RNZFB Chair’s Report April 2017

Hello All

Here is Rick Hoskin’s Chair’s report for the months of March and April 2017.

This report provides some detail of the matters that the Board has been involved with over the last two months. It also contains information about the items discussed at the recent April Board meeting. As always I remind people that if you want a full account of what occurred at the Board meeting, then the draft minutes of that meeting held on 29 April will be available through the telephone information service, on library CD, e-mail on request, or by contacting the Board Secretary on 09 355 6894. Please ask for a copy of these minutes and keep up-to-date with the matters that we are looking at on your behalf.

The headings are:

1.  Engagement Road Show Meetings 2017

2.  Constitutional Review Committee

3.  The work of the Governance, Policy and Audit Committees

4.  Blind Foundation business plan for the year ending 30 June 2018

5.  Sir Arthur Pearson Memorial Fund

6.  A new service model - Integrated Client Pathways

1.  Engagement Road Show Meetings 2017

A programme of engagement road show meetings has been developed for 2017. This year, it is proposed that we visit 13 cities and towns throughout the country. At present the questions have not been worked out, but as usual there will always be time set aside at the end of the meeting for people to ask questions or give feedback on any topic they choose. The Board has requested that we ensure the Engagement Road Show Programme is run economically, and to this end, not every town that we visited last year will be visited in 2017. However, there is still the option to join in with another meeting, an example being that folk who live in Rotorua can attach themselves to either the Taupo or Tauranga meetings. The proposed venues for 2017 are Auckland Central, Auckland West, Tauranga, Taupo, Napier, New Plymouth, Kapiti, Wellington, Blenheim, Christchurch, Timaru, Central Otago and Dunedin.

2.  RNZFB Constitutional Review Committee

My reports over the last 18 months have told you about the review of our constitution. We have now received feedback on our first draft and the explanatory document. The feedback is being included in our on-going thinking and a further iteration of the Constitution and explanatory notes will be made available in July for a further four-week period of consultation. During this consultation period we will hold a teleconference so that those who are interested can engage directly with the Committee. The final draft will be drawn up in late August and then will be sent out for members to consider and to vote on during October. If you are interested in the work of the Constitutional Review Committee, then you can contact the Board Secretary or the National Contact Centre and request the monthly updates and the details of where you can find further information.

3.  Work of the Governance, Policy and Audit Committees

The Governance Committee had its second meeting. A work plan has been developed to guide the Committee through the heavy work load that it has set itself.

At the Governance Committee meeting we have looked at the first version of a Board Director Code of Conduct. The Committee is seeking a legal opinion to determine the approach to ensure that directors are bound by the Code.

The Chair of the RNZFB Board carries out many duties that could be performed by the directors. To reduce the Chair’s workload, the Committee is looking to formalise a process that will give the Governance Committee greater responsibility.

We have started work on a Job or Position description for RNZFB Directors. It is hoped that this will be available to be sent out with the Candidates nomination material.

Following the resignation, due to other commitments, of Paul Sullivan from the position of Governance Committee Chair, Nicola Owen has been appointed to the role.

The Audit Committee received the accounts for the first nine months of the financial year, showing that we are in a healthy position and ahead of budget. The Audit Committee approved the Blind Foundation and Foundation Properties Limited budgets for the year ending 30 June 2018 and recommended their adoption to the RNZFB Board. Each year, the Audit Committee reviews the Delegation Authority which outlines the financial responsibilities and limitations for Management. At the June meeting, the Audit Committee will also receive a new Statement of Investment Policy and Objectives (SIPO) for its consideration.

The Audit Committee met with the independent directors of Foundation Properties Limited and was introduced to the work that has been carried out around a master plan for the Parnell site. Recently, Foundation Properties Limited has been able to purchase the last corner of the block and this will greatly expand any future development options.

The Policy Committee continues to work through the governance policies in an attempt to make them shorter and more user friendly. At the April meeting, we finalised the Chief Executive Interrelationship Policy which details delegation, authority, remuneration, performance and appointment. As well, we have approved the policy which details the Chief Executive’s duties.

The Policy Committee has also reviewed the processes for appointing directors and trustees to the Bledisloe Estate and Bledisloe Royston trusts and for Foundation Properties Limited.

The Committee has completed a Health and Safety Statement of Intent which outlines the Board’s responsibilities in respect of the Health and Safety in the Work Place Act 2016.

4. Blind Foundation Business Plan for the year ending 30 June 2018

The Board has approved the Blind Foundation Business Plan for the year ending 30 June 2018. This plan has been developed following feedback from the Engagement Road Shows with clients and other stakeholders, a business planning day with consumer organisations and clients and input from meetings between the Board and Management. If you would like a copy of the plan, please contact the Board Secretary or the National Contact Centre.

5. Sir Arthur Pearson Memorial Fund

The Directors of the RNZFB are the trustees of the Sir Arthur Pearson Memorial Fund. This fund receives applications for support on the basis of hardship and the costs of blindness. The Fund does not allow the capital to be allocated and, therefore, has a finite accumulation of interest to apply to applications each year. The interest available for distribution is insufficient to accommodate every request. The Fund’s trustees have been asked to give consideration to applications from those who are in paid employment for 30 hours per week or more, those who are calling on the fund for support on a regular basis, and those Deafblind people who wish to receive support for appliances additional to their hearing aids. For a summary of the decisions made at this meeting, please contact the Board Secretary or the Contact Centre.

6. A New Service Model - Integrated Client Pathways

The Board received a paper updating it on an important initiative which is currently underway in respect of reviewing and improving the Blind Foundation’s approach to service delivery. This is a significant programme of work comprising multiple projects and work-streams and the scope will include all service areas at the Blind Foundation.

Integrated Client Pathways is a major initiative which will better align services to client needs, enabling service delivery to happen quicker and in a more responsive way and provide a framework for greater service innovation that will better deliver value to clients. At its heart, is the principle of integration and seamless service delivery which will support a more seamless client service experience. The service will adapt to changes in the environment which is built on strong client-centred principles and insights. The Integrated Client Pathways will also set the organisation up to be able to adapt to individualised funding if/when this eventuates, however, the primary goal is principally around providing clients with the best possible service experience and giving them greater choice. The revised Integrated Client Pathway model is likely to have the following features:

·  An inter-disciplinary approach to service delivery – our core service roles will have a greater breadth of scope, so they can meet a wider range of base level client needs, rather than refer necessarily to other disciplines. In essence, we will be empowering staff to better solve client needs and requests, many of which are currently being referred on to different service areas across the organisation.

·  Use specialist skills where needed most – rather than using specialists for lower level work, save them for areas of specific specialist need.

·  Service at first point of contact – change the assessment process so it happens through the process of service, addressing urgent needs early and less urgent ones later on.

·  Client/person-centred approach – giving clients more sense of ownership of their service journey, through a stronger partnership model between client and service provider.

·  Single point of contact – using inter-disciplinary roles will enable one service person to be a primary point of contact, which will also support improved long term follow up.

This concludes my report for March and April 2017.

Rick Hoskin

Board Chair

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