What is the Impact of Scouting, and how do me measure it

Straight from Scouts Canada's, and our, Mission Statement, we know what our stated intention of change we want to make in the world.

"To contribute to the education of young people, through a value system based on the Scout Promise and Law, to help build a better world where people are self-fulfilled as individuals and play a constructive role in society."

Having read that, what is the exact impact that we are/should be making, and how can we measure it?

Would we be considered the # of youth going to camp each year going up meaning we're doing a good job as an organization?
Increasing the # of youth?
Increasing the # of badges awarded?
Increase in retention rates? (People voting with their feet to stay)

What are the types of impacts that would indicate our organization is fulfilling it's mission?


*(Obviously one measure does not encapsulate everything, but a few carefully selected ones would give us a close indication)

I don't think that self-fulfillment can be accurately recorded or measured.

I believe that the Youth members and the Leader Volunteers should always have FUN and enjoy being a member of Scouts Canada.

Golly, that is an AWESOME question. Here is how I am thinking about it:
1) Retention - if the kids like it, they'll come back
2) Recruitment - Both of leaders and kids. If we are growing, we must be doing something right;
3) Crazy situations - One of our Colony leaders is the head Cub leader. One of our Beavers cried at swim up because he thought that this leader had swum up and would not be back next year. You know if the youth feels that way that something is right;
4) Number of campers - What percentage comes camping. We take the colony camping 3x per year.
5) School pick-up - When I pick up my kids from school (rare), how many "HAWKEYE!!! HAWKEYE!!!" do I hear.
6) Crazy experiences - we've fixed a streetcar, worked at the food bank, and been handcuffed and arrested by the police. If they remember, that's a good sign.

Not sure if that really answers the lifetime impact question. When I look at my experience as a youth, I remember my leaders and the effort they put in for me. That is what drew me back and is really hard to measure.

Indeed, self-fulfillment is aspirational, not something that can be directly measured. As well, the Mission statement is looking long into the future. The "constructive role in society" mentioned here is primarily what former Scouts will do as adults, not what they are doing now.

Measuring the impact of Scouting is not the same as measuring the quality of our program. Again, impact is more about the future.

But there are things we can measure, some of them helpful and some not:

• Recruitment: Not very helpful. This primarily measures marketing ability and says very little about program quality.
• Retention: This one is key. Unlike recruitment, this one is measuring something about what our members are getting out of Scouting.
• Badges awarded: This could be helpful, but badge standards vary greatly, limiting the meaning of this measure. For example, I have participated in interviews of Chief Scout's Award candidates where it was clear that the candidate had not earned the award, but they got it anyway. Is the troop that grants many CSAs better than others?
• Participation in camping: This one is key and a far more important number than the number of registered members. Scouting is having minimal impact on those who register, but don't fully participate.
• Fun: Not very helpful. There are lots of places kids can have fun. Our Mission statement and B-P's writings speak to something far greater than mere fun. Yes, Scouts should enjoy their experiences, but this should be because there were challenges that led to real achievements.

I think as a kid, it's all about having fun and rewarding experiences. The more fun and rewarding they are, the more they are apt to talk about it with non-scouts and the more those kids will want to join and experience the same fun ad rewarding experiences. As an adult, I think we can look at our many alum and how they have contributed to society and made this world a better place. I think there are a lot of untold stories of adults who once were scouts and are now doing extraordinary things in this world. I think these stories need to be told more often to scouts and to the community. I think scouting is a valuable part of our society and it's effects can be seen everywhere, we just have to look and make others aware.

I think the true measure is almost imposible to quantify, but to me the most important thing is what that youth remembers and thinks of when they are an adult. I wasnt a scout as a youth (Jr forest wardens) but I look back at some of the things we did, the things I learned, and in particular one specific leader as shaping me today.

that said, I have no idea how to measure that.

in measurable things, retention and participation are the keys, but realy, especialy in the younger ages thats a function of parents, not kids.

I think everyone is very close to what the real answer is here. The only real and tangible way to measure the success of any program is likely a combination of three factors:
a) Recruiting; how does a group gain new members? does the group simply go out and advertise like mad in hope of gaining new members (these will likely be mostly in the younger sections) or do most new members in fact enter the program through bring a friend programs? I've found that the kids who "stick" especially in the older sections are friends of kids already in program and they hear so much about it they want to "try it on for size".
b) Retention; every year I make on average 25 new neckers (Leaders and Youth) for our group, the lions share of these go to the Beaver Colony (around 10). With these kinds of numbers each year our group should be huge and yet in terms of growth we actually tend to stay about neutral for total numbers each year. Are we doing something wrong? Maybe, for some reason these kids don't "stick". Yes I believe that sports and other extra curricular activities definitely play a big part in kids leaving the program over the first few years but is there something else we are not doing "right"?
c) Program; this is in fact the hardest factor to measure but the other two factors combined will give you a pretty good idea of if you're "doing it right". If you have a great program run in a imaginative and fun way and get the kids engaged, the retention numbers will increase and so in fact will your recruiting numbers. I'm not talking here about overall recruiting the type where you advertise like mad and hope, but the "real" recruiting type the ones that come because they've heard great things and really want to be there. An aid to a good program can be a really strong and active Area Service Team, when an Area has a Service Team who really cares and the Leaders know there is a resource out their at their disposal they are apt to make use of it and therefore their program will only benefit. The Service Team should never be the "Scouting Police" but rather a friend along the way, someone that the Leaders know they can turn to when the going gets tough!

These are just my thoughts and based on personal experience but I have definitely observed the way all of these factors play out over the years!

I agree with Nora on a lot of her points.

We need scouting to be something people want to join. word of mouth, being the "cool" program will get us further than any advertizing program could ever do regardless of budget. that would also help retention, the way to that goal is a cool, chalenging and involved program.

I think Liam's reply is most in-line in terms of measuring impact but is real hard to measure. That being said, here is an Alternative

What if we were able to 'measure' the journey of a 'Good Turn bracelet' and record the number of good turns done....
or even the magnitude of the good turn.

You hear in the news about a fellow who starts with a paper clip and keeps trading to end up with a house (or car or something)!

Imagine if one could 'see' virtually or through some other mechanism (I'm thinking web here) the progressive Impact of just one simple Good turn.

ie. a good turn bracelet with a unique code which could track it's progress (as long as the recipient feels compelled to update the web with
-deed
-impact of deed ( score of 1-10)

I guess you could say it could be a little bit like geocaching... but the intent here is not to hide it but actually pass it on

Just a thought