NCBI Annual Report 2020 3 Chairman’S Introduction
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ANNUAL REPORT 2020 Contents Contents Chairman’s Introduction ................................................................... 4 CEO’s Introduction ............................................................................. 6 Our Values ............................................................................................. 8 Our Impact in 2020 ............................................................................ 9 Strategic Priorities 2017-2020 ...................................................... 14 1 Better Outcomes ............................................................ 14 2 Access and Reach ......................................................... 26 3 Excellence Across Service Delivery ......................... 30 4 People Development ................................................... 39 5 Impact and Value .......................................................... 41 5.1 Retail .................................................................................. 41 5.2 Foundation ...................................................................... 43 6 Policy and Advocacy ................................................... 50 Finance and Governance ............................................................... 56 NCBI Annual Report 2020 3 Chairman’s Introduction 2020 was an unprecedented year when Governmental and societal efforts to protect public health against Covid19 took centre stage. All sections of society were affected from closure of schools and services through to adapting to living socially distant from family and friends. However, for people who are blind or vision impaired, Covid19 presented unique challenges as it also robbed them of their sense of touch and led to increased feelings of isolation and vulnerability. In response to this, it was heartening to see how NCBI responded and adapted its services to ensure continuity of support throughout the year. This involved the service delivery model changing to offering services remotely as well as in person. These virtual services included NCBI Labs technology clubs, launching the new employment supports, online peer support groups and the Summer Programme offered to children and young people. This shift in offering to virtual supports will continue and remain a key feature of the forthcoming new NCBI Strategic Plan 2021-2023. Other highlights were the commitment of the HSE to the Eye Clinic Liaison Officer service expansion in acute hospitals and its expansion into Crumlin Children’s Hospital. As well as the integration of Vision Sports Ireland and sourcing funding for its development. Also a number of Advocacy Groups across the country had commenced before Covid19 restrictions forced them to be moved online for the remainder of 2020. These groups continued to meet online and helped raise public awareness of the impact of Covid19 on people with vision loss. The Advocacy groups will continue and grow in 2021 as engaging and listening to the sight loss community is crucial to NCBI’s work. All this positive activity happened against a backdrop of financial uncertainty. The temporary closure of the retail shops and cessation of all fundraising events posed significant financial challenges to NCBI in 2020 but I am pleased 4 NCBI Annual Report 2020 Chairman’s Introduction NCBI acted swiftly and took the necessary steps to ensure financial stability of the organisation. I am grateful to the NCBI staff for accepting a reduced working week and reduced salary while ensuring continuity of services. I am proud to have overseen the implementation of the NCBI Seeing It Your Way 2017-2020 strategic plan. It has led to a more comprehensive, integrated and modern organisation which is better able to respond to the diverse needs of people who are blind or vision impaired. We are now in a very strong position to advance key projects which were progressed in 2020 such as The Wayfinding Centre, initiatives to unite some sight loss charities and the rebrand of the entire organisation. Finally, I would like to thank my fellow Board and Committee members across the Group structure for their dedication and commitment to NCBI. Your ability to adapt to online meetings enabled us to ensure that good governance standards were upheld. I look forward to working with you in person again in 2021. I’m particularly grateful to the members of the Finance Committee who often met weekly during the height of the pandemic to offer guidance and direction to the NCBI Executive. The commitment and advice of all Board and Committee members is very much appreciated. Paul Ledwidge Chairman NCBI Group Board NCBI Annual Report 2020 5 CEO’s Introduction 2020 was a difficult year for NCBI and the entire sight loss community given the dominance of the Covid19 pandemic. It was a year characterised by uncertainty, new public health regimes and increased social isolation. For NCBI, it meant significant financial struggles, temporary staff lay-offs and shop closures. Yet I am delighted NCBI still attained our strategic objectives of (1) Better Outcomes (2) Access and Reach (3) Excellence across Service Delivery (4) People Development (5) Impact and Value and (6) Advocacy. It was important to see out the 2017-2020 Strategic Plan and Covid19 presented organisational opportunities that will follow into the next Strategic Plan. Of particular note, was the investment made in NCBI technology systems and staff which reaped significant dividends as it enabled the transition to offering virtual services to service users with ease. This modernising feature is here to stay. NCBI was announced an awardee of Rethink Ireland funding from the Social Innovation Fund to develop a new Smart Hub. This will be specifically for people who are blind or vision impaired and will allow disability information across multiple sources to be available through an App that will run on affordable smart devices such as the Amazon Echo and Google Home. This Hub will be available from November 2021. Lastly, the development of a new, accessible and interactive organisational website commenced which will go live in early 2021. NCBI together with our community of advocates were at the forefront of highlighting how Covid19 affected people who are blind or vision impaired particularly the difficulties around social distancing, additional risks posed in touching surfaces to help navigate and the barriers of outdoor dining spaces on public footpaths. This led to a nationwide public awareness campaign and ensuring the HSE Covid19 Tracker App was fully accessible. The vulnerability of NCBI’s funding model came into stark relief in 2020. The ongoing deficit in funding from HSE and reliance on revenue from our 6 NCBI Annual Report 2020 CEO’s Introduction shops to make up this shortfall meant that the temporary closure of our shops for a total of 16 weeks led to a loss of €4.6m in sales and resulted in NCBI seeking a bailout from the HSE. Thankfully a combination of this bailout, restructuring of staff, recalibration of fundraising approaches and buoyant sales when our shops reopened gave us a strong financial basis entering 2021. In fact, I am delighted to report the continued expansion of the retail chain throughout 2020 with a further 5 shops opening, bringing the total to 118 stores across the country with plans to expand into Northern Ireland underway too. I’d like to particularly thank NCBI staff and volunteers for their commitment and patience in what was a very challenging year. Without their support and flexibility we simply would not have been able to adapt and respond to the needs of people who are blind or vision impaired. Lastly, I thank our donors, supporters and landlords for their enduring support. Chris White CEO NCBI NCBI Annual Report 2020 7 Our Values Our Values Inclusive Approach We listen to people who use our services, staff members, volunteers and all other stakeholders and collaborates with them in the design and delivery of our services and all related activities. Choice We know and respect the right of people to make choices about their lives. We will do everything in our power to support people who are blind and vision impaired in exercising this right. Openness and Accountability We carry out our work in an open manner and are accountable to all stakeholders for our actions and decisions. Pursuit of Excellence We are committed to attaining excellence in everything we do through our policies, procedures and staff. 8 NCBI Annual Report 2020 Our Values Our Impact in 2020 Number of service users using NCBI services annually: 2017 2018 2019 2020 Age profile of service users: 70% 22% 8% Aged 66+ Aged 18-65 Aged 0-18 Number of charity shops - 118 118 increase from 2015: 109 88 96 72 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 NCBI Annual Report 2020 9 Our Values Type of services given: 2242 2302 1000 643 496 9 t e ther obility Advice Advic O Technology Vision ive Low rientation and M Adapt O Counselling and Suppor Independent Living Skills NCBI Labs Technology Technology Virtual Support Line Live Events Technology Clubs 132% 27 engaged increase in events held activity from and watched by 1,554 1,960 5,470 people. support activities people. in 2019 to 4,544 in 2020 10 NCBI Annual Report 2020 Our Values NCBI library Services 15% increase in Library membership Service up to 4,600 National Training Centre Eye Clinic Liaison Officer Service Number of students rose from 12 ECLO Service in Q1 2019 to 61 Over in Q4 2020 1,580 support sessions provided over the 4 Dublin based hospitals NCBI Annual Report 2020 11 Case Study Hugh