As this is a public forum (yes, in complete public view for the whole internet to see, no VATSIM login required and searchable on Google...) I will refrain from going into details or discuss or review actions of any current or former board/staff members in this forum. I'm happy to continue this discussion if needed in our other channels where we can discuss privately, or at least not in view of the whole internet. With that said I'll make some general comments on my view on the state of VATSIM Scandinavia and my experience with board and staff duties.
The current state of VATSIM Scandinavia
Impressive levels of activity
Over the last few years, we've seen a huge increase in activity, both in online traffic, ATC staffing and the interest in joining VATSCA for ATC training. While a lot of it is thanks to outside factors (FS2020/2024, AFV etc.), we shouldn't forget that much of this comes down to the commitment of our members and staff. The amount of positive feedback we see whenever we host events (VTC is in a class of its own here!) and also in response to everyday activity really shows that we are doing something (most things!) right.
Independent FIRs
The FIRs or countries in VATSCA are essentially completely independent of each other. While we have a closer cooperation regarding for example event planning compared to our relations with non-VATSCA countries/FIRs, the day to day running is completely indepedent. Each FIR has its own training system, own documentation, own procedures, own technical setup, etc. It wasn't always like this - before GCAP any VATSCA controller could control any non-major airport across VATSCA. While this was perhaps not great for ATC quality or familiarity with local procedure, at least it gave members a sense of being connected to the other VATSCA FIRs (if they so wished), and not just their home FIR.
Connected through the technical infrastructure
Perhaps the most important structure that keeps us together today in VATSCA is the technical infrastructure: Website, Discord and probably most importantly the Control Center. We all rely on these services to be able to enjoy VATSIM for everyday controlling, managing ATC training and so on. All thanks to our great tech team!
VATSIM Scandinavia in relation to VATEUD and the rest of VATSIM
A few years ago there was a drive (by our Director) to make Scandinavia its own VATSIM Division. The VATSIM Europe Region (VATEUR) is divided into three Divisions: Europe (VATEUD), UK (VATUK) and Russia (VATRUS). VATEUD is further divided into VACCs (or sub-divisions). A VACC can range in size from Estonia/Latvia/Lithuania to... well, Scandinavia. We are the largest VACC (I haven't checked in terms of members, but definitely in terms of airspace /FIRs covered), and I think it goes without saying that having the same basic organisational structure to cover our five countries with hundreds of airports, different national procedures etc, compared to Estonia for example, comes with some challenges. For example, VATEUD requires one Training Director to oversee the training in the whole VACC. That is a huge task in VATSCA and can't really be compared to the same task in a smaller VACC.
Board and staff work
If you have read this far, you will have understood that the day to day running of VATSCA does not really rely on the Board (Director, FIR Directors and Training Director) coming together and making decisions. Board work has mainly consisted of deciding on overall VATSCA policies (such as updating our Constitution), appointment of staff members and discussing confliction resolution/disciplinary actions when needed.
FIR Director role
Even though the job description for FIR Director is quite clear, this position has been treated quite differently in our different FIRs. For example, the Finland FIR Director position was vacant for a long time, but the FIR was still running smoothly (from what I can tell), because the day to day running is not done by the FIR DIR but by other members (not necessarily official staff members). LoA negotiations and similar have been done with these non-staff members on behalf of the FIR Director.
Unfortunately this means, in my view, that the FIR Director role gets diluted and it becomes a sort of "placeholder" position. If the FIR Director is only there in order to represent the FIR in the Board, but has no actual practical duties in the FIR, is the position needed?
Also in Sweden, I'm not able to do all the FIR Director work on my own, especially as these days we have a complex setup of files needed to run the operation (not only for EuroScope but vATIS, AFV, the new VACS etc). While I will "sign off" on all major changes, I'm helped by non-staff members both with the technical stuff and creating and updating documenation (another sometimes very time consuming task for the FIR Director).
I would be open to making these "helper" positions more official (like in Germany where they have a "NAV Department" in their respective FIRs), but I also think that one reason people are willing to help out is because they don't feel they have an obligation to do it, thanks to not being official staff members.
Training Director role
As I touched on before, the TD role in a huge VACC like ours seems quite daunting. While I don't really have much insight in the daily job of the TD from perspective as FIR DIR, I know that the daily running of the ATC training at least in Sweden FIR is left mostly to our local Training Manager, with the TD mostly getting involved only in disputes, transfer/visiting requests, VATEUD contacts etc. In other words, the TD has become more than anything else a Training Administrator.
Personally I've always had a vision of a more unified training system for VATSCA. Perhaps even basic training done in a fictive airspace in the same way all over the VACC. This could free up a lot of resources (the same documenation, simulator files and even mentors for the whole VACC, instead of each FIR "inventing the wheel" over and over). But I realise that this is probably unrealistic, considering how disconnected the training is between FIRs with our current setup, and also the fact that most people probably want to control in their home country (or a place they have a connection to) as well as doing the training in their native language, if possible.
VACC Director role
From our current Constitution (5.5.1):
The work in VACCSCA is led by the director. The director represents the
organization towards its parent and other organizations. The director has the
overall responsibility for all subordinated areas and the main responsibility for all
areas not covered by any other staff position. It is the Directors responsibility to see
to that staff-positions are manned.
To me, this job description is not as clear as for most other staff members. It means the Director can in many ways set his own agenda, and most of our Directors over the years have done so in one way or another. We have had the attempt to make VATSCA its own division, and lately work on completely revising the Constitution. However, apart from big, one time projects such as these, I admit as FIR Director I don't really have much insight in the day to day work of the Director. I'm not aware of what the workload is like or what kind of tasks need to be done on a weekly basis for example (I understand ATC transfer applications and disciplinary issues usually ended up on the Director's desk).
A hobby - not a job - also for staff members!
I think it's extremely important to remember that we are all in this to have fun, because we all like to simulate aviation and ATC in our spare time. This is also true for staff members. Even though as staff we have signed up to complete certain tasks/duties, we are volunteers and the staff work is still part of the hobby. If it starts feeling too much like a job, it won't be enjoyable anymore and the result will be less work done, tasks left unfinished and ultimately resigning from staff positions.
Having been involved with this for so many years I have seen this happening over and over, from event staff not getting involved in creating events, to training staff leaving training queues to build up, to FIR Directors not being involved in developing the FIR. Sometimes this is due to a mismatch where the person was never really interested in doing the work (perhaps more interested in a "fancy" title?), sometimes it's for personal reasons, but it can also be because of undue pressure from other (staff) members. This may not be intentional, but it can have the ultimate consequence of someone quitting the staff position or even getting fed up with the hobby altogether (over the years I've seen examples of both).
Some examples of this kind of pressure are:
- Technical changes ("we need all documents to be converted to XX format / uploaded to YY and the deadline is..."): While this is often unavoidable, there needs to be an understanding that depending on the size of the project/number of documents this can create a very large workload and there needs to be good communication regarding implementation and deadlines - not just "we have launched a new project and now everyone has to comply".
- Organisational changes: This is not so common within the VACC but we have a lot of experience of these kinds of changes being forced upon us from VATEUD (GRP, GCAP). Again good communication is needed if you are going to "force" someone to adapt to a change (remembering it often requires extra work from the ones having to implement the change).
- Unrealistic expectations: "I have a project/change that I want to implement NOW." Well, if your project involves others (such as across FIR boundaries, or just requiring input from others), remember that it's a hobby for everyone involved and that others may not work to your schedule. "I need this on my desk by Monday" is not the kind of management style we need in a hobby organisation.
Another reflection on pressure/expectations is that today the VATSIM environment is very different to just a few years ago, not only because of welcome improvements such as AFV, but the way we are constantly available through Discord is a major change compared to before when forums and email were the main way to communicate when not actually online on VATSIM. While Discord is a great way to socialise and stay connected, I feel as a staff member with an obligation to stay involved, it takes a lot of energy to keep on top of what's happening on Discord. Conversations quickly turn into hundreds of messages, and if you're not there to read them in real time it can be almost impossible to catch up. (And I'm not only talking about the channels open to most members, there are various staff/board/mentor/development servers/channels to stay on top of.) So from my perspective it would be good to slow down the communication, not when it comes to socialising but when it comes to serious discussions. Reading a forum thread with 5-10 posts is a lot easier than trying to make sense of 100+ messages in a Discord thread. I realise this probably makes me sound like a dinosaur. 🙂
Summing up...
Wow, that turned out to be a much longer post than I expected! To sum up:
- We should be proud of what we've achieved with VATSIM Scandinavia.
- Our organisation can probably be tweaked in various ways. Scandinavia as a new VATSIM Division? A different Director/Board/Staff setup? Training more integrated between FIRs? Or on the other hand FIRs to be run even more independently (then, do we only need VATSCA for the web services?)?
- It's not always the official staff members that do the work (which is maybe not desirable?).
- The Director role is not as clear cut as other staff roles, which means the Director often wants to put his mark on the organisation (which only works with the backing of other staff/members).
- It must be understood that everyone is doing this as a hobby and for fun, including all staff members. If it starts feeling too much like a job or if treated like a subordinate or employee, the enjoyment will go away and so will our staff.
As I said in the beginning, I don't want to get into detailed discussions in this open forum, but if you want to discuss further feel free to reach out in any of our Discord channels or via private message/email.
