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CR-112 · Theme 6

Project Leader Practice Lab

Help the club let prospective project leaders work through scope, risk, people and close-out before leading a live project.

Where this idea came from

Playbook entry
CR-112 · Project Leader Practice Lab
Theme
Theme 6: Club Renewal · Subtheme 9: Succession & Capability Rebuild
Source material
New Club Renewal index draft plus an internally authored detailed-guide draft

Initiative-specific development wave

How this draft was developed

These sources support general principles for whole-club renewal, accessibility, privacy, safety, systems or responsible governance; they are not an endorsement of Project Leader Practice Lab, a finding that it suits any club or approval of its local design.

Primary references consulted

  • Learning & Reference - learn by role (Rotary International - My Rotary)
    Used for: Rotary's current Learning & Reference hub identifies president and committee roles, links role resources and provides access to role-based learning and training materials.
  • Engage emerging leaders (Rotary International)
    Used for: Rotary encourages clubs to assess club health, ask members what they want, take suggestions seriously, support leadership and provide relevant service and learning experiences.
  • Governance for good: A guide for Responsible People (Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission)
    Used for: Good governance requires understood roles, authorised decision processes, checks and balances, appropriate delegations, written decisions and oversight of finances and operations.
  • Managing conflicts of interest (Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission)
    Used for: Actual, potential and perceived conflicts should be disclosed, recorded and managed by impartial decision-makers under the organisation's governing documents and applicable law.

Candidate District material

No candidate local guide was used for this version. The current initiative identity and the attributed primary references remain separate.

Theme 6 source-assurance wave

What has been checked

  • 4 current primary pages used by this guide were reopened on 9 August 2026.
  • 4 attributed source claim(s) were mapped to their bounded use in this initiative.
  • Candidate District material remains separate and does not establish this result.
See each source's scope and limit
  • Learning & Reference - learn by role
    Supports: The availability of current Rotary role resources and learning pathways for renewal leadership and capability development.
    Does not establish: The duties, delegation, eligibility, appointment method, authority or training completion of a particular person in a particular club.
  • Engage Emerging Leaders
    Supports: Member-centred discovery, mentoring, feedback, emerging-leader support and club-health review principles during renewal.
    Does not establish: That a person is ready for office, should be selected, has consented to a role or that a proposed renewal pathway will work locally.
  • Governance for good: A guide for Responsible People
    Supports: Good-governance principles for renewal decisions, roles, delegation, records, accountability, financial oversight and organisational purpose.
    Does not establish: That a Rotary club is an ACNC-registered charity, that ACNC duties apply or that a renewal decision complies with the club's governing documents.
  • Managing conflicts of interest
    Supports: Conflict identification, disclosure, recording and impartial management principles for renewal decisions and resource allocation.
    Does not establish: That a conflict exists, has been adequately managed or is governed by a particular law, constitution or policy in the club's circumstances.

What still needs a person to confirm

  • Confirm the club's governing documents, bylaws, membership rules, decision authority, financial position and reserved decisions before changing its operating model.
  • Confirm which incorporated-association, charity, work health and safety, privacy, safeguarding and other duties apply to the club and this renewal design.
  • Test the need, accessibility, belonging, workload and alternative participation routes with current, former and prospective members rather than inferring support from the guide.
  • Confirm every local fact, starting point, measure, cost, owner, community need, capability claim and stopping condition before the club decides to proceed.
  • Resolve any candidate District-source provenance and approval decision without treating the candidate as controlled authority.

The source-verification release gate remains closed.

Checks still on hold

Still an internal draft: source interpretation, local suitability, accessibility, governance and editorial approval remain open checks.

What could this idea change?

The work is designed to produce a completed practice artefact, observed feedback record and application commitment; the central local boundary is that capability development cannot predetermine appointment, give inappropriate access or treat former office holders as permanently responsible.

Could this work in our club?

  • Use when important work depends on a few experienced people or leadership vacancies are filled at the last minute. Project Leader Practice Lab is most useful when the club is prepared to act on what it learns.
  • A club where the club can make one honest, authorised change at a time from a shared diagnosis, visible evidence and a scheduled continue, adapt or stop decision.
  • A club with a real need for a deeper capability bench and capacity to support a needs-led learning session with verified content, active practice and a real transfer task.
  • A 90-day trial of Project Leader Practice Lab with a starting point, named participants, a resource ceiling and a scheduled continue, adapt or stop decision.

Before you start

  • A board-approved brief naming which critical roles and skills need at least two prepared people and a current handover, the local authority, people affected, fixed constraints, resource ceiling, decision date and stop conditions.
  • A starting-point record and participant plan suited to a needs-led learning session with verified content, active practice and a real transfer task, with accessible information, voluntary choices and a supported alternative route where needed.
  • Named delivery, evidence and decision owners, including a person authorised to pause Project Leader Practice Lab when a safeguard, permission or boundary is not met.
  • A proportionate check of governing documents, privacy, information security, accessibility, conflicts, safeguarding, work health and safety, records, finance and referral duties for the actual local design.

At the end: At the 90-day review, compare the recorded measures with the starting point, resolve the listed governance holds and tell participants whether Project Leader Practice Lab will change, continue or stop.

Made for this initiative

Tailored supporting documents

These working documents use the decisions, safeguards and evidence needs of this initiative. Complete them with the people affected and keep the agreed version with the club's project record.

01

Project Leader Practice Lab Renewal Decision Brief

Connect the initiative to the agreed diagnosis, decision and capacity.

Open supporting document
02

Project Leader Practice Lab Member and Stakeholder Participation Plan

Reach the experiences needed for a credible renewal decision.

Open supporting document
03

Project Leader Practice Lab Current-State and Starting-Point Record

Create an honest baseline before the change begins.

Open supporting document
04

Project Leader Practice Lab 90-Day Renewal Run Sheet

Sequence one bounded change without overloading the club.

Open supporting document
05

Project Leader Practice Lab Trade-Off and Stop-Doing Register

Make the capacity released for renewal explicit.

Open supporting document
06

Project Leader Practice Lab Risk, Dependency and Escalation Register

Keep governance, people, money and partner risks visible.

Open supporting document
07

Project Leader Practice Lab Renewal Evidence and Decision Record

Close the cycle with evidence, learning and an authorised next step.

Open supporting document
08

Project Leader Practice Lab Succession & Capability Rebuild Delivery Check

Test whether Project Leader Practice Lab genuinely advances a deeper capability bench within the subtheme boundary.

Open supporting document
09

Project Leader Practice Lab Learning Design and Practice Sheet

Connect verified learning to practice, feedback and a real club task.

Open supporting document
10

Project Leader Practice Lab Evidence, Decision and Close-Out Record

Bring the evidence, limitations, participant response and final decision for Project Leader Practice Lab into one accountable record.

Open supporting document

Before your club says yes

Does the idea fit?

Talk with the people it is meant to serve and check that the need is real.

Who can say yes?

Name the person or group that can approve the work, spending and any safety arrangements.

Are people protected?

Check privacy, consent and safety. Collect only the information you genuinely need.

Can everyone take part?

Check the language, format, place, technology and cost for barriers.

Are the facts and permissions right?

Check names, claims, images, quotations, partner references and Rotary branding.

How will we learn?

Note where things stand now, check in at 30, 60 and 90 days, and decide what to do next.

Worksheets for your club

Open them online, print them or change them to suit the way your club works.

01

People and opportunities matching sheet

Use this worksheet to help people choose roles or opportunities that suit them without asking for more personal information than the club needs.

Open worksheet
02

Role profile

Use this worksheet to decide who will do each job, who can step in and what needs to be handed over.

Open worksheet
03

Coaching conversation guide

Use this worksheet to hold a respectful conversation, hear different views and tell people what happens next.

Open worksheet