E-145 · A 90-day try-out

A club plan for Rotary Acronym Guide

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-145 · Rotary Acronym Guide
Theme: Theme 2: Engagement & Belonging · Subtheme 9: Club Identity & Culture
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 updating Rotary language, explaining unfamiliar shortened forms and using plain language; they are not an endorsement of the named Rotary Acronym Guide or authority for any local expansion, definition, term, policy or Rotary interpretation.

Primary references consulted

Enhance your club's culture (Rotary International)
Used for: Rotary encourages clubs to update insider language and explain the wider experience of service, connection and leadership rather than relying on familiar club terms.
Acronyms and initialisms (Australian Government Style Manual)
Used for: Unfamiliar shortened forms should be defined, specialist collections may need a glossary and accessibility requires attention to how screen readers and users encounter terms.
Plain language and word choice (Australian Government Style Manual)
Used for: Everyday words, limited jargon and first-use expansion of unfamiliar acronyms improve clarity and accessibility.

Candidate District material consulted

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

Club Playbook - Theme 2
Candidate record 87 Rotary Lexicon Guide for Newbies provides a related terminology-guide concept. It is not a literal current-title match and does not supply the present remove-first, source-authority, plain-language testing, accessibility, correction, ownership or expiry controls.

Theme 2 source-assurance wave

What has been checked

3 current primary pages used by this guide were reopened on 9 August 2026.
3 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

Enhance Your Club's Culture
Supports: Member-centred culture review, barrier reduction, flexibility, mentoring and practical conversation about club renewal.
Does not establish: That every suggested action suits the club, that the page diagnoses the club or that a proposed cultural change has member support or governing approval.
Acronyms and initialisms
Supports: The 1 attributed Theme 2 claim attached to this source, limited to the implementation elements and supporting documents named in each initiative-level claim mapping.
Does not establish: Accessibility or inclusion conformance, the needs or preferences of any person or community, cultural authority to act, the suitability of a format or venue, or local approval.
Plain language and word choice
Supports: The 1 attributed Theme 2 claim attached to this source, limited to the implementation elements and supporting documents named in each initiative-level claim mapping.
Does not establish: Accessibility or inclusion conformance, the needs or preferences of any person or community, cultural authority to act, the suitability of a format or venue, or local approval.

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

The club must approve the guide owner, inclusion rule, formal-versus-local labelling, authoritative-source standard, accessibility and review cycle.
Only the responsible authority can define an official Rotary entity, role, programme, system or policy term.
The guide cannot replace first-use explanations in stand-alone messages, decisions, forms and web pages.
Every entry requires a correction route and review or expiry date before controlled publication.

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 Rotary Acronym Guide to turn the club's stated values into everyday habits that members can recognise and uphold.

What is happening in our club or community now?What is the smallest useful version we could try? What will we leave out?

Board contactPerson leading the workPerson checking what happened

2. Our 90-day try-out

What our club will do for Rotary Acronym Guide
Step	What we will do	Who could lead it	Our date	How we will know it is done
1	Collect unfamiliar terms from recent agendas, minutes, emails, project briefs, web pages and member questions and record where each one affected understanding or participation.	Member experience lead	Over four club weeks	A real-use term and barrier inventory
2	For every term, decide whether to remove it, spell it out in context or retain it in the guide; reject terms kept only because long-standing members expect them.	Plain-language editor and club secretary	Week five	A justified shortlist and language changes
3	Verify the full term and formal meaning from the responsible Rotary or other authoritative source and clearly separate that definition from any local explanation.	Source checker	Before drafting each entry	A dated source record for every retained term
4	Draft concise entries in everyday language, test them with people unfamiliar with the term and revise anything that depends on another unexplained word.	Editor and test readers	Weeks six and seven	Tested plain-language entries
5	Publish the guide in accessible formats and update club templates so the full term still appears on first use rather than making readers leave the document to decode it.	Communications and accessibility leads	At controlled publication	A usable guide and improved source documents
6	Review questions, dead links and changed terminology, remove terms no longer needed and report which club communications have become clearer as a result.	Guide owner	Quarterly and after authoritative changes	A current guide with an evidence trail

3. Checks before we start

Things our club needs to check
Question	What it means for us	Who will check	Done?
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.
The guide legitimises jargon and makes newcomers responsible for decoding the club. — Apply a remove-first rule, expand terms in context and measure changes to source communications as well as guide use.
A local explanation is mistaken for an official Rotary definition. — Label formal and local meanings separately, cite the responsible source and prohibit unsourced expansions or policy claims.
The list becomes long, stale and difficult to use. — Include only evidenced terms, use search and categories, assign expiry dates and remove entries that are no longer necessary or current.
The guide is visually tidy but inaccessible to screen readers or people using print and low-bandwidth formats. — Use semantic text, accessible navigation, readable layout and equivalent HTML and print formats tested by representative users.
The club must approve the guide owner, inclusion rule, formal-versus-local labelling, authoritative-source standard, accessibility and review cycle.
Only the responsible authority can define an official Rotary entity, role, programme, system or policy term.
The guide cannot replace first-use explanations in stand-alone messages, decisions, forms and web pages.
Every entry requires a correction route and review or expiry date before controlled publication.

4. What changed?

What we will keep an eye on
What matters	Where we are now	What we hope to see	How we will check	Who
After 90 days, review Rotary Acronym Guide. Look for members being able to describe the club's shared character and for agreed behaviours appearing consistently in meetings, service and decisions.
Every retained term linked to a current authoritative source, a source date, a practical explanation and a named review owner.
Unnecessary shorthand removed from common agendas, minutes, invitations and project documents rather than merely added to the guide.
Newer members and guests able to explain the action or decision connected to sampled terms without assistance.
Corrections, dead links and newly reported terms assessed within the published service standard.

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.

Acronym and Jargon Use Inventory

Find terms that create real barriers and decide whether each one should remain.

Open supporting document

Plain-Language Guide Entry Template

Create consistent entries that distinguish authority from local explanation.

Open supporting document

Guide Accessibility and Distribution Check

Make the guide usable without turning it into another access barrier.

Open supporting document

Term Source, Change and Expiry Register

Keep definitions and links current and remove language the club no longer needs.

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.

We have checked this

Who can say yes?

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

We have checked this

Are people protected?

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

We have checked this

Can everyone take part?

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

We have checked this

Are the facts and permissions right?

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

We have checked this

How will we learn?

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

We have checked this

Worksheets for your club

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

Conversation guide

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

Open worksheet

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

Member pulse check

Use this worksheet to hear what people experienced and decide what to change next.

Open worksheet