Creating a growth plan
Looking to strengthen and grow guiding in your local area? Create a growth plan to get started
We want more girls to benefit from guiding, and making a plan for growth is a sure way to see that happen.
Sometimes recruitment can feel like firefighting – filling a gap here, saving a unit from closing there – but creating a growth plan is all about making sure guiding in your area stays strong and healthy without any surprises. Plus it will put you in a position to keep growing, and then you’ll see more and more girls earning badges, trying out adventurous activities and having the time of their lives.
We’ve created a handy booklet and supporting tools to help you and your local team – whether at unit, district, division or county – to plan for growth. You can use them to:
- Work out exactly how many girls and volunteers you need
- Identify where in your local area you need to recruit
- Predict when you might need more volunteers
- Decide what actions you need to take to strengthen and grow membership in your area
- Work as a team on recruitment and retention of young members and volunteers
Talk to your commissioner to find out if there are any wider plans to grow membership in your area and if they can help you.
Start with our growth planner
Give the booklet a read. You don’t need to fill in the whole thing. It’s been designed to dip in and out of depending on your area's needs – whether it’s waiting lists, recruiting more volunteers or encouraging girls to move up to the next section.
Why not use it to start a conversation at your area meeting or event. Or to work with your local unit teams and with wider volunteers who support growth and retention. For example, those who manage enquiries, develop local training or do local press and marketing.
If you'd like a copy of the booklet in an editable Word document, get in touch with your country or region office.
Get the data you need
Using membership numbers will help you plan for growth. You can get most data through GO. If you hold a level support or commissioner role you’ll be able to see reports for your level and role. A GO statistical summary report or an enquiry report is a really helpful starting point. Don’t forget your own local knowledge is invaluable too.
Tools to help you create a growth plan
Growth plan template - Write down your goals, plan ahead and put together a great team to strengthen and grow guiding in your area.
Volunteers and girls in your area spreadsheet - Work out if units in your area have enough volunteers, if there are long waiting lists or if there are groups that could take more girls or opportunities for girls to move onto the next section.
Tracking and transitions resources
Membership tracking tool - Record your girl and volunteer membership over time. It'll help you think about where to focus your time, as well as show the impact your growth work is having on your local membership numbers.
Moving up and moving on - This is a great tool we’ve borrowed from Scouting Nederlands. It'll help you look at the movement of girls (and volunteers) in and out of a unit or area.
Transitions plan - This template action plan is designed to encourage more girls to continue their guiding adventure. Thank you for sharing this Girlguiding North West England team!
