Welcome

Welcome to another inspiration-packed issue of Waterways. I hope you will take as much encouragement and motivation om reading its content as I have.

As I approach a year in the role of National Chair, I am pleased that the Association continues to have a strong impact across the waterways scene and that we are making progress in many areas despite the trying circumstances that have prevailed over the past eight months due to Covid-19.

With a second wave of the pandemic looming, it is clear that we will have to continue fi nding new ways of working over the next year as we seek to maintain IWA’s e ectiveness, increase levels of engagement and adapt to a very different environment.

The strategic themes of Regeneration, Influence, Sustainability and Engagement are already beginning to have an influence on the activities, processes and structures within IWA. Labelled RISE, the themes are being adopted by trustees and sta as they develop clear objectives for 2021 and beyond. The next stage will be to encourage more widespread ownership of these themes for objective se ing across the Association, particularly in branches and the major interest groups that are central to effectively delivering our charitable objectives.

The themes set the scene for clear governance, allowing our operational structures and processes to converge around one management model based on common goals and connected objectives. As staff and volunteer functions converge under the themes, we will be able to create a more supportive infrastructure with greater organisational learning and shared resources enabling a more collaborative environment. In establishing an ongoing culture of change, we will need to create the opportunity for open communications throughout the Association where staff, volunteers, supporters and partners can all contribute to the development of the strategic direction, objectives and operational activities with robust debate in a respectfully challenging environment. This, if matched by strong, decisive leadership, will see the organisation not only reacting to changing circumstances in an agile manner but operating more proactively and with foresight, once again inspiring the passionate activism that marked the early years of IWA.

Members and volunteers are the lifeblood of the Association and, while hosting our Waterway Webinars and speaking at branch meetings over the past few months, I’ve seen that the passion and energy of everyone across the organisation remain undiminished.

Trustees answered some challenging questions from members at the AGM that focused on long-term governance structures and strategy, campaigning, membership numbers/demographics, trustee accountability and management models. While these were answered confidently, they reveal important areas of interest that will continue to influence the focus of trustees. The Q&A session at the AGM was so well received that trustees are considering the best way to create a forum for communicating with members and volunteers on a more regular basis. At our last meeting, trustees agreed to increase the number of board meetings to ten per year to allow more regular and direct feedback on specific topics.

Following our recent AGM, I would like to formally welcome our new trustees (see page 6), and I look forward to working with them over the coming years. I will also take this opportunity to thank retiring trustees for their service in the past three years. I’m pleased that they will continue as active volunteers across other key areas of IWA.

Strengthening our governing board will continue to be a priority as we head into 2021 but it’s not just in the governance area that we need to encourage greater involvement. We have over 60 vacancies across the Association in branches, committees and other interest areas, so please may I encourage you to have a look at our wonderful new website and, if you have the skills, interest and passion to get involved, I’m sure there is a role for you!

I’m delighted that Sarah O’Grady, our interim Chief Executive, has settled into the role. She has given the staff team a renewed sense of purpose and, despite remote working, has fostered a highly productive and harmonious environment. Our staff team also continues to show resilience and creativity, allowing much of our work to continue unabated and new initiatives to be taken forward.

I am particularly encouraged by the determination and originality that Ellen Hawes, our Fundraising Officer, is bringing to this vital role at a very challenging time. Her recent application to the Green Recovery Challenge Fund is centred on our strategic RISE themes, and is a exemplar for other areas of IWA in developing objectives that relate to geographical area or topical interest and which align with our overall objectives.

While it might be too early to focus on Christmas, I'd like to spread a little much-needed cheer and encourage you to share your love of the waterways with friends and family by sending an IWA Christmas card – we’ve got some great, new, striking designs this year alongside the more traditional offerings, so there's something for everyone.

Finally, as I said at a recent waterways event, the TEAM acronym is particularly pertinent in the current environment – there is much to do but I’m convinced that by working collaboratively we will prove that Together Everyone Achieves More.

Paul Rodgers, IWA National Chair