Future of OPUS Survey

Thank you very much to everyone who completed the survey.  Equally, I do not ignore those who did not, nor overlook what you may be saying by your silence.

As you will appreciate, this was not a referendum but an opportunity for you all to tell the board what you think on various issues that are important in determining any future course of action. As with a certain referendum I could mention, however, it prompted responses from some of you that it had not asked the right questions.

There is something in this, of course. As I hope is also true in your case, the responses have influenced my thinking.  We have not moved straight from questions to answers.

Some measure of agreement has emerged, however, as well as other areas of divergence. In summary:

  • there is support for OPUS having a broader-than-psychosocial focus on society
  • OPUS is viewed more as a member organisation than as a charity
  • there is support for associates to get full, immediate membership, for retaining an associate category and for having a student category
  • there is support for a new 7-10 strong board serving 3-year terms, and some associates who might be willing to sit on it
  • there is support for a mixed board of appointed ’non-exec’ trustees with a governance brief and elected ‘executive’ directors with a specific portfolio
  • there is support for continuing the current division between paid and unpaid work, and some volunteers for doing both types  

I enclose a pdf containing the full results of the survey – click on the pink button below.

The questions I now have for you are:

  • what role do I want OPUS to play in my life?
  • what kind of interactions do I want with other members, both giving and receiving?
  • what action must I be willing to take in order to achieve this?

I hope I can rely on you all to tell me if these too are the ‘wrong’ questions! Let’s keep thinking, and talking, together until a clear course of action emerges.

Best wishes


Sandy Henderson
Director
07818 412303

www.opus.org.uk
Twitter: @OPUSinsociety
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SURVEY FINDINGS