Prepared by Randy Kay Coordinator of Volunteers OPIRG McMaster
! ! ! OPIRG McMaster
May 13, 2014
Working Group Year End Report 2013-2014 !
A look back, a glance ahead, report from our wonderful volunteer working groups. 
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“The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.�
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Ralph Nader
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OPIRG McMaster is a dynamic volunteer resource centre supporting student and community education and action on important social and environmental issues. Using Anti-Oppression and Consensus principles we seek to make positive contributions toward justice and environmental integrity.
Our volunteer working groups are often at the fore of burgeoning social or environmental issues, leading the way with curiosity
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OPIRG McMaster
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Working Group Year End Report 2013-2014
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Going for it.
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Experiential. Supportive. Risk. Reward.
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YEAR END SURVEY RESULTS
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Group Activity Levels
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How often does your working group meet? (on average)
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How many public events did your working group hold on average per term?
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How many of your working group volunteers have taken the Anti-Oppression workshop this year?
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How many of your working group volunteers have taken the Consensus Decision Making workshop this year? 7 Communication
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What communication tools did you use to communicate to OPIRG membership/ people outside your group? (select all that apply) 8 Attitudes
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Please choose the one that best describes your working groups volunteer's understanding of their connection to OPIRG McMaster
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Please rank your sense of accomplishment regarding your working group's activities this year: 9 Institutional Supports
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Please sort the following OPIRG supports in terms of usefulness to your group (1=most useful 10=least useful 10 Options
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Most popular rankings:
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Please use this space to make recommendations that you think would improve the working group experience 11 WORKING GROUP REPORTS
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Going for it. Experiential. Supportive. Risk. Reward.
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Each and every OPIRG McMaster volunteer who starts or joins a Working Group here embarks on a living experiment in success. For even the act of trying to make some positive benefit to the larger community is already a kind of success that many people never experience.
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Achievement is varied, and success is a moving target, but taking the first huge step counts. The next steps may bring you closer to the goal, especially in a supportive environment that encourages creative responses to challenges. The goal might change once you begin. As Physicist Savas Dimopolous so cleverly put it in the documentary film Particle Fever, “Jumping from failure to failure with undiminished enthusiasm is the big secret of success.” Experience is a great teacher, and we are proud of each of our working groups and their varied and always interesting pursuits on their path to their goals.
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“Jumping from failure to failure with undiminished enthusiasm is the big secret to success.”
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YEAR END SURVEY RESULTS All groups are required to submit a standard feedback survey - results help the Coordinator of Volunteer plan improvements to the volunteer programme for working groups. 13 of 161 approved Working Groups responded to the survey in late April early May. They are:
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1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
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Adaptive Design Hamilton
Changing Gears Collective
Food For Thought
Food Not Bombs Hamilton
Fossil Free McMaster
Guatemalan Solidarity Working Group
Hamilton Freeskool!
8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.
Hamilton Students Community Initaitives
Hamilton Urban Beekeepers (H.U.B.)
Human TraďŹƒcking Awareness Initiative
McMaster First Nations Students Association
McMaster Initiative for Water
Threadwork 
Radical Reading, Community Volunteer Action and Hamiltonians for Migrant and Refugee Health did not take survey. 1
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! Group Activity Levels !
How often does your working group meet? (on average)
How many public events did your working group hold on average per term?
How many of your working group volunteers have taken the Anti-Oppression workshop this year?
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How many of your working group volunteers have taken the Consensus Decision Making workshop this year?
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GOAL for 2014-15: Increase participation in workshops for working group volunteers. Compare initial activity goals with outcomes.
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Communication
What communication tools did you use to communicate to OPIRG membership/people outside your group? (select all that apply)
Goal 2014-15: increase use of Class Announcements
Attitudes
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Please choose the one that best describes your working groups volunteer's understanding of their connection to OPIRG McMaster
1. The majority of our volunteers understand that we are part of OPIRG McMaster and receive administrative and funding support, guided by policy, etc.
2. The majority of our volunteers have a vague notion that we are part of OPIRG but not sure how
3. The majority of our volunteers have very little to no idea of how they are related to OPIRG McMaster
Out of 13 responses, 69% (9 groups) chose #1, while 31% (4 groups) chose #2. No groups selected #3
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GOALS FOR 2014-15: Increase awareness among all working group volunteers of their connection to OPIRG McMaster. Administer attitude survey and beginning of year and follow up to track changes.
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Please rank your sense of accomplishment regarding your working group's activities this year:
! Somewhat Very Somewhat Dissatisfie Dissatisfie Dissatisfie Satisfied d d d
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Meeting Stated Group Goals
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4
4
0
1
2
Attracting Volunteers
1
5
1
4
1
1
Bringing Attention to Our Issues
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4
5
1
2
1
Contributing to new research or perspectives
0
3
3
4
2
1
Question
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Attracting new volunteers remains a fairly constant weakness reported by working groups, which is not surprising in the highly competitive campus environment. Overall, the majority of groups report being in the somewhat satisfied and better end of the spectrum (32 vs 20).
Strengthen goal setting and evaluation/measurement and explore ways to increase opportunities for groups to raise awareness and contribute research
! Institutional Supports !
Please sort the following OPIRG supports in terms of usefulness to your group (1=most useful 10=least useful Options
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Working Group Network Meetings
Button-Maker
Consensus Decision Making Workshops
Anti-Oppression Workshop
Working Group Special Project Fund
Working Group Money ($250)
PIRGSPECTIVES newsletter
PIRGTOPIA display
OPIRG-Email event listing
OPIRG Web Page
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Most popular rankings: Ranking Order
ITEM
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Working Group Money
6
2
2
2
2
E-Mail Event Listing
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4
1
0
3
Web Site OPIRG.CA
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0
3
1
4
Networking Meeting
1
1
2
4
5
AntiOppression
0
2
2
1
6
Consensus Workshop
2
1
1
0
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1st Choice
2nd Choice
3rd Choice
4th Choice
It appears that from the wide range of tools available to working groups, many of them get good use, with the $250 Working Group Money coming out strongly as first choice for 6 groups. E-mail events got more votes for top 2nd choice with 4 groups, and the web site getting 3 votes for 3rd choice out of 10. Networking meetings showed fairly good range with 4 groups choosing the meetings as their top 3, and 4 groups choosing their 4th choice.
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GOAL for 2014-15: Ensure groups are aware and utilizing available tools. Add “Room-Booking” and Working Group Wiki” to next year’s toolbox feedback
Please use this space to make recommendations that you think would improve the working group experience
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• With our group having almost all new members this year, we have had to work out some wrinkles over this year and have really appreciated Randy and OPIRG's help finding our way.
• Being in a working group is great!-no recommendations on this end so far that I can think of... Maybe more coverage of working groups' activities on Facebook or blog?
• We need a better, stable "calendar" for ourselves, more defined objectives
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• Build a private discussion forum capacity into the OPIRG website, so that working group members can communicate with each other on working group topics, in a way more eďŹƒcient than email, but less intrusive than facebook.
GOALS FOR 2014-15: Introduce Private Working Group WIKI for intranet communication, introduce event report forms.
! WORKING GROUP REPORTS
The following pages are the required year-end reporting from each working group (14 of 16 reported), arranged alphabetically. Enjoy the diversity of issues addressed and the wonderful people who give so much of their busy lives to selflessly working to improve the world we share.
Randy Kay Coordinator of Volunteers, OPIRG McMaster 12