Reinier Folkerts & Robert Landheer Saturday 22nd 2014 Activate and engage your members! Reinier Folkerts & Robert Landheer Saturday 22nd 2014

To start… This session is meant as a conversation, its not a lecture about how to do things! Member activation can be controlled. Why did you become a member? Why did you became an active member? What kind of problems do you have concerning activating members? Or do you mostly have problems recruiting members? Our experiences with member activation

Session outline Session goals What is member activation? The Moldovan and Dutch context Some knowledge of member activation Best practices from the Netherlands

Session goals What would you like to learn? To provide you with insights on member activation from the Netherlands… And to combine these insights with your own knowledge, and to make that applicable to your own situation. But most of all: awareness of activation!

What is member activation? A (political) association needs members/volunteers to attain its goals Goals? What kind of goals? Representing youth Educating youth to become better politicians Political influence After recruiting members, those members need to be activated: join in activities, take positions in committees and boards, publish papers and articles, and train new members.

The Moldovan and Dutch context The Netherlands: About 5500 members, an estimated 5-10% active (consuming and organizing members) Active members are usually students, between the age of 18-25 Decentralized structure: most activities and active members are on a local or regional level. This is because the Netherlands is a low-density city. There’s 10 local/regional branches, and a number of national teams and commitees. Member activation is mostly achieved in these local branches.

The Moldovan and Dutch context So what does a local branch typically do? Usually a weekly or bimonthly activity: guest speakers, debate, training. Governed by a local board: usually about 5-7 people. Usually a number of committees: political or organizational.

The Moldovan and Dutch context So how does this overlap the Moldovan context/culture? Who are your members? Where are your active members? How do your members participate? How can you describe the organization as a whole? How is your organization governed?

Experiences of member activation The experiences on which this presentation is based are mostly on a local level But they do apply on other groups of people than just local branches. Types of groups, teams or branches Types of members What kind of practical things are relevant to member activation?

Knowledge: types of teams Inactive: something has been established, but there is no real activity Somewhat active: there’s active members – enough to support one or two teams. Activation is still an issue. Active: stable and moderately high attendance, multiple sub-groups Hyperactive: too much members – the organization needs to divide its ‘cells’ (at X number of team members, split the group)

Knowledge: types of teams How you do you recognize your groups in this?

Knowledge: types of members Comatose Sleeping Consuming Active Hyperactive ‘Furniture’

Knowledge: types of members Do you recognize these categories? There’s different strategies to involve every type of member: New-member days Ask to chair a committee Ask an older member to advise you

Best practices from the Netherlands Reach your members Involve your members Befriend your members Mentor your members

Reach your members Know who your members are: use a database Welcome new members by e-mail Telephone your members: ask them if they want to come sometimes Promote your activities: keynote speakers, social get- togethers Know where your members are located Arrange your organization to facilitate this!

Involve your members Facebook group: discuss news, invite for activities, track people who don’t show up and contact them. Organize activities that your members like Be continuous, be predictable: people will show up sooner if, for example, an activity is organized every Monday in the same cafe Ask your members to take seat in a commission: organizational or political Make their membership prestigious!

Befriend your members Members are not just ‘business contacts’, they are part of your social circle Remember your members: their name, their interests, who does and doesn’t show up, contact your members personally. Do something fun! Have a drink after an activity, organize a social activity, see members outside of the frame of your organization

Mentor your members Stimulate and monitor the (political) career of your members Show them what’s what Introduce them to others Help them find their place To help their career: Recognize their talents Recognize potential board members Motivate them for a next step in their (political) career

Exercise Imagine one of your local or regional branch with a clean slate, what are you going to do? Members: who and where are they? Organization structure: committees? How can your members progress? Board: what will they do for activation? Communication: how will you stay in touch? Activities: brainstorm what you can do for a diverse crows Social activities: what can you do besides just political activities? Present the plan of your local branch to your peers!

What can you use? How can this be applied to the Moldovan context? How to further organize member activation in Moldova? The location of your members is something to think about when determining a central/decentralised structure.