on safely transitioning SSAGO back to in-person events I want to focus on improving the engagement of the average SSAGO member with national SSAGO, including reviewing lots of the structure of national SSAGO with the aim to engage a much wider part of our membership. I think now is the time to do this as many of these changes are things that have been temporarily introduced with COVID or represent issues that have been exasperated by lockdowns and isolation. 

The past year has been "unprecedented" however I think we can learn a lot from the changes over the past year to make SSAGO into a more modern organisation that fits the demands of each of the thousand members across the country, whether they're part of an established club, working towards starting a new club or part of Indie and scattered across the country (or even the world). We've seen lots of new ideas and formats for adapting SSAGO to work in lockdown and I would like to consult members on incorporating lots of them into the 'new normal', this includes:

• Online Events
  While we all hope national events can resume in some form in the next year we've seen many inventive ideas to keep SSAGO going over lockdown, not only have these all been fun they've successfully engaged member's who haven't been to any in-person events and brought new people into SSAGO. I'd look to introduce an annual large virtual event into the SSAGO calendar which could be bidded for at the AGM. The suggested date for this would be late August/early September with the idea being it could link into the national advertising around results day and give clubs the chance to talk to freshers before they even reach university. The format of the event would be open to ideas from those bidding, 24-hours of constant activities, a week of more sporadic options or something in between, and will obviously be themed like other national events! 
• Taking Reps Online
  If we've learnt anything it's that zoom can be used for everything, so going forward I'd like to see more uses for national SSAGO. Taking reps online would take it from an early morning obligation into a truly representative process, with more clubs are able to engage. New clubs and those far away from in-person events not only struggle to attend rallies but this means they then miss out on being part of the reps process. Reps frequently miss activities on the Sunday morning of rally, removing them opens that space for event committees to try something new on Sunday mornings which everyone can take part in. The exec also have more free time at events to engage with members instead of planning out and attending reps.
• New Reps Schedule
  If Reps moves online I'd look to introduce a 4 meeting a year schedule with meetings happening around February, May, August and November each year. Having four evenly spaced meetings hopefully makes each shorter. This schedule also places a meeting shortly before each rally, allowing reps to better hold events to account as they have plans in place and can make changes. Currently, events update 3 months when there are few details available and on Sunday when it's nearly over. A fourth 'new' meeting in August fits would allow reps the chance to discuss national publicity plans for results day and projects the exec has been working on over the summer.
• Discord
  As something created as I left exec the Discord is something I feel has benefited lots of people, including me, over the last lockdown and has provided many members with their first exposure of national SSAGO and formed many cross-club friendships usually exclusive to those attending national events. As exec I'd look to put more of the management of the server into the hands of the community, forming a Discord Project who could take on the day to day running from Oli and organise events on the server. While in the next year many of us may be able to go back to regular in-person activities there will always be indie members, those away on placements and people who may appreciate the more flexible online meetings possible on Discord. 
• Online AGM?
  I'd review how this online election went and if it is successful and increases voter engagement I'd consult on moving the AGM online permanently. There are 1000 members in SSAGO and the majority of those that vote are those able to attend in-person events. An online AGM means people anywhere in the UK can vote, avoiding any geographic bias in the results and includes new clubs and indies who may struggle to attend in-person the same access to voting. The majority of members don't attend the AGM, so how can they be represented? An online AGM would also allow us to consider moving towards a ranked-choice vote in national elections compared to the current first past the post system.

There are also lots of general tasks I'd like to accomplish which I feel will help SSAGO function even better than before:

• Redefine Projects
  Currently, SSAGO has lots of projects but also lots of part-finished things from past execs. With an annual exec turnover, handing over long term tasks every year leads to no progress being made. I'd like to redefine projects and assistants (or project leaders) to be for this purpose, in this system the exec could create a project group, led by an assistant, who'd report to the exec and reps, and could make progress without the loss of continuity. Some of these projects will be ongoing, like the existing archives, shop, web team and international projects, others could be set up with a fixed end goal in mind. There'd also be scope to involve the project leads in relevant exec meetings, promoting transparency and creating more experienced candidates for exec positions. Using this system the right people can complete each task and allowing members to join these project groups gives new avenues to shape SSAGO as a member. (There could also be project badges...)
• Charity Status 
  Talking of unfinished projects, the operation of becoming a charity has been ongoing for nearly 4 years. I think this is the ideal use case for a new project and would look to appoint a Charity Assistant to lead the constitutional updates and finally finish this task. Becoming a charity would provide lots of benefits to SSAGO however it needs someone's dedicated attention and isn't compatible with also being a full-time member of the exec.
• Welfare, Access and Inclusion
  I'd also look to create a new project looking into welfare, access and inclusion within SSAGO and ensure we're doing everything we can to proactively include people. There are lots of separate issues this project should look at including improving the diversity within SSAGO, increasing the accessibility of national events with guidance to event committees and reviewing the membership eligibility requirements regarding qualification levels which can be off-putting to those studying at less traditional universities or studying for Foundation Degrees and higher-level apprenticeships  The project would be able to report on it's suggestions to the exec and we can begin to introduce changes as new policy is drafted when the project explores each of the different issues.
• Events
  With a year so far without in-person events, there will be lots of support required to guide people about COVID restrictions in the short-term and in the long-term support event committees who are less experienced with national events organise their own. I'd see this being achieved through the group meetings lead by the events officer and attended by all events, plus individuals who join the events project. These meetings can help share best practices and experiences and is also available to support special events, like Witan and Reunions, Regional events and club events. I'm happy to lend my experience with in-person and virtual events to this too.
• Training
  The National Executive has no training and this has at times shown in responses to incidents and contingency planning. Through the SSAGO Active Support Unit, we have access to scout training modules which would be compulsory for a similar manager role in Scouting, as well as courses that are offered by Students Unions. I'd look to work with scouting to design a list of modules exec members would have to validate, this could include training on management, mental health, unconscious bias and role-specific training on topics like public relations. This training could also be offered to club and event committees too.
• Exec Review
  I'd look to review the current exec roles and descriptions to see what could be done to encourage more candidates, considering creating new roles and having a longer handover period of 6 months where the exec-elect act as understudies while completing the training and having the role handed over. I'd also look to close the loop-hole which allows current exec to run again, even if they're not a student, this should either be stopped entirely or eligibility to run extended to everyone that graduated in the last year. There are lots of models for how this could work based on how students unions structure their executive and handover, as they suffer similar problems to national SSAGO with membership turnover.
• Website
  Encourage the development of the website and look at ways to make this more sustainable going forwards, including working with SAGGA or our international counterparts to broaden the pool of people able to develop the site. Also, look at adding new features like a page to highlight "clubs in formation" which have some interested members but are looking for more committee or members to get started. 
• No Confidence
  The current system of no-confidence votes isn't really fit for purpose, I'd set up a form on the website to allow members to express no-confidence and update the constitution so there was an independent party who could manage the no-confidence process independently from the exec and manage the hand over of the bank accounts. While this should hopefully never be needed having a process in place gives members the confidence to use it and means no-confidence motions could be brought without being pushed by a small group of members. 
• Communication
  With all the work that goes into being on exec, I think it's also important to spend time to communicate what it is that's been done that week. While on exec I plan to publish regular updates of what I've been doing each week, that may be "typed lots of minutes from a great exec meeting", sometimes "oh god uni deadlines" and hopefully at least one "gone camping, no wifi"! These will be my first Facebook status updates since November 2014 but I think some insight into what the exec does is needed. I also think the current online events provide a great advantage to the national exec to 'virtually visit' clubs and I'd love to explore ways to better engage the membership with the national exec, both virtually and in-person.

While there are lots of goals here the review of membership and exec can be discussed by reps to identify which areas are most important to prioritise and using the revitalised project system the longer-term goals can be set up in a way they won't get discarded at the next exec handover. Overall I hope to create a foundation for SSAGO to be able to continue to grow and make progress towards being more inclusive and accessible to members across the UK.

As a bonus, here are some photos of me being SSAGOey!

If you want to know my views on some of the wider issues within SSAGO, beyond the role of secretary, which may come up while I'm on exec:

• Events in the Short Term
  I'm in favour of electing a virtual event to take place in June/July in replacement of Rali Cymru and Witan and a "first event back" with no set date to begin the 12-month planning process for an in-person event at an EGM as soon as possible. While events can be planned faster I feel allowing them the most amount of time ensures these events are still up to the high standards of past events and don't feel rushed or under-planned. I also feel wider membership should have had more of a say on the potential options if further postponements are required.
• Membership Review
  For members who don't attend national events, the £4 charge can be hard to see the benefits of and it can cause clubs to lose out on membership to other societies which can offer free membership. Even though clubs get a free year it often takes much longer for members to attend their first national event and for those part of a local Network and Inspire group it can be an off-putting part of joining both. I'd consult on moving some of the membership fees onto national event fees, for instance, a 10% increase in event fees going towards membership costs would raise a similar amount to the £4 fee. The current system encourages clubs to under-report their membership by omitting members who don't attend national events and forces the member's officer to spend time policing this. These unofficial members who aren't listed aren't able to vote in national elections or join in with the free virtual events that have been happening.
• Regions
  I feel with many past execs (including myself) having tried to implement regions there's no model which will satisfy all clubs. I'd support a more flexible approach, where clubs could opt to join multiple regions to avoid problems with clubs at the boundary of two regions. I'd also like to give more exec support to regional events, however feel with official support and accounts members should be given more say in choosing the events.
• National Kit

  I am against expanding the amount of equipment national SSAGO owns, with the uncertainty about national events in the coming year I don't feel now is the time to be making big purchases. If SSAGO were to buy equipment it'd either put pressure on individuals to transport it to events or events to organise collecting it. Ultimately it'd only be beneficial to a small number of clubs that are close to where it's stored. I'd rather see a system developed to let clubs loan their equipment out and support each other. As members officer I organised for Sheffield to spare loan tents to indies and internationals at Roman Rally and an area of the website clubs could advertise equipment available would make this even easier and the exec could look how to cover damage to loaned equipment in case any incidents arise.

• Coronavirus

  While I'd like to be optimistic, I feel that coronavirus will continue to be a risk to national SSAGO over the next year and beyond. I've already outlined lots of digital changes I would make which would safeguard SSAGOs future in case of a snap lockdown in future, while this may cause an event cancellation, it won't affect any of the democratic processes. I'd also look to ensure there are clear guidelines as and when in-person events can resume in each region. Having drawn up contingency plans for Green Rally Yellow Rally back in April I've already considered several options for how in-person events could look under different coronavirus restrictions which I'd aim to discuss with the events project.

• Links with Scouting, Guiding and SAGGA

  I think maintaining and developing links with all three organisations is important however, having worked closely with all three before as a member of the exec and chair of two national events, there is only so much SSAGO can do without more reciprocation from them. I'd ensure Guiding and Scouting were always offered the same opportunities to engage with and be part of SSAGO and offer more opportunities to SAGGA to be visibly part of events. I'd also work on also promoting SSAGO to adults in scouting and guiding, highlighting stats about our retention of explorers and rangers after turning 18, our work on support events and the leadership skills SSAGO develops. This will hopefully increase demands internally for national Scouting and Guiding to work with us and give us a permanent source of advertising from ranger and explorer leaders.

Manifesto for Members Officer

Rose Moran, Members

Monday 22nd of February 2021

Hello SSAGO!

I'm Rose and I am currently in my 3rd year at Keele University studying Mathematics. Over the last few years, I have found SSAGO to be incredibly rewarding and have loved creating a wide network of friendships across the UK.

As the president of Keele SSAGO this year, I have worked hard to make sure our club is inclusive to all members of SSAGO as well as working alongside other committees within the Midlands and across the UK to provide exciting events for everyone!

Another way I have kept engaged with different members is through my work as a host of 'This is SSAGO' the official SSAGO podcast. I've been working with the SSAGO podcast for the last 6 months now and I have found it a great way to engage with new people from a variety of clubs and talk to them about what they care about within SSAGO. If I become members officer for this next year, I would love to continue to work alongside the podcast team and to use the podcast to both connect SSAGO members that would not have necessarily met otherwise, as well as using it as a tool to engage with younger members within Scouting and Guiding.

Here our a few of my goals for the future of SSAGO:

• Supporting smaller clubs and independent members:

With everything being virtual, I know that it has been incredibly difficult to keep up engagement with members, especially with smaller groups. Therefore, over the last year, I have made it a goal to be as inclusive as possible with Keele SSAGO’s programme and meetings. I have done this by opening our weekly meeting to all members and this has worked with great success. In the future I would like to encourage other clubs to take this strategy with their virtual meetings as well as any in person events happening in the future. I've found virtual meetings to be a great way to connect with new people from a variety of clubs and I would like to continue to attend as many club meetings as possible to provide a more informal and welcoming line of communication between exec and SSAGO members.

I understand that getting in contact with another club, even if they close by, can be a very daunting task if you don't already have links within your clubs. That is why I want to work hard to encourage clubs, especially smaller ones, to participate in both national and regional events in addition to supporting smaller spontaneous events between neighbouring clubs.

• Uniting Regions:

Making sure that all members have ways to connect with others within their regions and to support more informal regional events separate from Freshers camps etc. A good way that the Midlands did this in September was to run a pre-fresher event to help freshers to meet people before going to University and to give them any advice they may need. I also assisted in creating the Midlands discord server which has come in handy for regional game nights and promoting club activities.

• Online events and meetings:

As said before I have found virtual meetings and events a great way to connect with new and different members and although we all hope to safely return to face to face within the next year, I hope to continue SSAGO’s virtual presence and will continue to encourage groups of members to independently run events such as the ‘Steps into Christmas with SSAGO’ event and events run on the Minecraft server.

• Being a friendly face:

Lastly, and most importantly, I would like to be a friendly face that anyone within SSAGO can talk to. It can sometimes seem really intimidating talking to exec and that is something I would like to change. Whether you want to run an event but have no one to help or you’re an indie member that wants to meet new people but doesn’t know how, let me know! A good way to keep lines of communication between members and the exec is to keep you updated on what is happening within exec, either through an email newsletter or by someone checking in over messenger. I hope to be that person for you!

February 2021 update

Brittany Long, Secretary

Sunday 21st of February 2021

Report

• Meetings and Minutes: Attended a lot of these, including meetings with Scouting, SAGGA and the Dutch Studentenscouting team. (We've been trying to coordinate something with Girlguiding, and are making progress!).
• Factsheets: Made a lot of updates to factsheets and reorganised them on the website to hopefully make things easier to find. Very keen for your feedback on these changes if you use the factsheets!
• New Archivist: Helped Larah to recruit our new archivist, Charlotte. We're very excited to have her and Conni on the team, and I'm sure they'll be amazing in their new roles.
• Admin: I've been doing lots of admin behind the scenes to prepare for handover - tidying up our Google Drive space and finishing off half completed projects to make things clear for the next Exec.

Aims

• Handover: I've been working hard to put together a proper handover document to make the next secretary's life as easy as possible, as well as general Exec handover guidance of all the things I've learned this year!

February 2021 update

Charlotte Simmons, Archivist (Incoming)

Sunday 21st of February 2021

Report

• Handover: I am currently in the process of attending handover training sessions with Larah to learn about the role, having been appointed in January.
• Guidance document: I have worked with Larah to produce a guidance document for clubs wanting to set their own archives up.
• Meeting with Clubs: Larah and I met with Liverpool to discuss their plans for setting up and archive in preparation for their anniversary celebrations next year. I am, of course, happy to meet with other clubs to discuss archives as well.

Aims

• Handover: Continue handover sessions with Larah to learn more about the role.
• Projects: Spend the next few months thinking about projects that I would like to run as I take over the role properly.
• Physical archives: Whenever I am allowed (post covid), I intend to visit the physical collection that we have at Gilwell Park, and to ensure that any items that need to be deposited are.
• Working with clubs: I would like to continue to work with clubs to help them to develop their archives - so if you'd like me to meet with you, please do get in touch.
• Digital archive: continue to develop the digital archive project.

February 2021 update

Amy Franklin, Members

Saturday 20th of February 2021

Report

• International Officer: Since the last update a new International Officer has been elected, Conni! The International Officer reports to the Members Officer so I have had a meeting with her and started to support her with an exciting project
• Membership Fees: The most important and time consuming part of my role! The last few months of my life have been taken over by reviewing membership submissions, requesting updates, sorting invoices, creating a new way of paying for membership and lots of nagging!
• Contacting potentials: Throughout the year I have been helping members who don’t specify a club on the website by connecting them with their relevant local club (or the Indies!) This has also involved clearing up hundreds and hundreds of spam that is entered into the join us form on the website.
• Tidy up of membership info on the website: Alongside ensuring clubs are keeping their membership information up to date on the website, through their membership submissions, I have been doing a general tidy up of all the membership information on the website. Unfortunately this has involved the closing of several clubs some new, some that have been dead a while, by removing all their members (and encouraging them to sign up as Indies) and helping archive any resources the clubs may have that could be useful if the club were to restart in the future. I have also been sorting through a list of “naughty” members who are down as Full Members but with graduation years in the past (or sometimes no graduation year at all!), alongside clearing up the potentials list as above.
• Indie/Associate Rep Support: The Indie and Associate Reps are now settling well into their roles and I have just been there to support their plans. Some of the most exciting plans being the new Indie Necker and badges which look amazing
• Meetings: Attended lots of meetings with the rest of the Exec, Team Pink, events, SAGGA (and probably more I have forgotten)

Aims

• Handover: I have been putting a lot of work into ensuring a smooth and thorough handover for the next Members Officer. This has involved a big tidy up (as spoken about below) and an update to the fabulous handover document passed down from the last few Members Officers. I will continue to update the document with probably too much detail (it’s gone from 2 to 9 pages and I am nowhere near finished!) and plan how to work with the new Officer once they have been elected.
• Tidy up of membership info on the website: I aim to continue to tidy up the website in the ways listed in the “What I have done since the last update” section as this is a massive undertaking and I want it to be nice and fresh and tidy for the new Members Officer
• Final Membership Fees: Most clubs have now submitted and paid membership but there are a couple of clubs who have needed extra support and are still yet to pay. I wish to help support these clubs and get their payments through before handover
• Potential New Club: One of my favourite parts of my role has been setting up new clubs and I am excited to say I might have time to fit 1 more in before my term ends!
• Updating Club closing procedure: Having closed several clubs recently, it has become apparent that there is no clear process for collecting all of their resources and archiving them in a way that is accessible to anyone wishing to restart the club in the future. I am working with the Archivists and intend to start this process with the most recently closed clubs that I am still in contact with