CIC Workstreams

[divas]

Keep hearing a lot about governance and strategy and whilst both important for me the one that's not been mentioned but is of the greatest importance is communication.

The CIC board are asking for help but at no point last night as far as i'm aware was any information given on how to get in touch.

There simply has to be a clear line of communication for anyone interested in helping out to contact in the initial stages, that must then be expanded to field queries from CIC members who frankly, to this point have been shoddily treat. We can not afford, as has happened previously, to have people contact us offering help only for the information to be lost or ignored.

There must be a clear email and telephone line set up to field these enquiries and ensure that all offers of help are logged in a single place, with a standardised template to fill in capturing skills etc.

It's a relatively simple solution but can be quite time consuming and laborious which I guess is why no-one from the top table has picked it up yet. If anyone is looking at how they can help but not sure why I urge you to look at this area. I communicated with Christophano last night who was keen on getting involved in this and by the sounds of it this may also be something quakersam would be interested in.

I can arrange to get get a simple web form set up which will allow people to add their own details and also people who would field calls, emails and F2F enquiries at the retail shop to one central location which is easily interrogated.

Going forwards the comms team could then be responsible on a monthly basis for going around each working group and getting an update on all activities to then present as a newsletter to all CIC members.

An overview of the monthly governance meeting with the football club board must also be included, only then will more people sign up to the CIC, which at £100 a head is a great source of revenue.

I did have a little chuckle about forms being available for people to sign up at the next match - until the CIC's image is repaired i can't see anyone breaking their necks to sign up - hopefully the certificates come out in the next week as promised and that can be the first big step towards an organisation that people feel they have to be a part of.

[Trike1]

pretty much agree with whats been said above
for volunteering tho wouldnt it be better to state whats needed and what you would be required to do? that way people know what there getting into and can make a more informed decision? maybe even a jobs board or something with a list of whats needed and people can apply. just an idea

[super_les_mcjannet]

I get the impression your going to have to put yourself forward and the role will develop around you as will the CIC.

I like the idea of knowing exactly what you will be signing up for but I think this is one of those times when you are going to jump on board and develop/mould what you do.

Divas hits one nail right on the head, communication. Get a team together and empower them to crack on with the job. The question still stands however is who has the final say on communications. Full democracy of the CIC board wouldn't work, so you need someone who is allowed responsibility and can make decisions and they have a comms team who work on these things.

[Ingleby]

Now that Caulker is a CIC director, is it ok we keep giving his Legal Firm thousands in fees?

They may say this is at a discounted rate (really?) but seems an unhealthy conflict of interest to me.

Sure others will disagree.

[divas]

pretty much agree with whats been said above
for volunteering tho wouldnt it be better to state whats needed and what you would be required to do? that way people know what there getting into and can make a more informed decision? maybe even a jobs board or something with a list of whats needed and people can apply. just an idea

In an ideal world yes, but as SLM mentions, it looks as though that just won't be the case. We're little further forward than where we were 6 months ago with this, so we just need to crack on and do stuff i think is the message.

I could sit and list at least 5 or 6 work streams that would be needed going forwards if needs be?

SLM also makes a good point in that while we can set these things up, there doesn't appear to be anyone who has the final say on things. I see this as being the strategy workstream, where a number of people will sit and will decide on ideas being fed into them. This is likely to be made up of the CIC board members.

[mikkyx]

Do we need to get the volunteer register on here up and running again - but do it differently this time? I'm thinking maybe a special CIC forum, with a thread for each workstream. People can then go and post in the thread applicable to the workstream they believe they can contribute to.

Workable?

[LoidMaitland]

Now that Caulker is a CIC director, is it ok we keep giving his Legal Firm thousands in fees?

They may say this is at a discounted rate (really?) but seems an unhealthy conflict of interest to me.

Sure others will disagree.

You mean Cawkwell? But, yeah, it is a little strange that he is now his own client. And they do say that a man who is his own laywer has a fool for a client.

[MKDarlo]

Mikkyx - a good idea. Thansk for all the tweets last night. V helpful

@Ingleby - If legal fees for a complex takeover/purchase/rescue were capped at £50k we got a very good deal. 4 times as much would be a good deal tbh.

[Tori_Gill]

Do we need to get the volunteer register on here up and running again - but do it differently this time? I'm thinking maybe a special CIC forum, with a thread for each workstream. People can then go and post in the thread applicable to the workstream they believe they can contribute to.

Workable?

There are a couple of NL FC websites (although I can't find them) where there is a tab for 'volunteers'. It's a drop down box for each area of concern and you need to populate with contact info and send off. I think that would be more straight forward to do, depends if Kev can set it up. Might be able to adapt the contact box for example. Just a thought.

[Ingleby]

Now that Caulker is a CIC director, is it ok we keep giving his Legal Firm thousands in fees?

They may say this is at a discounted rate (really?) but seems an unhealthy conflict of interest to me.

Sure others will disagree.

You mean Cawkwell? But, yeah, it is a little strange that he is now his own client. And they do say that a man who is his own laywer has a fool for a client.

Yes sorry. Just doesn't sit right. Maybe unpaid officially in his role but every time we seek his advice we could end up with another Muckle bill at the door.

[Ingleby]

Mikkyx - a good idea. Thansk for all the tweets last night. V helpful

@Ingleby - If legal fees for a complex takeover/purchase/rescue were capped at £50k we got a very good deal. 4 times as much would be a good deal tbh.

50k is not the only fees paid to them so far though are they.

I'm not disputing the actual fees I'm saying its a conflict of interest now he is a director of the CIC.

[charlie]

To be honest before you get involved you have no idea what your capable of, my personal work experience is care work, not organising fundraising events and when I look at the last year and seen what our group have accomplished I`m very proud to be part of it. We`ve developed contacts over the last year that can only be took forward and made better. You may end up involved in something you had no idea you were capable of, and lets face it on a personal note it looks good on your cv.

[Alfie]

One of the problems with the workstreams seems to be getting them started - once up and running they should generate their own momentum, pretty much like the existing DFC fundraising group. In addition to the suggestions for volunteer registers etc, would it be possible - puts more work on the people already in the CIC unfortunately - to set up a series of initial meetings - one for each workstream - and just announce say 'the initial meeting for workstream x will be held at xxx on zzzz'. An informal session introduced by a member of the CIC team to set out rough objectives, terms of reference etc - all to be refined and developed over time. Just see who turns up and take it from there and set up further sessions - other volunteers can join up as it progresses - if nobody appears then we know where we stand and will have to try another route to getting things done.

[Trike1]

id love to contribute and help but due to work family ect my time is limited (unless i can sneak some of it in work time lol)

hencewhy seeing whats required would be better for me

[charlie]

Lol Trike1, you seen my rota? You would be surprised what you can fit in. I`m sure whats needed will become clear

[divas]

id love to contribute and help but due to work family ect my time is limited (unless i can sneak some of it in work time lol)

hence why seeing whats required would be better for me

In that case i suggest if we run with Mikky's great idea you pop into one of the work stream threads to see if there are any little jobs that need doing.

[Tori_Gill]

This is what I was referring too:

http://www.fc-utd.co.uk/m_volunteer.php

Speaking from previous experience, scrolling down long lists and through pages is a bit of a nightmare.

[divas]

Do we need to get the volunteer register on here up and running again - but do it differently this time? I'm thinking maybe a special CIC forum, with a thread for each workstream. People can then go and post in the thread applicable to the workstream they believe they can contribute to.

Workable?

I think so.

Can't remember what form the volunteer register took in the past, but it really needs to be an online form that people can enter:

Name, Contact No, Email, Skills etc.

It must be the central source used which people can add themselves on, or if any offers come via the shop, at the stadium, over the phone, or by email, someone can log-on on that persons behalf and store the data. A central database is key to what we need to achieve.

Once some work streams are going it would be great to have one thread per work stream. I see each work stream as having a chair - nothing formal, and a number of other more permanent members. However as work load fluctuates there may be a need for other to help out with odd jobs - this would be a great place to ask for help for the odd day.

For instance from a commercial perspective we had a time where we were ringing round inviting businesses to our kick off event - we needed all the help we could get. Those people who don't have the time/inclination to be a permanent member of a work stream (like Trike1) can pick through the little jobs that need doing.

[divas]

Tori has been me to it.

Yes, something exactly like FCUM. Selectable categories rather than free text helps loads when searching for someone.

[mikkyx]

I'll get those threads set up tonight to start us off then. Fundraising, supporter engagement, governance, strategy... what others? Forgotten already!

[Ingleby]

So what would the volunteers in the workstream of governance be doing exactly?

[super_les_mcjannet]

So what would the volunteers in the workstream of governance be doing exactly?

It's a good question. I would assume governing the CIC and Club however again I don't think they will be a full remit if you put yourself forward. Some people need to get in there and start outlining what/how they think it's going to work.

Would this be regular financial updates of the CIC/Club managing that flow of imformation. How far would governance spread into the CIC, would this group become the mainstay of decision making/point of contact.

[divas]

Governance is basically the work stream to which the 1883 board will be accountable - updates will have to be provided monthly on the financial goings on etc at the club.

I have a feeling both the governance work stream will be heavily locked down to just the CIC board members.

[TFDM]

I'll have a look at adding the contact form into the site over the next few days.

I'll add a database to the computer at home and input the details into that. Wary of storing the volunteer details on-line (the last thing the club needs is to be embroiled in a hacking).

Powers that be can then just drop me an email and I'll produce required lists based on what people have entered. That should do us for the time being.

[super_les_mcjannet]

Governance is basically the work stream to which the 1883 board will be accountable - updates will have to be provided monthly on the financial goings on etc at the club.

I have a feeling both the governance work stream will be heavily locked down to just the CIC board members.

I can see a reasoning for this but it's a scenario as a fan base and personally that has not been accepted fully and I do believe we need a strong fan influence. The problem is as soon as a fan goes on any board we see them as board members and not fans. Not sure how you get to be on the board but still be classed as a fan.

Maybe the Governance report financials each month to a group of say 10/12 supporters so you can get a varied selection, would we want minutes released I would certainly like to see them. (all about open/honest).

[mikkyx]

OK, the subforum is now set up:
viewforum.php?f=16

Can someone who's got a bit more time than me this morning please set up one thread for each workstream, and then later on I (or whoever does this) can post a thread here in VF asking for volunteers to go to each one. If you want to post a topic on how the workstreams etc. will work, who to contact etc. then please do so and I will sticky this to the top of that subforum.

[Trike1]

Cmon guys there's been plenty said about lack of communication etc the work streams are on the forum put your name down if you feel you can help