Last year, the National Sea Scout Committee wrote and approved a strategy map for the Sea Scout strategic plan. We selected some of the strategic plan elements for emphasis in 2016 and have already begun working on achieving some important milestones. Since the Commodore’s Corner hasn’t been in existence very long, we haven’t received many inquiries; but we will use the Q and A format to discuss this and future topics.
Why do we even need a strategic plan?
The NSSSC has been working to support the Sea Scouts, BSA program over the years; addressing a number of urgent and important issues. We’ve had a long list of additional important ideas that have been on our mental to-do-list that were sometimes crowded out by urgency. The purpose of the strategic plan strategy is to gather those ideas in one place and start to tackle these big issues.
If strategic planning is so important, why didn’t we do this before?
Every organization should have a thoughtful plan for the future. The BSA motto is “Be Prepared.” Even in the absence of a strategic plan, the NSSSC has been acting with “strategic intent” in a number of areas. Examples are: Celebrating the Sea Scout Centennial, adding new training courses, improving existing training courses, authorizing the New Century Universal Uniform, revising the Sea Scout program and advancement requirements–including adding paddle sports, updating the Sea Scout Manual, and requesting the BSA National Board to designate Sea Scouts as a “full up” program along with Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts, and Venturing.
What are the strategic plan priority areas for 2016?
There are five main priorities for 2016:
- Grow New Ships.
- Grow Membership.
- Retain Existing Ships and Members.
- Recruit New Adult Leaders.
- Communications.
What specific items are included in the strategic plan priorities for 2016?
The complete list is available for download here.
How does the strategic plan align with the Chief Scout Executive’s business plan?
The Chief Scout Executive’s guidance to all of the BSA membership and staff is: “Membership, membership, membership!” You can see from the answers above that our priority areas for 2016 are in alignment with the CSE’s business plan.
How can I submit a question to the Commodore’s Corner?
Send your question to: ; or click here. We’ll answer the most frequent or urgent questions in a future edition of the Commodore’s Corner.
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Subscribe to the Commodore’s Corner via the National Sea Scout Distribution list here.
In the meantime, #SeaScouts let’s #getonthewater,
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