Every year, Friendship Force clubs eagerly anticipate their inbound and outbound journey assignments. Have you ever wondered how these matches are made? With hundreds of clubs worldwide to consider, it’s fair to say that the journey assignment process is a complex one. But fear not! FFI’s Planning Manager Kimberly Fraser is here to shed some light on how it’s all done.
FFI: Thank you for joining us to unlock the mystery of the journey assignments! I think we all understand that when there’s a lot of hosting in one place, it’s pretty straightforward to accommodate the requests to go there. What I’m interested in though, is what happens when there’s a high demand for one country or region, but very limited hosting available there.
Kimberly: Yes, this does happen a lot, and in these cases, we have to consider each club’s preferences and availability, the hosting capacity, journey history, and regional distribution.
FFI: Let’s break that down. How do club preferences influence the process?
Kimberly: Each year, club leaders submit their clubs’ outbound forms to FFI, indicating one or more countries they would like to travel to. Sometimes, we’re unable to assign clubs their first preference, so it is helpful if clubs include some more destination options for us to look at. It’s not just about destination though. We use other criteria, such as availability, to determine which club will get that journey.
FFI: Can you explain how a club’s availability for journeys impacts its assignments?
Kimberly: Well, the forms clubs send to us show the months they are going to be available to host and travel. That information can help determine whether or not a match would work. For example, many clubs in Europe prefer to host over the summer months. So if a club tells us they can’t travel in summer, then it may be difficult to find them hosting in Europe.
FFI: What about hosting capacity? Do you only match clubs of a similar size?
Kimberly: We will try to match larger clubs with clubs that can host larger groups. If a club states that they only have a small number of ambassadors willing to travel, then we will try to match them with a club willing to host a smaller number. However, this is not always possible. Occasionally, a large club may be matched with a smaller one. We do this as a last resort, presuming the large club would prefer any match over no match at all.
FFI: That makes sense. Can you tell us more about how a club’s journey history comes into play?
Kimberly: Yes – and this part is crucial to making journey assignments. Firstly, we look at the last time a club had a journey to that same region they’re requesting. Here’s an example:
If Club X and Club Y, both want a journey to Switzerland where just one hosting week is available, which club should be assigned to Switzerland? This is where the history comes in. If Club X was hosted in Europe in 2019 but Club Y was hosted there in 2017, the week in Switzerland would be awarded to Club Y because it has been longer since they have been to Europe.
The second thing we will consider with journey history is cancellations. Clubs with a consistent track record of cancelations might find themselves lower in priority for highly requested destinations (COVID-year cancellations aside, of course).
FFI: What if the two clubs in your example had both visited Europe in the same year?
Kimberly: In that case, we look at the hosting each club is offering for that year. A club offering more weeks of hosting would have priority for that Swiss week.
FFI: When we began this interview, you mentioned that ‘regional distribution’ is a factor. What exactly do you mean by that?
Kimberly: I mean that diversity is celebrated within the FFI community, and our journey assignments reflect this ethos. We recognize that clubs want to travel to and host ambassadors from a variety of countries and cultures, so we do our best to ensure that there is some variety in the assignments.
FFI: There’s a lot to look at then, between the clubs’ planning forms and their journey histories.
Kimberly: There is. Every year we collect and analyze an enormous amount of data from the inbound and outbound planning forms submitted to us by the club leaders. On top of that, a lot of consultation takes place with the FFI staff responsible for each region and of course the club leaders themselves. Journey matching isn’t an exact science, it’s a process guided by careful consideration and adaptability. Trends and preferences evolve yearly, influenced by factors such as tourism campaigns or shifting interests. In the end though, this process isn’t just about logistics. It’s about fostering meaningful connections and embarking on transformative experiences.
FFI: It certainly is. Thank you for walking us through all the details of this, Kimberly.
Kimberly: My pleasure! And if members have any questions, the planning team is just an email away at [email protected]
About Friendship Force International
Friendship Force International (FFI) is a cultural exchange organization that has brought people from all over the world of all ages, cultures, and nationalities together for almost 50 years. With a mission of promoting global understanding across the barriers that separate people, FFI has an extensive program of international exchanges many of which have a key homestay component that allows ambassadors to share a home, meals, conversation and everyday experiences. Through these unique experiences, people become friends, seeing beyond governments and borders into the heart of a country and its people. Almost one million people have participated in Friendship Force programs since the organization was founded in 1977 by Wayne Smith and introduced by U.S. President Jimmy Carter. Friendship Force has more than 300 chartered clubs and programs in more than 60 countries on six continents, with more than 18,000 members worldwide. For additional information, visit www.friendshipforce.org