The following is a letter from the chairman of the NEC regarding a survey that took place in 2010.

 

July 2011

 

Somewhat apologetically, I have to note that we have failed to produce a formal report about the survey we ran last year, so this Chairman's letter is dedicated to telling you about the findings.  Individual Trustees and the entire National Executive Committee (NEC) have drawn on the survey, especially when beginning the process of future planning.  Working parties have been hard at work planning in readiness for the new NEC in October this year.  The Away Day discussions also leaned heavily on the survey findings. 

The first point to make must be that by and large the U3As appear to value what we do and seek little by way of innovation. 

The survey was divided into a number of sections.  The first was largely statistical.  It confirmed that almost all U3As were still growing, some steadily, some rapidly.  A few were largely unchanged.  The mix of members was much as before with a slightly higher proportion of men than in previous surveys.  There is still little ethnic diversity.

As far as services offered, almost all of them were deemed desirable.  Advice on legal and financial matters, the provision of indemnity and other insurances, and help with start-ups were all considered essential.  Highly desirable or valuable were such things as, the monthly mailings from the National Office, U3A News, all forms of national publicity, the website and interactions with other organisations.  There were occasional critical comments on these services and, where these were in evidence, steps were taken immediately to amend them.

'Services to individual members' yielded some interesting results; for example 257 out of 470 respondents thought national conferences and online courses desirable or even essential, but we always struggle to find delegates to such conferences and only a few hundred members use the online courses.  National residential ('summer') schools were regarded similarly.  All kinds of support for group leaders and committee members were much appreciated.  Special lectures were less well regarded, but this is almost certainly because they tend to occur in one locality, where they are very well supported. 

Looking to the future, many questions elicited responses which suggested proposals were desirable rather than essential; these included the suggestion that we should seek more 'no strings attached' funding, closer co-operation with other agencies, and to raise the public profile of the movement.  There was only lukewarm approval of the idea of providing educational support regionally rather than centrally, but some comments suggested this was influenced by fear of increased costs and apprehension that the dreaded capitation charge might increase, (although it won't).  This was particularly obvious in the strong opposition to including the cost of direct mailing of U3A News in the capitation charge, and to suggestions we might recruit paid helpers in the regions.

The open-ended questions confirmed the constraints on growth were largely the lack of suitable venues for meetings and some difficulties in recruiting group leaders and committee members. Contributions were so varied that it is virtually impossible to summarise them sensibly, but one or two general observations are in order.  There were a number of mentions of the high standard of service provided by the National Office.  There were particularly mixed messages to do with the increasing growth of regional associations of all kinds, a fear of 'empire building' or of 'increased bureaucracy', reinforced as always by thought of the possible costs of employing more people rather than using volunteers, though the problems of recruiting volunteers was also mentioned at times.  There were comments on the relative sizes of the regions.  Start-ups, it was felt, were better considered locally than centrally.

Finally, the role of the Trust itself was seen as particularly important for smaller, rural U3As, but it should guard against being too 'highbrow', by which was often meant too concerned with matters more closely associated with formal educational institutions.  One correspondent simply said the Trust should not try too hard, another that the Trust should not take itself too seriously - 'Our working days are over!'  Others emphasise that the social nature of the U3A should never be ignored.  Many reminded us of the need to remember a sense of fun. 

With so many respondents it was to be expected that there would be contradictory comments: 'Although this questionnaire has resulted in a lot of criticism, we feel that the Third Age Trust is doing a very good job of holding the organisation together and we are happy to be part of that organisation,' said one.  Another demanded, 'No rules or anything from above'.  Another, 'The educational idea, although kept up by the Third Age Trust, is not what most U3As are interested in'.  Another comment was, 'No improvement suggested at the moment, but it is good to know you are there when we need you'.  Personally I liked, 'Keep up the good work.  We'll try our best to deserve you'.  But the one remark which made me smile related to the composition of the membership of one U3A; 'We are mostly respectable ladies of a certain age'.

For the statisically minded, the results of the survey have been summarised in graph form on the website.  Go to document downloads and click on reference documents. 

I feel we should thank you not only for completing the questionnaire, but by implying by your responses that you approve generally speaking of what we do and trust us to provide support for the future.

Ian Searle                                                                                                                                

Chairman