2008 JCI Strategic Planning Committee Recommendations and Suggested Action Steps, Prepared July 7, 2008
Mission, Vision, Values
Recommendations
1. Mission: To provide development opportunities that empower young people to create positive change
2. Vision: To be the leading global network of young active citizens
Rationale
1. A mission is a long-term, concise, positive statement written in clear language that states the organization’s purpose of existence. JCI’s current Mission, “To contribute to the advancement of the global community by providing the opportunity for young people to develop the leadership skills, social responsibility, entrepreneurship and fellowship necessary to create positive change,” could better fulfill its requirements.
• While the current Mission does explain the purpose of JCI, the proposed Mission expresses the same concept in a more concise, efficient and easily understood way. The sentence structure and length of the proposed Mission are easier to relate to and promote.
• The proposed Mission is written with posterity in mind. The types of opportunities listed in the current Mission may change over time, but the purpose of JCI’s existence will not. Although the opportunities for development are not enumerated in the proposed Mission, these
opportunities are still referenced in Policy 18-1 (Terms of Reference) in the JCI Constitution and Policy Manual.
2. A vision is a clearly written, motivational statement that lists the ultimate goals of the organization.
• While the current vision expresses the noble aspirations of JCI founder Henry Gissenbier, the proposed vision represents a more realistic and clear picture of the organization’s direction and ultimate goal.
Suggested Action Steps
1. Adopt the following translations of the proposed Mission and Vision as official.
Mission
• French: Offrir aux jeunes gens des opportunités de développement qui leur permettront de créer des changements positifs
• Spanish : Ofrecer oportunidades de desarrollo que permitan a los jóvenes crear cambios positivos
Vision
• French: Être le premier réseau mondial de jeunes citoyens actifs
• Spanish: Ser la principal red mundial de jóvenes ciudadanos activos
Conclusion/Remarks
1. JCI local and national organizations should adapt their local communications strategies to the new Mission and Vision.
2. The Mission, Vision and Values (JCI Creed) of JCI are equally important and should be equally used in all JCI activities.
Membership – Recruitment and Retention
Recommendations
1. Increase membership to 300,000 by 2013.
2. Increase average local organization size to 50 members by 2013.
3. Increase local organizations to over 6,000 by 2013.
Rationale
1. The very essence of JCI is to provide opportunities to young people. The greater the number of young people receiving opportunities from JCI, the more JCI is fulfilling its Mission.
2. For JCI to grow as an organization, it must aim high, or it will only attain the bare minimum.
3. For JCI to be the leading global network of active citizens there must be a critical mass. Therefore, JCI must work towards these concrete membership goals.
Suggested Action Steps
1. Set targets for existing local organizations for a net increase of 10 percent. See Appendix 1.
2. Develop materials for local action guides that:
• Emphasize recruitment of members to nonmembers.
• Emphasize quality of programs and uniqueness of experiences.
• Explain how to implement a formal mentoring program.
• Implement a brand with which young people want to be associated.
• Emphasize partnership development with high-level worldwide corporations, universities, student organizations.
• Focus on understanding the motivations of young active citizens.
• Enhance communication with nonmembers by reducing the use of acronyms and abbreviations. For example, instead of using “Area A” use
“Africa and the Middle East.”
JCI World Headquarters
Recommendations
1. Open lines of communication among JCI World Headquarters, JCI local organizations and members.
2. Invest resources in development and training of JCI staff members.
3. Increase efficiency and reduce costs by reassigning appropriate services to JCI regional offices.
4. Develop a comprehensive fundraising strategy.
5. Develop marketing materials and communication strategy that are aligned with the proposed Mission and Vision.
Rationale
• For JCI World Headquarters to better transmit information and resources invested in JCI programs to members worldwide, direct contact is
necessary.
• To improve the quality of services of JCI World Headquarters, JCI must invest in building the skills of the staff members.
• Without funding, JCI World Headquarters cannot continue to offer outstanding services.
Suggested Action Steps
1. State the role, location and contact information of the JCI World Headquarters staff clearly on the JCI website.
2. Enhance communication with members and nonmembers by establishing and promoting Customer Relationship Management tools.
3. Establish sponsorship targets for the next five years.
4. Establish key performance indicators for staff members.
5. End use of JCI-related acronyms and abbreviations.
JCI Programs
Recommendations
1. Align all programs with the JCI Mission and Vision.
2. Maximize relationships with partners to enhance programs if possible.
Rationale
1. For JCI to be a successful and efficient organization, it must operate within the guidelines of its Mission.
2. JCI and its partners should complement rather than compete with one another. JCI should maximize its strengths and leverage the strengths of its partners so that it can provide the best opportunities and services to its members.
Suggested Action Steps
1. Always use the JCI name in the title of JCI programs. For example, The Outstanding Young Persons of the World must be referred to as JCI The Outstanding Young Persons of the World.
2. Retain the JCI name and logo in partner programs.
3. Design and implement a JCI Political Academy.
Conclusion/Remarks
1. Utilize programs, such as Public Speaking and Debating, more effectively as recruitment tools.
2. It is not mandatory for national organizations to implement all JCI signature programs. National and local organizations are encouraged to run programs that cater to their local communities.
JCI Events
Recommendations
1. Use JCI conferences and congresses to further the JCI Mission and Vision.
2. Market JCI conferences and congresses to external audiences and provide registration options (for example, one-day or three-day registration).
3. Review and clarify minimum requirements in conference and congress contracts.
4. Broaden appeal of events and make General Assembly more relevant and focused.
5. Review bidding process and destination selection.
Rationale
1. To increase attendance and increase event attendee satisfaction, JCI must create interesting and innovative content, ensure a high level of quality control, broaden the market for events, and consider location as a key motivational factor for attendees.
Suggested Action Steps
1. Develop a JCI Events Manual that ensures quality standards.
Conclusion/Remarks
1. Consider making the national organization the contracting party.
2. If during the tenure term of this SPC we don’t see improvement, consider
partnering with professional event organizers.
JCI Finance and Revenue
Recommendations
1. Decrease the JCI World Headquarters’ dependence on membership dues from 80 percent to 60 percent of the total budget by 2013.
Rationale
1. So that the quality of JCI World Headquarters services will not be affected by fluctuations that may arise in membership numbers, the JCI budget should not depend solely on membership dues.
2. Rather than viewing dues adjustments as a solution, JCI must focus on new, innovative ways to increase revenue at the international level.
Suggested Action Steps
1. Explore alternative sources of revenue such as partnerships, sponsorships, corporations.
2. Invest in human resources to develop external financial support (marketing, corporate partners).
3. Include regional offices and national and local organizations in the process of working with governments to support JCI.
4. Reevaluate officer and staff travel expenses.
5. Develop promotional strategy for JCI Senate.
6. Explore ways to increase revenue from JCI training and JCI events.
7. Develop marketing strategy for the JCI Foundation.
JCI University
Recommendations
1. Change the name of JCI University.
2. Streamline training structure and certification process, and improve clarity and communication of JCI training guidelines and rules while maintaining a high level of training standards.
3. Realign the training objectives to the proposed JCI Mission and Vision.
4. Collaborate with professional organizations and/or universities to create/update course content.
Rationale
1. To avoid confusing JCI University with a traditional accredited university, the name should not appear to be that of traditional university.
2. In order to retain members, increase attendance at JCI events and ensure that members receive the highest quality training, JCI must streamline and clarify the certification process to produce young, qualified trainers.
Suggested Action Steps
1. Survey members to see what training opportunities are in demand.
2. Review current training modules and realign them with proposed Mission and Vision.
3. Consider implementation of new technologies into training courses.
4. Hold training workshop/forum during General Assembly at JCI Area Conferences.
Conclusion/Remarks
1. Rebrand, simplify and reorganize training programs and certification to promote JCI training courses that align with the proposed JCI Mission and Vision.
