Scout Radio

In Conversation with Matt Hyde – Your questions answered

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/245397809″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Scout Radio’s Martin caught up with Matt Hyde earlier this week to put the questions that you sent in to The Scout Association’s Chief Exec as part of our In Conversation With series.

As always we had a wide range of questions from Cubs100 to Tim Peake as well as the Compass membership system, all of which Matt answered with his usual informative approach.

Matt is approaching his third year anniversary as Chief Exec, and Martin asked him what he set out to achieve in the first few years of his appointment.

The headline in the first year was the development of the strategy – Scouting for All, which has focused on these four areas of growth, inclusion, being shaped by young people and community impact.

After three years of new initiatives and change Matt, sees the need for continued support for those at all level to help reinforce those changes.

We are acutely aware how many initiatives have come from Gilwell Park. I think the next year is about consolidating and embedding some of those changes, [with a] particular focus on the programme to ensure that people are well supported to deliver the programme.

2016 sees Cubs celebrate their 100th birthday, with some criticism from certain sectors that it has not been promoted enough, but Matt disagreed.

We launched Cubs100 about two weeks ago. that ran on BBC News, it actually ran throughout the whole day which is exceptionally unusual.  In the first two weeks we’ve had over 55 media outlets covering the centenary already. That’s the equivalent of 24 million people in the UK, and nearly 200 million around the world.

Finally Matt spoke about the connection that Scouting has with Tim Peake.

We have had some interaction with Tim already, not least because he said that Scouting put him on the path to become an astronaut.  I think there will be lots more opportunities with him over the period, clearly there’s been loads of people who have wanted to make the most of this experience, and understandably so.

Whilst Matt wouldn’t rule out whether Tim Peake would be an ideal candidate for the next Chief Scout, he did remind everyone of the continued work that Bear Grylls is currently doing, not least by discussion Scouting with Barack Obama on a recent show.

More articles about our In Conversation With Matt Hyde will be released throughout February. To find them head to scoutradio.org.uk/questions.