Executive Officer’s Annual Report August 2008
I commenced with the ADPN almost 12 months ago and have been on a voyage of discovery since then. My predecessor, Judith Lunny, deserves a special tribute. She has maintained her interest in the ADPN and has been there to guide me on many occasions when I was floundering. I really appreciate her very patient assistance and have great respect for her achievements during the time she was at the helm of the ADPN.
The title of Executive Officer sounds interesting and important, but in reality it means being a Jack of All Trades. So I have learnt, indeed I am still learning, the ropes when it comes to balancing administration with action with regard to, what I think, are the expectations of members. Having seen the cycle around for nearly a year I feel better equipped to tackle the next year.
Funding
The biggest challenge remains that of acquiring funding which will sustain us as an organisation. While we are a not-for-profit body working in the disability sector, we are not seen as a “hands on” organisation. This limits the number of agencies to whom we can apply. However, there are funders who have been extremely generous to the ADPN and I would like it to be known by them that we are very grateful for their willing support.
New Office
To open the year, a new office was established in Onehunga, based in the Parent and Family Resource Centre building. At the same time, a new logo was introduced and a website opened. Changing your addresses always brings problems and it has taken many months to ensure that most of our post comes directly to the office. Thankfully, Judith has been very understanding and she forwards mail and emails that still go to her address.
Submissions
The first major event of the year was an oral submission by the ADPN to the governmental select committee (August 2007) on behalf of providers. However, nothing has been heard of either that committee or the submission since!
As a result of a meeting organised by the ADPN in June 08, for people interested in the Schools Plus proposal, a submission containing recommendations from the sector was sent to the Ministry of Education.
Forums
Tania Thomas, Assistant Health and Disability Commissioner, addressed the first forum of the year: “Disability Issues that Challenge the Provider Sector”. She identified some of those issues and discussed two which she considered to be central to addressing them, namely the consumer centred approach and leadership and performance.
The second forum held in November in conjunction with Standards Plus, was on the topic of “Sustainable Social Innovation”. Canadians, Al Etmanski and Vickie Cammack from the Plan Institute in Toronto introduced a system for safeguarding the financial future of young people with disabilities.
In March 08, in conjunction with the Ministry of Health, we ran the “Working together because we work together” forum. This gave providers an opportunity to discuss the services of the Ministry. We await the Ministry of Health’s report.
Information distribution
THis has been achieved in 2 newsletters and a weekly circulation by email that goes to a very wide network of both organisations and individuals, all of whom have an interest in the disability sector. The website is also a vehicle for information.
A delegation of 12 Korean disability providers was hosted on behalf of the ADPN by one of our member organisations, Te Roopu Taurima O Manukau Trust. The Korean visitors came to New Zealand with the objective of seeking information about disability services in New Zealand. They really appreciated their visit.
Membership of the ADPN
Membership is slowly building up again, but is not at the level of 2 years ago. This is largely because late in the year a mail out reminder to renew subscriptions was not posted. In addition to the main objectives of the ADPN, the Executive is looking at ways in which membership can be enhanced. One way is for members to receive a price advantage at events, such as the political forum today. Other
member privileges are being developed and will be presented to the membership in the coming months.
Plan for the future
Our business plan developed earlier in 2008 looks forward to 2010. In it we have redefined our vision and mission statements.
Our vision is for “an inclusive future for people with disabilities in the Auckland region”.
Our mission is “Disability Providers working together to ensure access to and equity of services, for people with disabilities and their supporters, advancing the collective strength of the Auckland Disability Providers Network.”
In line with the objectives that were defined, we are now working on improving our marketing and communications, our services to members and on ensuring that funding is sustainable.
I intend to visit more of the members in the coming year in order to have a greater understanding of their business and so be able to be more responsive to their needs. We are anxious to ensure that the ADPN is providing the service that is needed by the members and we do welcome feedback, whether positive or negative.
I would like to thank all members of the Executive for their patience and support during the last year, and special thanks to Colin Reive, our Chairman for his help.
Pam Antill
Executive Officer
