R-076 · A 90-day try-out

A club plan for Project-Only Participation Option

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
R-076 · Project-Only Participation Option
Theme
Theme 3: Retention & Member Support · Subtheme 6: Flexible Participation
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 flexible participation, accessibility, privacy, safety and responsible governance; they are not an endorsement of the named Project-Only Participation Option, a finding that it suits any club or approval of its local design.

Primary references consulted

  • Club flexibility FAQ (Rotary International - My Rotary)
    Used for: Rotary clubs can use flexible meeting, attendance and membership approaches within their governing documents and must make their own transparent local decisions.
  • Rotary Clubs (Rotary International)
    Used for: Rotary clubs combine service, friendship, diversity, integrity and leadership, and may support online participation for people affected by schedules, mobility or distance.
  • Enhance Your Club's Culture (Rotary International)
    Used for: Rotary encourages clubs to review traditions, explain costs, offer flexible attendance, use mentoring and vary meeting experiences in response to member needs.
  • Hosting accessible and inclusive online meetings and events (Australian Human Rights Commission)
    Used for: Accessible online participation starts with platform choice, alternative dial-in access, preparation, inclusive facilitation and accessible follow-up materials.
  • 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 need to 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 3 source-assurance wave

What has been checked

  • 5 current primary pages used by this guide were reopened on 9 August 2026.
  • 5 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
  • Club flexibility FAQ
    Supports: The availability of flexible participation arrangements, subject to member consultation, current constitutional documents, bylaws and local decisions.
    Does not establish: That a flexibility option is permitted by the club's documents, affordable, accessible, desired by members or sufficient to retain a particular person.
  • Rotary Clubs
    Supports: Rotary participation context and the value of service, connection, integrity, leadership and accessible participation in the member experience.
    Does not establish: Why a person joined, stayed or left, what support they want, whether a club meets their needs or approval of a named initiative.
  • Enhance Your Club's Culture
    Supports: Member-centred culture review, barrier reduction, flexibility, mentoring and practical conversation about the club experience.
    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 approval.
  • Hosting accessible and inclusive online meetings and events
    Supports: Practical accessibility and inclusion safeguards for online and hybrid member-support meetings, consultations, learning and events.
    Does not establish: Accessibility conformance, the adjustments a person needs or the suitability of a particular platform, format, recording practice or meeting design.
  • 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 person-led consent, privacy, scope and referral boundaries before the club collects personal information or offers support.
  • Confirm which incorporated-association, charity, work health and safety, privacy, safeguarding and other duties apply to the club and this local design.
  • Test accessibility, belonging and participation with affected members rather than inferring suitability from the guide.
  • Confirm every local fact, starting point, measure, owner, current service contact 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.

1. Is this worth trying here?

What we hope will change: Use Project-Only Participation Option to offer realistic ways to contribute when time, location, health or caring responsibilities change.

2. Our 90-day try-out

What our club will do for Project-Only Participation Option
StepWhat we will doWho could lead itOur dateHow we will know it is done
1Write a decision brief for Project-Only Participation Option: define which projects and roles can support project-only participation, the evidence already held, people affected, local authority, fixed constraints, success signals and stop conditions.Board sponsor and membership leadWeek oneAn approved decision and boundary brief
2Ask members what barrier the option should remove, check governing documents and required approvals, define contribution and communication expectations, and co-design access without collecting unnecessary personal detail.Board sponsor and membership lead with the access and privacy contactsWeeks one and twoA participant, access and information-handling plan
3Build and test a project-only contribution pathway with a defined beginning, role and finish; use the Project-Only Participation Agreement, rehearse the boundary wording, check materials and confirm who can decide, refer, pause or close the activity.Participation coordinator and technology or safety leadBefore the trialA tested project-only participation agreement and delivery pack
4Pilot the option with equivalent information, voice, safety and support; record service or governance contribution fairly; and monitor who gains or loses access, influence and workload. Capture only the evidence needed to judge whether the trial achieved its stated aim: let people serve meaningfully without assuming regular meeting participation.Participation coordinator and technology or safety leadWeeks three to eightA controlled activity and evidence record
5Analyse the evidence against the starting point, validate meaning with the people involved, record exceptions and unintended effects, and prepare a participant agreement, task brief and conversion or closure choice without overstating what the trial proves.Participation coordinator and technology or safety lead and an independent reviewerWithin seven days of the trialA participant agreement, task brief and conversion or closure choice
6Make and record the authorised continue, adapt, refer, scale or stop decision for Project-Only Participation Option; explain the reasons, complete every action or referral, close unnecessary records and schedule the 90-day follow-up.Secretary and pilot participantsBy day 90A published response, closed action register and next-step decision

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.
Use only the personal information needed. Agree who will handle routine care and who should be contacted if a serious concern arises.
The club proceeds with Project-Only Participation Option without respecting this boundary: project-only participants must receive safety, information and respect equivalent to others. — Name the boundary in the brief and participant information, give the delivery lead stop authority and move any excluded matter to its responsible process.
A flexible option creates a second-class member experience or weakens voice. — Define equivalent information, decision access, recognition and support and ask participants directly about status and belonging.
The model conflicts with governing documents or hides a required decision. — Complete a bylaws and delegation check, obtain the responsible approval and record the pilot and final decision.
Flexibility shifts unbounded work to a few people or creates safety and technology failures. — Use workload caps, explicit task briefs, support, WHS checks, accessible technology and a stop route.
The Theme 3 index establishes this current code and title. The placeholder-heavy Theme 3 candidate files remain quarantined and have not been used as delivery evidence for this draft.
No newly added or publicly writable Drive material has been used in this record. Existing Drive candidates remain attributed, unapproved and held from controlled-source status until integrity, ownership, crosswalk and human approval are resolved.
Before local delivery, the club must approve the decision, participant choices, access arrangements, privacy and records plan, role boundaries, referral or escalation routes, resource limit and the specific control for this boundary: project-only participants must receive safety, information and respect equivalent to others.
Formal human review has not started. Project-Only Participation Option remains an internal initiative-specific draft until the full corpus reaches the Full-Corpus Review Build and every source, editorial, local-suitability, accessibility and governance gate is resolved.

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 Project-Only Participation Option. Look for members choosing workable options, contributing at a sustainable level and remaining connected on terms that suit them.
Project-Only Participation Option produces a participant agreement, task brief and conversion or closure choice by the promised decision date, with evidence limitations and any participation gaps stated.
Participants can explain the option, expectations, costs, rights, support and route back to another participation mode.
Contribution and voice are recorded consistently without attendance-only assumptions or a lower-status label.
Access failures, hidden workload transfer, governance gaps and unsafe remote or event work are identified and corrected during the pilot.

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

Project-Only Participation Option Member Need and Design Brief

Define the barrier, intended benefit and people who should shape the option.

Open supporting document
02

Project-Only Participation Option Governance and Bylaws Check

Confirm local authority before changing participation arrangements.

Open supporting document
03

Project-Only Participation Option Mode Design

Specify expectations, rights and equivalent access.

Open supporting document
04

Project-Only Participation Option Access, Technology and Safety Plan

Resolve practical participation barriers and risks.

Open supporting document
05

Project-Only Participation Option Role or Task Brief

Keep flexible contribution meaningful, bounded and supported.

Open supporting document
06

Project-Only Participation Option Pilot Roster and Support Log

Coordinate participation without exposing personal reasons.

Open supporting document
07

Project-Only Participation Option Contribution Evidence Record

Recognise contribution consistently across modes.

Open supporting document
08

Project-Only Participation Option Final Decision and Member Explainer

Close the pilot with an authorised, transparent decision.

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

Project brief

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

Open worksheet
02

Role card

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

Open worksheet
03

Outcome 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