Rotary District 9510Membership HubLegendary Clubs PackageM-T1-CL-03

M-T1-CL-03 · Detailed guide · Theme 1

Community Futures Summit

Enables a broad community to examine plausible local futures, test choices against evidence and agree a small set of resilient actions without presenting forecasts as certainty.

Where this idea came from

Playbook entry
M-T1-CL-03 · Community Futures Summit
Theme
Theme 1: Attraction & Visibility · Subtheme CL: Civic Leadership
Source material
Existing checked Theme 1 guide
Linked playbook entry
M-T1-CL-03 · Community Futures Summit

Why a club might use this

People can influence how emerging change is understood and prepare practical responses that remain useful across more than one possible future.

Use it when

  • Residents, young people, Traditional Owners, community organisations, public agencies, researchers, business and service leaders. Use when several long-term trends affect the community and no single organisation owns the response.

Before the club starts

  • A transparent horizon scan with sourced trends, uncertainties, assumptions and excluded topics.
  • A participation strategy covering geographic, cultural, age, disability and socioeconomic access.
  • Scenario methods, facilitation, venue or platform, data capture and action-governance arrangements tested in advance.

Capacity guide

Likely cost
$$$
Lead time
12-20 weeks
People
10-18 evidence, participation and delivery contributors

How to put it into practice

Detailed implementation steps for Community Futures Summit
StepActionSuggested owner
1Commission a concise evidence scan and ask communities which future questions matter most.Futures Evidence Lead
2Construct contrasting plausible scenarios without attaching partisan labels or preferred outcomes.Scenario Design Team
3Recruit participants through public and targeted access routes and prepare facilitators for inclusive deliberation.Participation Lead
4Run scenario sessions that test impacts, trade-offs, early signals and no-regrets actions.Summit Facilitation Director
5Publish the evidence, dissent and action portfolio with owners, dependencies and review triggers.Portfolio and Reporting Lead

Controls and safeguards

  • Present scenarios as structured possibilities, not forecasts, mandates or evidence that one political program is inevitable.
  • Do not let sponsors, public officials or high-status speakers displace community participation or control the final synthesis.
  • HIGH - elite capture, forecast theatre, inaccessible participation and unowned recommendations can invalidate a futures process.

What to measure

  • Participation matching the inclusion strategy

Follow-up: Publish an accessible summit report within 14 days, brief missing stakeholders and reconvene action owners at three and six months to test progress against emerging signals.

Related playbook entries

  • M-T1-CL-10
  • M-T1-DA-17
  • M-T1-SP-20

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.