New twists in our on-going “quest for equity”
Greetings again. The colder weather only serves to remind us that we are just about half way through the year. Where has it gone?
I want to bring you up to date with the latest developments concerning the Foundation’s governance proposal. This is important because it is all about our ability as members to directly govern those specialised services that are there to meet our needs as blind people.
Some of you reading this won’t know what this is about so perhaps some background is in order. The Foundation of the Blind is New Zealand’s primary provider of services to blind and vision impaired people. It is governed by a Board of Directors which, apart from one seat, is elected by its roughly 11,000 consumers. The change to this model came about in 2002, when the Foundation changed its name from the “Royal New Zealand Foundation for the Blind” to “the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind”. The change from “for” to “of” heralded a new era, what we referred to at the time as an era of self determination. It was not won lightly. It came after some years of concentrated and purposeful advocacy that saw the whole active blind community unite in the pursuit of change.
Late last year, The Foundation’s Board circulated a proposal that would significantly change the way that Board is elected. It would see us electing six directors, with the other three appointed by the Board itself.
While still only a proposal for discussion, it arose out of growing concern that the Constitution, now nearly seven years old, is perhaps not delivering as much as we had hoped. Even in 2007, the Association raised some concerns with the Foundation’s Board, hoping that this would encourage them to carry out a review of the Constitution after its then first five years of operation. Among other things, we were concerned about the process of cooption, the lack of information about how individual directors perceive their role and perform their duties as directors, and the fact that elections have always favoured candidates who are already on the Board.
While we acknowledge that the Foundation’s Board is committed to consulting with consumers and stakeholders and is genuinely motivated by the need to ensure high quality governance of the Foundation, we were disappointed that the Board developed its proposal on its own and without discussion with stakeholders. We felt that the wider blind community must first engage in genuine dialogue about problems people might perceive in the Constitution before any proposal could be considered in detail. We also wanted to see an independent group steer the process from here, rather than the Board develop a final proposal on its own. Of course the Board would have a view which is valued, but governance is something that is even above the Board itself.
In March, we formally asked to meet with the Foundation’s Board to discuss our concerns. I am pleased to advise now that that meeting has taken place and we have reached genuine agreement over the way forward. A joint statement has now been released which I am including here for you:
Statement on prospective amendments to the governing rules of the RNZFB
Representatives of the Board of Directors of the RNZFB and representatives from the Board of the Association of Blind Citizens of New Zealand Inc met at Awhina House the evening of May 14th to discuss procedures around proposed changes to RNZFB governance.
We agreed the following:
“That there is a consensus around the need to establish an independent review group to evaluate, and if necessary make recommendations on, resolving perceived problems concerning the current rules and processes governing the RNZFB. By extending the period of consultation with stakeholders over the next year, we believe there will be greater understanding of, and agreement around, resolving any issues standing in the way of sound governance of the RNZFB.
The independent review group of around six persons will have an external facilitator and members will be selected for their experience of consumerism, stakeholder relations and governance. Terms of reference are currently being developed and, along with review group membership, will be subject to agreement by key stakeholders. It is anticipated that in 2010 a Special Meeting of Members will be called to endorse or otherwise, any recommendations for amendments to the constitution of the RNZFB. It is hoped that any changes will be in place in time for the 2010 election of Board Directors.
Law firm, Buddle Findlay have tabled their draft report on the external review of the Foundation’s current constitution. This 40 page report is available to interested stakeholders by phoning Raewyne Lovich, 09 355 6920.”
D M McKenzie
Chair
RNZFB Board of Directors
Clive Lansink
National President
ABC NZ
We think this is good news because an independent group will now be formed to not just consider the current proposal and any submissions people may make on that, but also it should take more time to canvas the issues with members in general, and if this group feels the need to recommend any change to the Constitution, it will be one that will hopefully have widespread support. The terms of reference for that group will hopefully be drawn up very soon.
I hope this means now that we will enter a constructive debate on just what is good governance when applied to an organisation like the Foundation?
The Association is not strongly advocating any particular model of governance. We believe that governance is something that in the end is for the entire blind community and other stakeholders to discuss and resolve. However one principle that I believe the Association continues to uphold is the principle of self determination, which means blind people taking charge of our own services.
We applaud the Board for its willingness to step aside from directly managing the review process. Directors will of course be welcome to participate in the discussion like anyone else.
PS, for those of you who wonder about the significance of my reference to “quest for equity”, it is the title of the history of the first fifty years of our Association, as written by Greg Newbold. It charts the organisation’s progress as it led the way from the days in which blind people lived in institutions and worked in sheltered workshops to today’s world in which we demand to play our full part as citizens of the community.
Tags: Association of Blind Citizens, association of blind citizens of new zealand, blind, blind foundation, board of directors, good governance, governance, low vision, new zealand, quest for equity, royal new zealand foundation of the blind, vision impaired