Introduction
Since our foundation in 1961 as the British Parachute Association, we have a proud record of accomplishment. Following the completion of our previous five-year, the next five years are about maximising the momentum and continuing our development. We aim to be fit for the future as an expert, world-class organisation providing services and support for people experiencing the exhilaration of British Skydiving and to promote, encourage and enable participation in our sport. We remain fully committed to our prime strategic priority of increasing safe participation and enjoyment of British Skydiving, and of growing and developing the best of British Skydiving to shine on the world stage.
As a third sector, not-for-profit membership body, we are uniquely positioned to use our resources – including volunteers from our membership – to drive positive action, influence and delivery more widely than ever before. We have expertise and networks in all aspects of our sport to fulfill our role as the authoritative and pre-eminent organisation for British Skydiving, with responsibilities in both the home countries and in showcasing the best of British Skydiving talent on the international stage.
We operate under an Exposition from the UK Airspace Regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority, by which British Skydiving is regulated. This has resulted in a world-class safety record for British Skydiving, achieved by an effective and efficient system of safety management in which all our Affiliated Operators play an integral part.
We are recognised as the National Governing Body of British Skydiving by UK Sport and the home countries sports councils. We nominate the UK delegation to the International Skydiving Commission of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale – the World Air Sports Federation. The FAI is represented in the UK by the Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom, in its coordinating role as UK National Airsports Control. We are a member of, and we nominate delegates to, the RAeC Council. We engage with the wider sporting landscape through our membership of the Sport and Recreation Alliance.
Annex: Components of strategic goals
Our challenge and context
For all those involved, there has never been a better time to make the most impact, nor a brighter light to shine on our ambition. We should focus on what is still to come, what is new and stimulating and what can be created and built upon as we reach out and develop British Skydiving.
National Governing Bodies (NGB) of Sport are under greater scrutiny from members, the media and the wider public than ever before. The environment in which sporting bodies operate has become increasingly litigious. Also, the last decade has witnessed a digital communications revolution through social media in particular. These influencers look set to continue over our next five-year planning cycle and beyond.
NGBs such as ourselves, historically with the culture of a national club, need to equip ourselves with a clear vision and a strategic plan to realise it. Our strategic plan needs to be supported by the right structures and competences to govern, support and champion our members and our sport in an efficient, effective and businesslike manner. We need to do this while nurturing our personal, member-centric approach, cherishing the camaraderie and bonhomie for which our sport is renowned.
Within our own sport over the last decade or so, we have seen:
- the development of improved safety management systems;
- recognition of new competition disciplines such as Canopy Piloting and, most recently, Wingsuit Flying; and
- growth in Tunnel Flying (‘indoor skydiving’) not only for training, but for international indoor skydiving competitions organised by the FAI, etc.
Our most powerful role is as a nexus, the go-to body for all aspects of British Skydiving. With our membership, including many specialists and active volunteers, and our staff, we have unparalleled knowledge. We must use this
knowledge to apply our resources wisely and in a structured and systematic manner to govern, support and champion our sport, recognising that we can only do this in partnership with other stakeholders whose support we must continue to earn.
Our vision
To secure skydiving as a safe, enjoyable and accessible sport for all.
Our vision is driven by our belief that through the power and inspiration of our members, partners, staff and supporters, we can achieve a change in the way wider society sees British Skydiving.
Our culture and values
As a membership body, our culture is to ensure that our members and those who support them are treated, and treat each other, with respect, integrity and consideration.
Our approach will always be member-centric, concentrating effort and resources where we believe we can make the most significant impact. This approach will apply to all of our activity, with our belief that it is support for our members that matters most, and where transformation can best be achieved.
We will continue to organise and structure ourselves to best achieve our ambitions, and employ or engage with people that are driven by excellence, have a belief in the highest standards and the need constantly to improve.
We will demonstrate a passion for everything we do and an ambition to achieve the most we can. We believe we can make a real difference for the better by working together.
We are an organisation with unique responsibilities and roles. However, we will only achieve our ambitions by working with and through others, and by appreciation of where we fit within the skydiving and wider sporting communities.
To secure the mandate we need to maximise momentum, we must inspire confidence, trust and respect from our members, staff, partners and our other stakeholders. We are, therefore, committed to a culture of openness, integrity and honesty.
We will be guided in our member-centric behaviour by four primary organisational values:
Our Challenge and Context
We have five strategic goals for the five-year period, 2023-27. Our goals determine our activities by providing a clear strategic focus and outcomes, and these goals are complementary to each other rather than being set out in any particular order:
- DRIVE resilience across British Skydiving through good governance by assuring that our policies, procedures, and processes are fit-for-purpose, measurable and compliant practically and legally.
- ASSURE the financial sustainability of British Skydiving.
- ENGAGE with our members, stakeholders, and wider communities to grow the sport.
- Develop and expand the EXPERTISE of the British Skydiving team to advance the sport.
- RAISE the visibility, awareness, and integrity of our brand across all channels.
Working in Partnership with our Stakeholders
We recognise that we cannot achieve our strategic goals in isolation. We have not just a responsibility but a desire to work in partnership with other stakeholders and commercial partners for mutual benefit. We must work hard to keep our mandate to act in the way we believe is best for British Skydiving, our members and other stakeholders and our sport in general.
Our values reflect this; not just our commitment to excellence, but the openness and honesty of our approach, and the respect and trust we have for others. Most of all, we will keep our members as beneficiary at the heart of everything we do. To lose that focus would be to lose our purpose.
All this will happen against a background of organisational transformation; a process of learning and improvement that will build upon our previous great work that has built our proud history and heritage, and ensure that we are best placed to adapt, progress and succeed in an ever-changing world.
The necessary and important steps on this journey are:
- Continue the revision and amendment of our governance structures to deliver our strategy to 2027 and beyond.
- Enhancing our staffing structures and any associated development.
- Ensuring that we are financially robust.
Conclusion
In delivering this plan, we will differentiate between those areas in which we are mandated to deliver; those where we can lead activity for the good of the wider skydiving community; and those where our influence and our profile – our brand – can help facilitate the activity and ambitions of our members and our other stakeholders.
It links an ambitious vision to clear outputs: six strategic goals that focus on our primary role of delivering wider benefits to our members and other stakeholders, and our ability to develop and promote British Skydiving on the national and international stage. We are clear about our core programmes and activities; our priorities, affiliations and partnerships that will enable us to work effectively; and about the means by which our members and other stakeholders will contribute to our strategic goals and share in our success.