August 2022

Advancing Your Society through Strategic Planning

Change is difficult. You may know that your Scottish heritage society may need to operate differently or perhaps you feel you need to take another direction. Instead of relying on your gut instinct or the opinions of your leadership team, you can chart a path guided by information from your own constituents.

You can accomplish this through strategic planning. This is a process in which you define your broad objectives, gather information from your constituents about your organization and its environment, establish achievable numeric goals, determine the general approach to achieving those goals (the strategies), creating concrete projects within those strategies (the tactics), setting priorities and assignments for specific individuals, creating a timeline, evaluating the effectiveness of the tactics and strategies compared to your goals, and then revising your strategic planning.

Learn more here: https://www.cosca.scot/strategic-planning

Chiefs of the Name and Arms

The chiefship of a clan or family is regulated by the Lord Lyon King of Arms by regulation of arms. The Lord Lyon does not regulate the leadership of associations, societies or other corporate bodies created in support of a clan or family. That is an internal matter for the association, society or corporate body itself. Any chief recognised by the Lord Lyon as chief of a clan or family is chief of all who bear the name of the clan or family and not only those belonging to a particular body.

Since at least the 16th Century to be recognised as chief of a clan or family has required an individual to be entitled to bear the undifferenced arms of the clan or family (i.e. the principal arms of the clan or family that descend from one chief to the next in undifferenced form through the generations) and so be “Chief of the Name and Arms” of the clan or family. It is for the Lord Lyon to determine who has legally succeeded and is entitled to bear the undifferenced arms of a clan or family.

For a complete listing of Clan Chiefs and Commanders, see: https://www.cosca.scot/chiefs

Creating Historical Content for Your Website and Social Media

You can generate interest and traffic to your website and social media platforms by creating articles or blogs based on the history of your society or clan. You can conduct research by subscribing to general Scottish heritage print and online resources to find this information.  Another resources is the British Newspaper Archives which includes most newspeapers, many from the 18th and 19th centuries. You can also use the COSCA Research Library of non-copyrighted historical documents to research information about your heritage and ancestors. The Library incudes such primary sources as Rerum Scoticarum Historia (1582, translated from the Latin in 1827); Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, 1473 - 1546; Ancient Criminal Trials in Scotland, 1488 - 1624; and 

Access the COSCA Research Library here: https://www.cosca.scot/library

Join or Renew Today

Join the Council of Scottish Clans and Associations! We welcome clan and family groups, St. Andrew's Societies, local and national Scottish heritage organizations, games and festival organizers, and purveyors of Scottish goods and services. Your organization will receive our e-newsletter, gain access to the Members Services section of the website, become eligible to vote, and receive all other benefits of members. Scottish heritage societies are stronger together!

Join or renew here: https://www.cosca.scot/join