On 1st January 2011, Rotary International (RI) wrote to every club offering the opportunity to test new models of Rotary club membership by participating in innovative pilot programmes authorised by the RI Board of Directors. Numbers of participating clubs were limited.
The programmes for this pilot scheme began on 1st July 2011 and were extended to run until 30th June 2017. In Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland (RIBI), a number of clubs applied and a few were selected to take part.
However, the RIBI General Council 2011/12 decided that any club might, with the agreement of the District Governor, apply to run one of the models outside the official RI scheme and within an RIBI Pilot Programme. A number of clubs have been testing innovation and flexibility, Associate Membership and Corporate Membership. Satellite clubs, which initially were a pilot programme, became part of the RI constitution in 2013.
The Council on Legislation (CoL) met in April 2016 and a number of Rotary policies were revised. As a result of this, changes will be made to the RIBI Standard Club Constitution and the amended version will be available soon.
Over the past 15 years, Rotary has carried out pilot programmes which have explored innovations in membership, classification, and the club experience. Consistently, in research and in the experiences of members, RI has found that when clubs have more freedom to determine how they hold their meetings, who they invite to membership, and what defines engagement, the club is more vibrant and able to grow. Although the pilot programmes in RIBI have not been formally assessed, feedback confirms RI findings.