The Attractive Scouting Group

1. The Attractive Scouting Group The Danish Scout and Guide Association has received an extending report concerning what characterizes the Scouting-life of Attractive Scouting Groups. The report is made in 2005-06 by an analyzing bureau called Copenhagen Economics and has been financed by Friluftsrådet [The Outdoor Council] – which also means that we will share these results with other outdoor organizations.

2. Background anddefinition • The reportwas made because 40 % of the groups in The Danish guide and scout association number of members has risen for the last 10 years. • We wanted to know what they did and we wanted to learn from it. • What is an Attractive Scouting Group? An Attractive Group is one that has a lot of member and is able to retain them, but this definition is relative to a great lot of exterior factors. Therefore Copenhagen Economics has created a fictive memberships number for each scouting group due to socioeconomic statistics such as income level, number of children in the area, population density, education level and the number of other scouting groups in the area – both from our own organization and from other organizations. The Attractive Scouting Group is therefore one that has a higher number of members than the fictive calculationimplies.

3. Datacollection • Database • number of members in1990-2005 • Identification of The Attractive scouting groups • questionnaire survey • Whats the common feature and whats the difference between the ”middel-group” and ”the Top50” • Focus groups interviews • concrete historyon the groups scouting Foto: Erik Gunst Lund

4. Take the scouts choice seriously ! • It’s an active choice to be member of an scout group • The Attractive Scouting groups refuse to compromise • There is a lot of ways to be attractive Foto: Andreas Hørup Nilsson

5. 80% 20% 80% of the attractiveness is… • Every thing else 80% • Acts from the leaders • The daily scouting external conditions 20% • Numbers of children • Level of education • Level of income • Members of DGI • FDF-groups • DDS-groups • geography

6. team spirit leadership ambitions simplification common features : Three plus one The group of leaders acts like a team The Attractive Scouting group has a unifying and visionary leadership The Attractive Scouting group has highly visible ambitions The work as an leader is simple and clear

7. Team spirit • The leaders see them self as a consolidate group of leaders • The meetings for the leaders areresult-oriented • The leaders has good common experiences • The group of leaders get together both professional and social • Bigger problems are solved in the group and not just by one single unit • The leaders are acknowledge withleader-nursing such as Christmas dinner and leader-clothing

8. Ambitions • Participate in and winscout tournaments • Move the scout-house to a place with good potential • do challenging scouting • accomplish big and visible projects • arrange challenging scout tournaments • goes abroad for the summer camp • Has public arrangements

9. Simplification • Has well organised and well-cared-for scout gear • There is a defined linie in scouting from cupscout to seniorscout • There is a tradition for help from the parents • There is a great extent of who does what in The Attractive Scouting group • A lot of aktivities and traditions are routine • Buys help, insted of doing every thing by them self • The scouts and the parents gets ”year-plans”

10. Leadership • It is often leaders with experience, a long time scale and they are pragmatic types • They take care of administration, leader-nursing, the defined linie from cup- to seniorscout and challenger • Is both organised and visionary • Makes the other three features succeed

11. ”The Attractive Scouting Group” - an academically basedresearch programme which has examined what makes Guiding/ Scouting attractive,i.e. why Guides and Scouts stay