Update on the Council Focus Survey

Thank you to all the members who filled our Council Focus Survey back in October and November of last year. Your input is very valuable to us and is the basis for our strategic planning.

Council has begun the work of winnowing through the various submissions and assigning them for action. We tackled the first nine topics at our most recent meeting, and would like you to know what's up.

First up are issues focussing on diversity and inclusivity. Council already has a Diversity Committee on the go (Minh Ly is the liaison) and they have been provided with the contact info for those of you who expressed an interest in the subject. Greater opportunity and more diversity onstage were the big topics here, and the committee will also be doing follow up work from last term's Census, turning data into action.

In response to the stage management submissions, Council has renewed the SM Committee (Kate Sandeson will be the liaison), and they expect to be up and running again shortly. If you provided contact info in relation to this topic, that has now been passed on to the committee for outreach. Issues surrounding apprenticeships dominated the submissions, and that will likely be an early focus of their discussion.

There were quite a few submissions dealing with indie theatre, although spread across a range of aspects. Member education and general calls for support were two of the big topics identified. In order to get a bit more focus for any future committee work, liaisons Katey Wright and Jaron Francis will be getting in touch with members who provided contact info, and then report back to Council with a more concrete proposal for action.

Improvement to the insurance plan remains an ongoing topic, and Council has asked staff to prepare a  report on the various topics addressed in the submissions. We'll be reviewing that in February.

Calls for a greater partnership with ACTRA was next up in terms of submissions, and those comments will be shared with the Council committee already dealing with that. The liaison for that group is Allan Teichman.

Not far behind were a range of comments on member engagement and involvement. Sedina Fiati is Council's point person for that work, and contact info has been passed to her for outreach as she gets going on the topic.

As with the last term, a range of opera issues have been brought forward, and Peter MicGillivray will be heading up that committee as it gets going.  Contact info has been passed on from those survey participants who asked that we share the info.

Members also flagged a number of issues dealing with work on contract. These have been passed over to staff for the negotiation and review file, and they will also be providing follow-up to Council at a later meeting.

The last topic we tackled was advocacy and lobbying. As with some of the other issues, there was a range of things identified. Council has asked for more status info from staff on current advocacy initiatives, and they will report on that in February.

More to come as we tackle the next slice of survey responses in February. As always, we are open to your ideas any time of the year. If you have any feedback or thoughts on these issues or any other, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Council Focus Survey Summary

In prep for the inaugural meeting, Council got its first look at the detailed Council Focus survey results. We still have to work our way through them, but we wanted to share the overall picture with you right away.

304 submissions were received from a total of 213 members, which is almost an identical participation rate from the last time we did this. Up to three suggestions were solicited per response – just less than half of submissions included at least two, and one-quarter included three. About one-third of the respondents indicated that they would be willing to be contacted in regards to their submissions, which means we have access to even more detail, if needed.

Each submission was assigned a short topic heading based on the main point being made. Then, related and compatible categories were combined – the top two suggestions are good examples of this.

Here are the results ranked by frequency.

Inclusivity (diversity)	45
Stage management issues	32
Indie theatre	29
Insurance	20
ACTRA (partnership with)	18
Member Engagement and Involvement	13
Opera	13
Engagements (general)	12
Advocacy	11
Rehearsal issues	9
Engagements (terms)	9
Fees	8
Jobs	8
Scale agreements	7
Regional issues	6
Governance	6
Touring	5
Seniors	5
Respectful workplaces	5
Digital Media	5
Auditions	5
Visioning  for the future	4
Communications	3
Career transition	3
Understudy	2
U.S. work	2
Safety at work	2
Promotion of the Artist	2
Professional development	2
Mentorship	2
Joining	2
Engagers	2
Elections	2
Dues	2
Audiences	2
Volunteer shows	1
Staff	1
Showcase opportunities	1
Script development	1
RRSPs	1
Reciprocity	1
Engager education	1
Employment insurance	1
Member Service	1
Benefits and Fundraisers	1

General comments were also requested at the end of the survey, and we received 49 of these.

Council will be reviewing the overall patterns in these results as a priority item and making a determination on which topics to target over the course of the term. Members can also expect to see some committees formed early in the new year to tackle major issues.

As always, we welcome your comment and feedback. You can contact me at president@caea.com, or Katey Wright, Second Vice-president at councilcontact@caea.com, or either of us through the national office.

Equity Council Elections and Focus Survey

Once you've finished casting your ballot in the Federal election, don't forget to cast your ballot in Equity elections! Voting closes October 30.

And, while you're at it, don't forget to contribute to our Council Focus survey. How do we know what's important to the membership? You tell us.

Finally, just in case you might be thinking "Council, what??", here is a link to some useful topics on Council basics. Everything you ever wanted to know, and then some.