Chief Executive S Board Report

Chief Executive’s Board Report

Date: November 2016 – February 2017

Hello everyone this is Sandra Budd, Chief Executive, with highlights from my Board Report for November 2016 – February 2017.

Since the November Board meeting a considerable amount of work has been undertaken to progress key Business Plan initiatives.

In my last report I indicated I had made some changes to the leadership team structure at the Blind Foundationto lead the organisation going forward. The changes had come about following an in-depth review across the organisation with the aim of improving the services we provide to our clients today and in the future. The changes to structure have been designed to continue to put you, our client, at the heart of service design, to improve the services we provide and to provide you with an integrated service, irrelevant of which part of the organisation you connect with.

Since I last spoke to you significant progress has been made to recruit the new team and on the 23rd January those appointed commenced in their new roles. I am delighted that seven of the roles have been appointed from within our existing staff and recruitment is well underway for the remaining positions, of which some are new for the Foundation. These new positions are aimed at helping us move quickly in areas that many of you have identified we needed to focus. These included marketing our services to the wider public and referrers, raising awareness of the work we do, increasing our focus on employment and technology needs and continuing to improve our services to meet you changing needs and supporting those who support you. I will share more information further in my report.

To assist us to continually improve your experience of our services and to improve our business processes to ensure we continue to be an efficient organisation, a business transformation programme has commenced in earnest. We are currently identifying potential areas where revamping processes could bring real value and work has commenced onservice development initiatives to streamline your service experience. More information is provided in my report.

Over the past year we have also been undertaking a qualitative and quantitative analysis of our current and potential clients and referrers perceptions and expectations of service needs to help us refocus our service offerings to you. Detailed narrative interviews and data analysis were undertaken and in December a client survey of over 600 clients was undertaken to gain a deeper understanding of the initial findings. An interim report on this segmentation research has been receivedwhich provides insights into the areas our current clients identify as high service priorities which will aid our service development work.

As is our normal practice at this time of year we are now focusing our efforts on developing our business plan and budget for 2018 based on the input from the Board and Consumer planning days, engagement roadshows and the evolving outcomes of the segmentation work.

I am pleased to provide more detail in my report on the work undertaken to continue to progress the strategic plans goals.

Priority 1: Independent Living

Since 1 July 2016 we have carried out 1,164 client satisfaction surveys. The overall satisfaction rating for these six months is 93.94%. While our December’s overall result were slightly down on previous months at 91.92% our analysis indicated this was mainly due to the outcomes people had desired to achieve had not been possible due to deterioration of vision which had impacted on their ability to make progress in achieving their goals.

Developing an Integrated Personalised Service Delivery Model

As I indicated one of our major pieces of work currently underway is the workthat has commenced to streamline your service experiences. Thetransformation team is driving this programme of work to review, analyse, and revamp the service delivery model that will take anintegrated “all of service” viewinvolving all four service delivery areas, Customer Service and Advice; Independent Living; Employment and Accessibility and Community and Life Enrichment. This is a major service development initiative which seeks to streamline and personalise ourclient’s service experience. We are currently reviewing the new client services delivery model implemented by Vision Australia as it is expected the learnings from their experience will be invaluable and help fast track some of our thinking as it is aligned to an individualised model based on client choice.

Adaptive Communications Adaptive Technology Services (ACATS).

As I indicated in November we consistently hear concerns about the long waiting times for ACATS services on engagement roadshows and through complaints. This is a continuously growing area of demand and we have a number of initiatives underway to commence addressing these concernsincluding “Spreading the Technology Love”.

With technology playing an integral part of peoples everyday life ACATS recognises that the whole organisation has a role to play in clients’ use of technology. “Spreading the Love” is seen as a key initiative to enable faster response times and improved service for you.With appropriate training and support, staff from outside of ACATS can develop knowledge and skillsaround technology to enable them to provide service to clients who do not need the highly specialised skills of the ACATS team. This will allow the ACATS team to focus their specialist skills and experience on job seekers, tertiary clients and clients with complex and long term service programmes where skills development for technology is essential to helping them achieving their goals.ACATS staff commenced sharing knowledge and experience with the front line staff last year and several pilots are planned for the next three months.

Another initiative has been the appointment of a Client Support Co-ordinator for the South Island and lower North Island and recruitment is underway for a co-ordinator for the upper North Island. These roles will focus on recruiting and supporting a pool of volunteers who can complement the specialisedACAT team.

Clients who are tech savvy are being encouraged to co-ordinate initiatives in their own area such as co-ordinating a peer support group, being a technology buddy, providing an information session on new apps, facilitating a technologydiscussion group or running a technology drop-in centre. An example of where this has been picked up is the establishment of a Technology Group that meets monthly in Hamilton on Saturday mornings. While currently facilitated by an ACATS staff member in the future this could be run by a volunteer. A technology drop in centre with a volunteer facilitator was also trialed in 2016 using the Hamilton ACATS classroom.

You will also recall I told you that we are working on an agreement with SeniorNet for access to its services for all Blind Foundation clients, specifically its training and technology information sessions. SeniorNetrepresentatives will be presenting to ACATS staff in April and ACATS will present at the SeniorNet National Symposium in May.

This area remains a high priority focus for us and we will continue to look for new initiatives to support our clients.

Community Transition Program.

We continue to work to co-create this program with PVI to support young people through multiple transitions between school, further training, higher education and employment. We haveundertaken a parent survey around parental expectations of Community Transition programmes and the next stage of the project will be to engage with our youth through the YES students.In parallel, we are working with PVI on a series of Parent Network meetings to inform Parents of what the Blind Foundation can offer within our service models.

Peer to Peer mentoring.

The peer to peer mentoring pilot programme began in Christchurch in June 2016. This involved the selection and matching of mentors and mentees. Nine mentors started the two-day training programme with seven eventually being matched with mentees. The mentors have been supported by staff and attend monthly supervision sessions. The six-month evaluation report has shown the programme to be successful with positive feedback all participants. The key outcomes to date include increasedadvocacy, increased engagement with Blind Foundation activities and services, increased access to supports and services in the wider community, increased participation in recreation and life enrichment activities, support with study and career outcomes andpersonal development, confidence, role modelling and increased self-awareness for mentors and mentees. We are now planning a phased roll out of this programme nationally, with Wellington and West Auckland the most likely areas.

Priority 2: Access for all

Access for All Advocacy Networks.

The Access for All Advocacy pilot project is progressing well. Twelve out of 16 trainees from Auckland and Hamilton who attended the first workshop in July 2016 have signed on as volunteer advocates. Alumni members were invited to a social event at the Blind Foundation on Thursday 19 January to update them on the campaign and connect again.Several network members continue to offer their time and skills to assist the Access Alliance for the Accessibility for New Zealanders Act Campaign in 2017.

The Wellington Access for All Advocacy Training Workshop, planned for Friday 18 and Saturday 19 November was postponed, due to the Wellington earthquake. The replacement training was held on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 January 2017. Sixteen people attended the Wellington workshop from across the Mid to Lower North Island, including New Plymouth, Taupo, the Kapiti Coast, Napier and Greater Wellington. Participants were keen to be involved in the Access for All Network and support action in their communities.

The Alliance for Accessibility for New Zealanders Act

We initiated the Access Alliance in late 2016 and the Blind Foundation are providing project management support to the new Alliance. TheAccess Alliance agreed to the 13 principles for the Accessibility for New Zealanders Act (ANZA) which is modelled on the world leading Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act 2005. The ANZA will create mandatory and enforceable accessible standards which obligates public and private organisations with 20 or more employees to be accessible. Nine organisations have joined the Access Alliance including PVI and Kapo Maori Aoteoroa.

The Access Alliance’s position paper on “Why It’s Time for Accessibility for New Zealanders Act,” and the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) report on “Valuing Access to Work” was sent to the Minister for Disability Issues, and other parliamentary parties’ disability issues spokespersons as embargoed information, on Tuesday 14 February, to give them time to prepare for media enquiries following the campaign launch events held on 27 & 28 February in Auckland. We continue to take informal soundings from key MPs on the campaign strategy. The goal is for parliamentary parties to commit to introduce the Accessibility for New Zealanders Act (ANZA), if they office in 2017.

Media and radio coverage highlighting the economic benefits to New Zealand by employing 14000 more people with disabilities was exceptional and the momentum is growing.

Transforming Braille

You will recall me telling you that the Foundation is a managing member organisation of the Transforming Braille Group (TBG), which was set up to deliver to market a low-cost electronic braille display which will enable people who currently are unable to access such technology to do so at a cheaper price.I am pleased to tell you that this goal has been achieved. The first commercial units of the Orbit Reader have left the factory and the Foundation should receive its first instalment of deliveries within the next few weeks. The Foundation will confirm the final cost at which we will sell the Orbit Reader later this month.

World Blind Union Asia Pacific

As previously reported, Neil Jarvis, GM, Strategic Relations, was elected to the Board of the Asia Pacific region of the WBU in August as Treasurer of the region. At its first meeting in January, the Board also elected Neil to Chair the Oceania Pacific sub-region. From the perspective of the Foundation, this will better enable Neil to identify and monitor a suitable project in this sub-region which the Foundation can support. In addition to these duties, Neil continues to have lead responsibility for the region’s Marrakesh Treaty ratification and implementation campaign, and for its ICT and Accessible Technology Committee.

Blind Sector Forum

Over thepast 18 months the Blind Sector Forum has met six times under a new facilitated meeting structure designed to build cooperation, understanding and collaboration between the Forum members. The meetings focus on addressing key issues identified by the Forum and provide opportunity for sharing current activity and plans.

Throughout these meetings we have seen a noticeable increase in the sharing of challenges, opportunities and knowledge. This has resulted in significantly more discussion amongst members within and outside of forum meetings and several examples of collaboration between members. Feedback from Forum members indicates that they are seeing the meetings as extremely valuable and important to progressing the shared objectives we all share.

At the February 12 meeting new areas of focus for the Forum were identified, setting the work plan for the 2017 meetings. These promise to continue to grow the capacity within the sector and strengthen the relationships between consumer organisations and the Blind Foundation.

Priority 3: Reach more people

Eye Health Parliamentary Friends

I shared with you in my last report that this group had been launched following the Blind Foundations outcomes of the prevalence study launchThis is a New Zealand first. We will be holding our second event on the 15th March in Parliament with our Director of Research, Dr Keith Gordon, presentingto the parliamentarians on eye health issues.

Segmentation Survey

As I indicated earlier we have also been undertaking a qualitative and quantitative analysis of our current and potential clients and referrers perceptions and expectations of service needs to help us refocus our service offerings to you. Detailed narrative interviews and data analysis were undertaken and in December a client survey of over 600 clients was undertaken to gain a deeper understanding of the initial findings. The interim reportprovides preliminary results, preliminary segmentation of the membership and integration of the qualitative findings. These results indicate five priority areas from the survey participants - to work with experts to ensure Blind and Low Vision New Zealanders have access to new technologies and services (most important);encourage workplace diversity, personal and public Advocacy and supportthe supporters of Blind and Low Vision New Zealanders. This work when final analysis has been completed will help inform our future service delivery options and I thank all those who have participated in this work.

WebsiteVisit

19,000 people visited the website between the 1 Nov 2016 and 31Jan 2017. It is encouraging to see that we attracted a higher percentage of new visitors to the site (67%) than in the previous six months. People viewed more pages and were less likely to leave as soon as they hit the homepage. We are also doing well driving traffic to the site using email and social media but we believe there is an opportunity to increase traffic by optimising the site for search. We now have digital expertise in fundraising and Communications and expect to see increased optimisation of our website in the next six months.

Media Coverage Value: (i.e. where ‘Blind Foundation’ is specifically mentioned).

For the three months ending January 2017 our media coverage wasvalued at $862,722 compared to $665,817 for the same period last year. The increase invalue is due to more proactive media relations and better value media coverage, including the front page of the Otago Daily Times and radio coverage for Louis Braille’s birthday in January.

Priority 4: Building the Foundation for the future

Grow financial sustainability

I am pleased to report that for the six-month period to 31 December, the Blind Foundation and Group results are well on track to exceed budget. The Blind Foundation has generated a surplus of $4.4m in the first six months and is forecasting a full year surplus of $2.1m compared to a budgeted deficit of $0.6m. The RNZFB Group has generated a surplus of $5.1m in the first six months and is forecasting a full year surplus of $3.4m compared to the budgeted surplus of $0.9m.

Number of Regular Donors

At the end of January we had 25,577 regular donors against a target of 25,564 with growth being driven by Red Puppy Sponsorship acquisition. Our face-to-face fundraising teams are currently talking to an average of 2,500 New Zealanders each week about the work of the Blind Foundation. All of these interactions drive out voluntary income.