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L-139 · Theme 4

Service Prototype Testing Event

Teams learn from real users and improve or stop ideas early.

Where this idea came from

Playbook entry
L-139 · Service Prototype Testing Event
Theme
Theme 4: Leadership, Culture & Club Experience · Subtheme 9: Innovation & Experimentation
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 leadership, culture and club experience, accessibility, privacy, safety, systems or responsible governance; they are not an endorsement of Service Prototype Testing Event, a finding that it suits any club or approval of its local design.

Primary references consulted

  • Rotary guidance for enhancing project impact (Rotary International - My Rotary)
    Used for: Rotary provides project-planning resources to help clubs design and manage effective projects, find partners, share practice and improve impact.
  • 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.
  • Volunteers - WHS duties (Safe Work Australia)
    Used for: Volunteer activities can create work-health-and-safety duties depending on the organisation and work, so local responsibilities and risks must be checked rather than assumed.

Candidate District material

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

Theme 4 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
  • Rotary service-project impact resources
    Supports: The availability of Rotary project-planning, collaboration and impact-support resources.
    Does not establish: That a project is feasible, authorised, funded, locally suitable, sustainable or demonstrably effective.
  • Engage Emerging Leaders
    Supports: Member-centred discovery, mentoring, feedback, emerging-leader support and club-health review principles.
    Does not establish: That a person is ready for office, should be selected, has consented to a role or can exercise authority outside the club's rules.
  • Governance for good: A guide for Responsible People
    Supports: Good-governance principles for roles, delegation, decision processes, 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 proposed delegation or decision complies with the club's governing documents.
  • Volunteers - WHS duties
    Supports: The need to identify the organisation's actual WHS position and manage volunteer physical and psychological safety proportionately.
    Does not establish: Whether WHS law applies to a particular club, who holds a duty, which jurisdictional rule applies or whether a proposed control is sufficient.

What still needs a person to confirm

  • Confirm the club's governing documents, election or appointment method, role authority, delegation, budget and reserved decisions before assigning leadership responsibility.
  • Confirm which incorporated-association, charity, work health and safety, privacy, safeguarding and other duties apply to the club and this local design.
  • Test accessibility, workload, belonging and alternative participation routes with affected members rather than inferring suitability from the guide.
  • Confirm every local fact, starting point, measure, cost, owner, capability claim and learning need 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?

It creates a welcoming reason for people to connect around a shared interest and leave with a clear next step.

It may suit: Members, guests or community participants who would find the topic useful, and the people hosting the activity.

Could this work in our club?

  • Consider Service Prototype Testing Event when the club has an idea worth testing but should learn before committing substantial time, money or reputation.
  • A club where the club can develop a defined capability through real but bounded practice, feedback, authorised decisions and a deliberate handover.
  • A club with a real need for safe club experimentation and capacity to support a time-bounded event with a clear purpose, accessible participation choices and a safe close.
  • A 90-day trial of Service Prototype Testing Event 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 problem, hypothesis and low-risk prototype the club is willing to test, the local authority, people affected, fixed constraints, resource ceiling, decision date and stop conditions.
  • A starting-point record and participant plan suited to a time-bounded event with a clear purpose, accessible participation choices and a safe close, with accessible information, voluntary choices and a supported alternative route where needed.
  • Named delivery, evidence and decision owners, including a person authorised to pause Service Prototype Testing Event 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 Service Prototype Testing Event 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

Service Prototype Testing Event Capability and Outcome Brief

Define the capability, real work, authority and evidence required.

Open supporting document
02

Service Prototype Testing Event Expression of Interest and Conflict Form

Support fair participation and transparent conflict management.

Open supporting document
03

Service Prototype Testing Event Role, Authority and Confidentiality Agreement

Keep learning work within approved boundaries.

Open supporting document
04

Service Prototype Testing Event Learning and Practice Plan

Turn the capability goal into deliberate work and feedback.

Open supporting document
05

Service Prototype Testing Event Observation and Feedback Record

Capture behaviour and impact without personality judgement.

Open supporting document
06

Service Prototype Testing Event Decision and Governance Check

Protect formal authority, conflicts and required approvals.

Open supporting document
07

Service Prototype Testing Event Handover and Continuity Pack

Transfer work, learning, access and open decisions.

Open supporting document
08

Service Prototype Testing Event Innovation & Experimentation Delivery Check

Test whether Service Prototype Testing Event genuinely advances safe club experimentation within the subtheme boundary.

Open supporting document
09

Service Prototype Testing Event Experience and Safety Run Sheet

Coordinate welcome, content, access, safety and evaluation without over-programming the experience.

Open supporting document
10

Service Prototype Testing Event Evidence, Decision and Close-Out Record

Bring the evidence, limitations, participant response and final decision for Service Prototype Testing Event 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

Prototype plan

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

Open worksheet
02

Feedback form

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

Open worksheet
03

Decision log

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