Strategic Plan 2013-18

Chairman’s Forward

I am pleased to introduce our new Strategic Plan for 2013 - 2018. Every five years we produce a plan to set the direction for the organisation. It focuses on the future - where we want to be and how we will get there, but also builds upon our roots and where we have come from.

In developing the plan, we consulted with our members, service users, partners and stakeholders. We used a variety of methods – questionnaires, easy read and paper copies, plus an on-line e-survey, focus groups and an away day for trustees and staff.

I think it is important that we clearly set out our Values – why we are here, our Aims – what we want to achieve and our Objectives – specific things we want to do.

Bromley Mencap is a growing and learning organisation that is here for the benefit of people with disabilities and their carers.

The environment we operate in is a changing one, with changes in legislation, good practice and the wants and expectations of people using our services. Social and health care is undergoing significant changes. These are transforming how health and social care services are funded and delivered. The financial climate is presenting many challenges and it is important we respond to them through strategic planning.

The voluntary and statutory sectors are changing as well and we need to be clear about the things we do and make sure we respond to local needs. We need to make best use of our funds and to work in partnership with others to develop new opportunities leading to improved life chances.

This Strategic Plan will be supported by annual business plans, budgets and targets for each of our main areas of work.

Finally, I want to thank all our members, supporters, partners, staff and volunteers who have had input into this Plan and have helped us to achieve the range and quality of services we provide now. We couldn’t do it without them.

Peter Prentice

Chairman

Who we are: Bromley Mencap is an independent registered charity working with and on behalf of disabled people. We are based in the London Borough of Bromley.

We were set up as a learning disability organisation in 1951 by a group of parents with children who had learning disabilities. We started to campaign at local level and later began to provide services. In 2010 we joined together with Bromley Scope and changed our Objects to become a disability organisation providing services for people with learning and/or physical disabilities. We now run a wide range of services for disabled people of all ages, carers and families leading to independent living opportunities and improved life chances. We also campaign and provide support around representation to ensure the views of disabled people are heard and taken on board.

We are a user-led organisation and have over 1,500 members. We operate from offices in Bromley. Bromley Mencap’s continuous action on behalf of disabled people in the Borough, and on behalf of their parents and carers, is based on the principle that disabled people have a need and right to live like others in the community, and to have a reasonable quality of life. To fulfil our aims, we employ a Chief Executive and a team of staff who are supported by a loyal group of volunteers. We have a number of subcommittees and are governed by a Board of Trustees.

We seek to promote the wellbeing and development of people with a disability in all areas of their lives and to support their families and carers.

Values: At the heart of Bromley Mencap’s work lie the following core values:

  • Being person-centred and participative - putting the needs and aspirations of current and potential people with disabilities and carers first and actively involving them in the work and decision making of Bromley Mencap
  • Informed choice - based upon empowerment and social inclusion
  • Respect - for individuality, the ‘whole person’ and their culture
  • Innovative - forward looking, initiating and responding to change
  • Partnership - working with those who share our values for the benefit of people with disabilities
  • Quality - professional, innovative and accessible services that provide value for money
  • Investing in our staff and volunteers – we will support staff and volunteers, to develop their roles, generating resources and capacity to achieve our plans

Aims: Bromley Mencap will provide cost effective activities, opportunities and services for people with disabilities of all ages and their carers that:

  • Facilitate acceptance and inclusion in the community
  • Have their views and needs considered by those making decisions on the provision of services for them
  • Enable people to live as independently as possible
  • Meet identified needs
  • Challenges discrimination
  • Are person centred
  • Support their families and carers

Strategic Objectives:

  1. Involvement– As a member led organisation, we will ensure that we involve and inform people with disabilities, carers, staff in the governance of the organisation, in service and organisational development
  2. Services – We will continue to provide and develop a range of services that meet needs
  3. Campaigning & Lobbying– We will campaign and lobby for change and improvement in the lives of disabled people and their carers
  4. Personalisation– Continue to deliver value for money activities and services to funders, organisations and individuals
  5. Funding - Maximise our use of funding streams and contracts
  6. Organisational Review – Ensure that our roles and services are not in conflict
  7. Partnerships & Diversification– Develop partnership arrangements with organisations that share our values, goals and service strategies

Strategic Objective 1

Involvement - As a member led organisation, we will ensure that we involve and inform people with disabilities, carers, staff in the governance of the organisation and in service and organisational development

Context: The involvement of people with disabilities, carers and staff lies at the heart of Bromley Mencap’s way of working. However it is important to continually review how we involve people and to ensure that we are reaching and involving as many people with disabilities and their carers as possible.

Specific Objectives

  • Increase the roles of people with disabilities and carers in the running of the organisation
  • Ensure internal and external communications are accessible to people with disabilities
  • Ensure the involvement of people with disabilities and carers in the service evaluation and planning of our services and formal consultation exercises
  • Be a representative organisation within health and social care arenas
  • Develop our Bulletin, e-news, website and twitter/facebook as resources for reaching people
  • Develop new opportunities for people to support the organisation through volunteering

Strategic Objective 2

Services – We will continue to provide and develop a range of services that meet needs

Context: In an increasingly competitive environment, tendering for existing and new services will be vital for Bromley Mencap’s future. This will involve being both pro-active and responsive. Personalisation and Direct payments provides new opportunities for individuals and groups of disabled people to purchase services directly. Eligibility for council funded services and charging for services has impacted on the numbers of people accessing local authority services. This has resulted in increased requests for support and services. Members were clear that we should continue to provide preventative services

Specific Objectives

  • Retain our portfolio of services where they continue to meet need
  • Research and respond to opportunities benefiting people with disabilities
  • Develop new service areas that play to our strengths or fill gaps in services
  • Segment our service users, and further tailor services for their specific needs. Children and young people with disabilities are a significant group because early intervention improves their overall later life chances. We will therefore improve support of young disabled people, especially those who are experiencing difficult transitions to adulthood.
  • Develop flexible models of service provision so people have greater choice to purchase quality services.
  • We will continue to actively explore opportunities to extend our services to a wider groups of disabled people
  • Build upon our work on the SEN Pathway and transition planning to ensure our services meet future needs
  • Work closely with commissioners to identify service gaps and tender opportunities
  • Develop exit strategies in the event of funding and contractual changes
  • Employment and Day Opportunities were the priority areas identified by respondents

Strategic Objective 3

Campaigning & Lobbying- We will campaign and lobby for change and improvement in the lives of disabled people and their carers

Context: People with disabilities are at the margins of society, yet are facing significant changes and challenges in their lives. Nationally, there are significant changes to the welfare benefits system and employment support. Locally, pressure on local budgets has led to cuts in funding for services and support to local organisations. Changes to day and respite services, community supportand charging for services has impacted on individuals, carers and organisations.

Specific Objectives

  • Regularly consult people with disabilities, their carers and families to determine the key issues for them
  • Work with local and national organisations and other representative organisations who support our aims and objectives
  • Develop an annual campaign plan
  • Respond to consultation documents directly affecting disabled people, families and carers, whilst feeding into relevant national campaigns and consultations
  • Work in partnership with national organisations to support their campaigns

Strategic Objective 4

Personalisation– As a service provider, we need to ensure that our services are available to individuals to purchase services directly or via contracting arrangements with local authorities or brokerage organisations.

Context: Personalisation is a social care approach described by the Department of Health as meaning that “every person who receives support, whether provided by statutory services or funded by themselves, will have choice and control over the shape of that support in all care settings. Personalisation is having a significant impact on the roles of social care professionals and providers. The core functions of care management - assessing service users, drawing up a care plan and purchasing services to meet needs - are all transformed through personal budgets”.

The UK government is proposing to place a duty on councils to ensure service users can access a diverse market of providers. Bromley Mencap has already started to market and sell our services to self funders.

Specific Objectives

  • Build on our marketing of services
  • Improve, upscale and replicate our existing good practise and work
  • Engage with key stakeholder groups to determine which services individuals with personal budgets or direct payments want to buy
  • Review on-costs to ensure that our charges are competitive
  • Develop unit costs for all of our services
  • Ensure that our services are financially sustainable
  • Produce a template for core contract and tender submissions
  • Respond to tender opportunities for existing contracted services
  • Develop partnership and/or joint working arrangements with local and national organisations
  • Engage with commissioners to ensure we are aware of tendering opportunities and changes under the personalisation agenda

Strategic Objective 5

Funding –We need to build on our diverse range of funding streams to ensure sustainability

Context: Historically Bromley Mencap has had a sound contractual base with Bromley Council that provided a degree of stability. Additionally we have been successful in our applications to grants and trust funds to help us develop and deliver services. With pressure on national and local budgets and personalisation, the funding situation is very different. Having a range of funding streams is important to provide a stable and sustainable base for the organisation.

Specific Objectives

  • Review our contract base, service and on-costs and market test them to ensure that our prices are competitive
  • Work within our fundraising strategy to ensure maximum benefit to ourservice development plans and strategies
  • Seek to maintain/grow income from community and corporate fundraising function year on year.
  • Review our investment strategy
  • Secure grant income to fund time-limited projects to add value to contracts

Strategic Objective 6

Organisational Structure–Review our structure to ensure that our role as a campaigning and lobbying organisation isn’t in conflict with our role as a service provider

Context: Increasingly social services are being provided by a range of organisations, including charities – national, regional and local, not for profit, social enterprises and for profit organisations. As a local organisation that provides information and advice about services available to individuals, we need to ensure that there is no conflict of interests if we signpost people to Bromley Mencap services. Additionally, members have fed back that since becoming a disability organisation, our name does not describe their needs or disability.

Specific Objectives

  • Identify the current services funded via a contract or available through direct payments/personal budgets
  • Review the structure and identify where there are potential conflicts of interest
  • Explore different service models used by similar organisations to overcome this issue
  • Investigate social enterprises as a way forward
  • Explore the use of service or brand names to reflect more diverse service users and groups, under the Bromley Mencap name.

Strategic Objective 7

Partnerships, Mergers & Diversification - Continue to seek out merger and partnership opportunities with organisations that share our values, goals and service strategies.

Context:The market for the provision of health and social care services is changing rapidly. Many traditional working arrangements do not apply any more such only being borough specific. Furthermore services are now marketed at all groups of disabled people rather than just being provided for impairment specific groups.

Specific Objectives

  • We will actively explore opportunities for partnership workingand mergers, both within and outside the Borough
  • We will increase the number of partnerships we have with other organisations.
  • Engage with other charities and not-for-profit organisations on joint tendering opportunities
  • Seek out opportunities to work on opportunities for people with specialist or complex needs, particularly through our domiciliary care and sitting service
  • Review partnership agreements and joint contracts to ensure that they maximise the benefits to people with disabilities
  • Become a partner organisation with the Royal Mencap Society, developing a partnership plan that benefits our members and service users.

How Bromley Mencap will Measure Success?

  • Active involvement of people with disabilities and carers in our service monitoring and planning, lobbying, campaigns and consultation responses
  • Service User and Carer Satisfaction Feedback
  • Statutory, contractual and quality assurance requirements met
  • More people receiving support and services based upon their needs
  • Year on year growth in the numbers of people purchasing our services using their personal budgets or Direct Payments
  • Financial Monitoring, Annual Report and Audited Accounts and Risk Management.
  • Council of Management and sub-committees are representative, with the right skills and experience and functioning effectively

Bromley Mencap, Rutland House, 44 Masons Hill, Bromley. Kent BR2 9JG

Tel: 020 8466 0790

Email:

Website:

Registered charity number: 800685

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