Citizens Advice Bureau Wellington Service Review and Should Not Be Relied Upon for Any Other Purpose
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Citizens Advice Bureau Wellington Service Review December 2018 Lucy Trevelyan, Area Manager Citizens Advice Bureau Wellington Mezzanine Floor, Central Library 65 Victoria Street Wellington 6011 6 December 2018 Review of Citizen Advice Bureau Wellington’s Services Dear Lucy, Thank you for the opportunity to assist Citizens Advice Bureau Wellington (WelCAB) with the above review. Our report has been prepared in line with our letter of engagement dated 11 July 2018. We have performed a current state review of WelCAB’s existing operating model as it relates to services – with a focus on the following key operating model components: products and services, clients, channels, information, partners, financial model and location / facilities. We then used current state findings to identify a set of key opportunities, which were then used to inform both short-term and long-term recommendations. Our detailed findings are presented in the attached report. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the many staff and volunteers of WelCAB and Wellington City Council who have given freely of their time and insights to contribute to this review. It has been a privilege working with the WelCAB team. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or require any further information. Yours sincerely Valerie Wheeler Lorna Brennan Partner Director [email protected] [email protected] +64 21 054 6965 +64 21 0237 5906 2 Contents Section Subject Page number - Executive summary 5 A Background, scope and approach 12 B Operating environment 15 Service user section C Service user current state assessment 19 D Service user future opportunities 43 Service funder section E Service funder current state assessment 68 F Service funder future opportunities 89 G Next steps roadmap 111 H Appendices 114 I Disclaimer 120 3 How to read this report The body of this report is split across 2 lenses: service users and service funders Throughout the report Not-for-profit (NFP) organisations differ from for-profit organisations in that NFPs create value for their beneficiaries / service users but the symbols below are often do not receive payment or compensation from these individuals. Instead, NFPs typically receive funding from a different source. It is used to provide a quick for this reason that NFPs need distinct value propositions for service users and service funders. section reference Using this rationale, we have split the body of this report into 2 sections – the first focuses on service users and the second on service funders. The start and the end of the report show a combined view. The diagram below provides information on the major sections in this Service user report. Colour coding is used to indicate combined sections (orange), service user sections (yellow) and service funder sections (dark red). section Service funder section 4 Executive Summary 5 Executive Summary Background Findings on WelCAB’s value propositions The Citizens Advice Bureau Wellington (WelCAB) is a member of the national Through the review, we confirmed WelCAB’s two unique value propositions: organisation, Citizens Advice Bureaux New Zealand Incorporated (CABNZ), which is an independent civil society organisation made up of numerous individual Service-users: WelCAB’s accessible, accurate, confidential and independent bureaux throughout New Zealand. The organisation aims to: advice empowers Wellingtonians to solve problems, understand their rights, • Ensure that individuals do not suffer through ignorance of their rights and access services, and enhance their personal and community well-being responsibilities or of the services available; or through an inability to express Service funders: WelCAB’s services help funders reach harder-to-serve their need effectively. Wellingtonians more effectively and inexpensively than funders can in-house, • Exert a responsible influence to the development of social policies and services preventing greater vulnerability, building communities, and gathering data for both locally and nationally. actionable insights To fund its services, WelCAB relies predominantly on a 3-year operational funding Summary findings and recommendations grant from Wellington City Council (WCC). Following a recent review of WelCAB’s current funding agreement, WCC agreed to provide WelCAB with a one-off Our summary findings and recommendations are presented on pages 7 to 10. funding grant to engage an independent party to review WelCAB’s services. The These are split between findings and recommendations for service-users and those intention of the review was to help inform WCC’s decision around future funding for service funders. The summary pages present: arrangements. PwC was engaged to perform the review. • Current strengths Review of WelCAB’s services • Current gaps Not-for-profit (NFP) organisations differ from for-profit organisations in that • Resultant opportunities NFPs create value for their beneficiaries / service users but often do not receive • Recommendations. payment or compensation from these individuals. Instead, NFPs typically receive funding from a different source. It is for this reason that NFPs need distinct value Selection and prioritisation of recommendations propositions for service users and service funders. Using this rationale, we have split the body of this report into two sections – the first focuses on service users This review presents a comprehensive set of recommendations – noting that these and the second on service funders. are not currently funded. Within the set of recommendations we have identified a number of ‘must do’ recommendations that we believe are critical to WelCAB’s We also used an operating model framework to identify components within the continued success and relevance. These are shown in bold on pages 8 and 10. organisation relevant to service delivery and hypothesis-based problem solving to guide our analysis. 6 Service user summary CURRENT STRENGTHS CURRENT GAPS OPPORTUNITY 1. There is an opportunity to increase WelCAB offers a high quality, low cost awareness and understanding of WelCAB’s information, advice and support service service offering and value proposition that is growing in demand There is variable external awareness and understanding as to WelCAB’s value proposition and key points of WelCAB has a unique value proposition differentiation and is differentiated by its accessible, intensive, face-to-face support for the harder-to-serve WelCAB use a range of different service 2. There is an opportunity to better reach There is scope to use different service delivery channels to attract a diverse and support WCC target populations in delivery channels and approaches to range of clients – including those from Wellington through alternative service better reach WCC target populations WCC priority population groups delivery methods and greater collaboration There is scope for WelCAB to collaborate WelCAB collaborate with a number of more widely to better reach WCC target other community service organisations populations There is scope to further leverage the 3. There is an opportunity to broaden WelCAB has a highly skilled volunteer volunteer workforce to fill capacity and recruitment and involvement of the workforce capability gaps in WelCAB’s paid community to fill capability and capacity workforce gaps (e.g. fundraising, communications, marketing, data and analytics) 7 Summary of service user recommendations OPPORTUNITY Do differently in the short term… Do differently in the long term… 1. There is an opportunity to • Develop a set of reusable communication materials (on • Develop a communications and marketing strategy increase awareness and WelCAB’s service and value proposition) and share and actionable plan to increase awareness and understanding of WelCAB’s service these on an on-going basis across multiple channels uptake of WelCAB’s services in the long term offering and value proposition • Enhance WelCAB’s face-to-face service by improving volunteer • Develop strategic relationships with local and capability and confidence in the use and navigation of central government to improve WelCAB’s service technology and the ‘digital environment’ agility and responsiveness 2. There is an opportunity to better • To align with WCC’s (and the wider social sector’s) • Explore new engagement methods for youth – with a focus reach and support priority current and future definitions of priority populations – on digital channels populations in Wellington through work with CABNZ to adjust and introduce future • Provide more holistic support to refugee clients based on alternative service delivery flexibility / agility into data definitions refugee resettlement outcomes methods and greater collaboration • Develop information materials relevant to youth and share • Target schools and universities to proactively share proactively through existing service delivery channels information and provide ‘on-the-spot’ support • Identify and use digital applications that could support real time • Explore opportunities to extend WelCAB’s existing ‘hub’ language translation model by integrating with other new community service • Establish drop in sessions at social housing complexes in providers e.g. Tawa and Linden Plunket Clinics, Berhampore Wellington Community Centre • Address existing challenges with the Strathmore satellite service by adopting more effective outreach methods 3. There is an opportunity to • Explore opportunities for volunteers to support discrete ‘back • Develop and implement a youth