E-024 · A 90-day try-out

A club plan for Peer Mentoring Groups

Use this as a starting point. Cross out what does not fit, add what is missing and make it your club's own.

Where this idea came from

Playbook entry
E-024 · Peer Mentoring Groups
Theme
Theme 2: Engagement & Belonging · Subtheme 2: Mentoring & Pathways
Source material
Current playbook index title and category plus an internally authored detailed-guide draft

Initiative-specific development wave

How this draft was developed

These sources support general principles for mentoring, skill-sharing, member-led pathways and inclusive participation; they do not constitute Rotary International endorsement of the named Peer Mentoring Groups initiative, the case-clinic method or this locally designed cohort model.

Primary references consulted

  • Deliver Continued Value (Rotary International)
    Used for: Rotary identifies mentoring, leadership development and skill-building as ways clubs can provide continuing value.; Cross-generational and interest-based connections can support personal and professional development.
  • Make Connections (Rotary International)
    Used for: Rotary encourages clubs to ask what members care about and create opportunities to share skills and ideas.; Member pathways can connect interests with service, leadership and relationships inside and beyond the club.
  • Enhancing Belonging and Engagement at Rotary (Rotary International)
    Used for: Rotary values different ideas, experiences, backgrounds, abilities and ways of contributing.; Belonging requires an environment in which a range of members can participate and be heard.

Candidate District material consulted

These records remain draft evidence and still need a human source decision.

  • Club Playbook - Theme 2
    The related Member Mentoring Circles record was used only as a semantic cue for small-group peer learning, monthly guided discussion and mutual support. This Peer Mentoring Groups draft adds a distinct same-stage cohort, case-clinic method, experiment cycle and authority boundary; no source wording or endorsement was inferred.

Theme 2 source-assurance wave

What has been checked

  • 3 current primary pages used by this guide were reopened on 9 August 2026.
  • 6 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
  • Deliver Continued Value
    Supports: The 49 attributed Theme 2 claims attached to this source, limited to the implementation elements and supporting documents named in each initiative-level claim mapping.
    Does not establish: That the initiative is endorsed by Rotary International or District 9510, that it is permitted by the club's governing documents, that members want it, that it suits the local club, or that it will achieve the intended outcome.
  • Engaging Younger Professionals: Make Connections
    Supports: The 32 attributed Theme 2 claims attached to this source, limited to the implementation elements and supporting documents named in each initiative-level claim mapping.
    Does not establish: That the initiative is endorsed by Rotary International or District 9510, that it is permitted by the club's governing documents, that members want it, that it suits the local club, or that it will achieve the intended outcome.
  • Enhancing Belonging and Engagement at Rotary
    Supports: Belonging, accessibility, respectful participation and equitable access principles for renewal and club experience.
    Does not establish: That a particular meeting model, membership pathway, leadership process or club culture is inclusive without testing with affected people.

What still needs a person to confirm

  • Confirm the member, prospective-member, past-member and community needs, preferences and consent that the local design assumes.
  • Confirm which privacy, safeguarding, incorporated-association, charity, work health and safety, food, liquor, copyright, licensing, screening and other duties apply to the club and the activity.
  • Test accessibility, cultural safety, belonging, language and alternative participation routes with affected people and recognise First Nations cultural authority rather than inferring suitability from the guide.
  • Confirm every local fact, starting point, cost, role, current service contact, measure, stopping condition and platform capability before the club decides to proceed.
  • Confirm the authority and current scope of each primary source, resolve login-gated or moved-page references and keep any candidate District material attributed and unapproved until its source decision is made.

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.

1. Is this worth trying here?

What we hope will change: Use Peer Mentoring Groups to make mentoring and personal development easier to find, choose and sustain.

2. Our 90-day try-out

What our club will do for Peer Mentoring Groups
StepWhat we will doWho could lead itOur dateHow we will know it is done
1Interview likely participants and the relevant club owner to define one shared challenge, what the cohort may decide or test, and what remains outside its authority.Peer-group coordinatorThree weeks before the first sessionA challenge brief, authority boundary and intended outcome
2Invite an opt-in cohort, check conflicts and access needs privately, and confirm that participants are willing to bring a real current case and act on peer questions.Peer-group coordinatorTwo weeks before the first sessionA confirmed cohort with adjustments and any conflict controls
3Agree the charter, teach a short case-clinic sequence and let each participant set one measurable practice goal for the six- to eight-week cycle.FacilitatorSession one, 75 minutesAn acknowledged charter and a private practice goal for every participant
4Run two case-clinic sessions in which the case owner describes the challenge, peers ask clarifying and reflective questions before offering options, and the owner chooses one small experiment.Rotating case owners with facilitatorSessions two and threeCase worksheets, member-chosen experiments and named referral needs
5Use paired check-ins between sessions to test progress without taking over the work, and escalate any matter beyond the cohort's competence or authority.Peer partnersBetween sessionsBrief accountability notes and completed referrals
6Review the experiments and evidence, identify what should change in club practice, close the cohort and let participants choose a new group, one-to-one mentor, learning pathway or no further action.Facilitator with relevant club ownerFinal session and within seven daysA cohort learning note, club response and individual next-pathway decisions

3. Checks before we start

Things our club needs to check
QuestionWhat it means for usWho will checkDone?
Check the idea with the people affected and confirm its purpose, owner and practical limits before putting it into use.
Protect member choice and privacy, make participation accessible, and do not infer belonging or satisfaction from attendance alone.
Peers give confident advice before understanding the case or the limits of their knowledge. — Use a question-first case-clinic sequence, label suggestions as options and require referral where authority, safeguarding or professional expertise is needed.
Role hierarchy, competition or conflicts of interest make candid discussion unsafe. — Check relationships privately, avoid direct reporting lines where possible and offer a different cohort or one-to-one route without requiring disclosure.
Private examples are repeated outside the group or appear in board reporting. — Keep case detail within the cohort, report only agreed de-identified system lessons and obtain specific permission before attributing any example.
The group continues indefinitely and replaces formal support, training or decisions. — Set an end date, close every cycle with a pathway decision and require a new purpose and approval before another cohort begins.
The relevant club owner must approve the cohort's authority boundary and must respond to any system recommendation; the peer group cannot make board or committee decisions.
The club must approve privacy, conflict, complaint, access, referral and record-retention arrangements before real cases are discussed.
Facilitators and peers must not provide unqualified legal, financial, health, safeguarding, employment or counselling advice.
Interclub cohorts require agreement on responsibility for conduct, privacy, complaints, insurance and the handling of recommendations.

4. What changed?

What we will keep an eye on
What mattersWhere we are nowWhat we hope to seeHow we will checkWho
After 90 days, review Peer Mentoring Groups. Look for suitable matches, regular check-ins and progress against goals chosen by the participating member.
Participants who bring a real case, choose an experiment and complete at least one peer check-in.
Experiments completed within the cycle and reviewed against evidence chosen by the case owner.
Matters outside the group's authority or competence referred to the correct owner without informal decision-making.
Participants who choose an appropriate next pathway and club-level lessons that receive a named response after the cohort closes.

After 30 days

Is it reaching the right people? Is anything unsafe, unfair or harder than expected?

After 60 days

Make one useful change based on what people have told you.

After 90 days

Compare with where you started. Decide whether to change it, continue it 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

Peer Mentoring Cohort Charter

Create a safe, time-limited peer-learning agreement with clear authority and referral boundaries.

Open supporting document
02

Peer Case Clinic Worksheet

Slow the group down enough to understand a real case before offering options.

Open supporting document
03

Experiment and Accountability Tracker

Turn peer discussion into a small, reviewable action without creating performance surveillance.

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

Roadmap

Use this worksheet to turn the idea into a short list of actions, dates, costs and responsibilities.

Open worksheet
02

Are we ready to try this?

Use this worksheet to decide whether a small first try is realistic and what the club must settle before it starts.

Open worksheet
03

Progress tracker

Use this worksheet to note where things stand and choose a few useful signs that will help the club decide what to do next.

Open worksheet