Ideal for All
An organisation of disabled people,
governed by disabled people
Ideal for All –
An organisation of disabled people, governed
by disabled people
Ideal for All is a multi award winning User-led organisation based at one of
the countries leading, fully accessible, Centres for Independent / Inclusive
Living located in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands.
What is a User-led organisation?
One where the people the organisation represents (or
provides a service to) have a majority on the
Management Committee or Board, and where there is
clear accountability to members and/or service users.
(Morris, 2006)
What are Centres for Independent / Inclusive Living?
Grass-roots organisations run and controlled by
disabled people. Their aims are for disabled people to
have control over their lives and achieve full
participation in society. They work towards these aims
by representing disabled people’s views locally and
nationally, and by providing services which promote
independent living. (Morris, 2006)
Ideal for All is committed to working to the social model of disability
perspective.
What is the social model of disability perspective?
The social model has been developed by disabled
people in response to the medical model and the
impact it has had on their lives.
Under the social model, disability is caused by the
society in which we live and is not the ‘fault’ of an
individual disabled person, or an inevitable
consequence of their limitations. Disability is the
product of the physical, organisational and attitudinal
barriers present within society, which lead to
discrimination. The removal of discrimination requires
a change of approach and thinking in the way in which
society is organised. (Open University)
www.open.ac.uk/inclusiveteaching/
Social model of disability
The poverty, disadvantage and social exclusion experienced by
many disabled people is not the inevitable result of their
impairments or medical conditions, but rather stems from
attitudinal and environmental barriers. This is known as ‘the
social model of disability’, and provides a basis for the
successful implementation of the duty to promote disability
equality. (Disability Rights Commission)
The Duty to Promote Disability Equality Statutory
Code of Practice England and Wales 2005.
www.tso.co.uk
The core definition of the British social model comes in the UPIAS (The
Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation) document,
Fundamental Principles of Disability, an edited version of which is
reprinted in Oliver (1996), and which we quote here at length:
“… In our view, it is society which disables physically impaired
people. Disability is something imposed on top of our
impairments by the way we are unnecessarily isolated and
excluded from full participation in society. Disabled people are
therefore an oppressed group in society. To understand this it is
necessary to grasp the distinction between the physical
impairment and the social situation, called ‘disability’, of people
with such impairment. Thus we define impairment as lacking all
or part of a limb, or having a defective limb, organism or
mechanism of the body and disability as the disadvantage or
restriction of activity caused by a contemporary social
organisation which takes little or no account of people who have
physical impairments and thus excludes them from participation
in the mainstream of social activities.” (Oliver, 1996, 22).
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/disability-studies/archiveuk/
The inception of the company
During 1994/95 the Joint Planning Group for Physical Disabilities
initiated a borough-wide review of services for people with physical
disabilities and sensory impairment. The lack of awareness of services
and their fragmentation was apparent together with a high degree of
dissatisfaction amongst the user groups.
During the review meetings, a strong support was shown from all
involved in the three-way partnership, Sandwell Health, Social
Services and disabled people to the concept of a new organisation,
which should have user involvement on top of the agenda. The
proposed leading role to be played by disabled people was meant for
the provision of services to reflect the needs of disabled people in the
borough of Sandwell. Hence in May 1996, named as Sandwell DLC
(Disability Living Centre Ltd.), the organisation was registered by
disabled people themselves.
THE VISION OF THE COMPANY
“By working in partnership with non-disabled
people, statutory and voluntary sector
organisations, Ideal For All aims to create an
environment where abilities of disabled people
are recognised and promoted for independent
living”
What is Ideal for All User-led governance model?
Ideal for All User-led governance model
The Company developed its pioneering user-led management and
governance structure in phases. The Company now has a Board of 15
trustees who are known as Non-Executive Directors or Trustees.
The Company has a constitutional framework and legal status, which
provide the funders with the confidence to negotiate service contracts.
Beside the business with principle partnership agencies, the Company
has successfully secured several additional time limited contracts and
projects. The Board of Directors holds the overall accountability and
deals with issues of probity. The Executive Director is delegated with
authority to promote independent living of disabled people through
visionary and creative thinking and innovative management structures
and style. He is also responsible for advising the Board on business
matters and to advise on overall strategic direction to the Company’s
projects, negotiate new business contracts and receive performance
monitoring reports on the existing projects.
Since its inception, the Company has been forward looking for further
growth and innovation. In doing so, the Trustees have born in mind the
sustainability of the Company. While the organisation is still in its
infancy, there is a great deal of commitment, enthusiasm and sense of
achievement among its staff and trustees. The staff team is highly
skilled, motivated and energetic, and does its utmost in maintaining the
Company’s successful track record.
Why is a Corporate Principles & Governance Guide needed?
“The business of governing voluntary organisations is
becoming increasingly complex and public concerns over the
need for transparency, clarity and accountability continue to
grow. Charities and voluntary organisations are becoming more
involved in the delivery of services under contract, while the
public is now far more questioning about what constitutes a
‘wealthy cause’ and how charities operate and allocate funds”
NCVO - Trustee Board Development Programme
Ideal for All’s Underlying User-Led Philosophy
The process of involving disabled people in the decision-making at all
levels is embedded in the way IFA delivers its services. In May 1997
the Company formally embarked on the engagement of disabled
people agenda by setting up a user-led Board of Directors. In
December 1997 at its first annual general meeting, a total of 12 Board
members were elected from the general membership of the Company.
This number was increased to 15 in December 2005. Having a majority
of disabled people on the Board is a constitutional requirement.
Our user-led philosophy and practice is mirrored in the range of
committees set up to actively engage with disabled people, carers and
family members, who lead the process of developing and monitoring of
IFA services. In April 2000, the management of IFA services entered
into a new phase. This new phase introduced a devolved management
structure with devolved budgets and powers to various committees.
This new structure provided the Board with an opportunity to select
trustees to lead on a number of topic areas. This arrangement
provided the trustees with a further opportunity to lead on developing
and modernising services as well as to ensure Company’s user-led
management model is implemented throughout the organisation.
In 2003, the Company was asked by the partner agencies to further
strengthen its membership of disabled people base. To progress this
objective, a Membership Co-ordinator was appointed and a user-led
Membership Review Group was set up. The membership figure stood
over 1500 in December 2006.
In order to discharge its legal and constitutional obligations, the
Company holds its Annual General meetings every year. Every year
one third of Trustees stand down, either to be re-elected or to give
someone else a chance to be elected. Beside a regular updates,
seminars, open days etc. the membership is provided with a detailed
progress of the Company at the AGMs.
The overall direction for the Company’s business to promote independent
living for disabled people, elderly and people with long term illness was
determined in its Articles and Memorandum of Association. It is important
for the trustees and staff to understand the charitable and welfare related
objectives of the Company.
As the Company expanded its business, the need for the governing guide
was felt necessary so that the focus of staff and trustees could remain in a
unified direction. The growth of the Company has been based very much
on the opportunities that were open in the market place. Similarly and by
enlarge the structure of the organisation has also been evolving on an adhoc basis. It was felt that a pre-determined ‘business plan’ may not provide
the trustees and staff with the flexibility the Company needs to experiment
new ways of working and managing services. The Board and management
feel confident of their capabilities and strengths. However, the time limited
funding of its projects and service do provide the trustees and
management with a constant challenge.
Ideal For All’s user-led governance model is based on the following
key principles. The adherence of these principles will ensure
empowerment of disabled people, value the contribution of the wider
disabled community and that IFA’s staff make. This would also make
IFA a unique organisation for everyone to be proud of.
Underlying Principles:
Promoting the social model of disability in practice
IFA believes disabled people are people first, over
coming social and attitudinal barriers through support and
empowerment for the promotion of independent living.
Real involvement and engagement of people with
disabilities is fundamental to the development of IFA.
This in turn demonstrates IFA’s commitment to the
promotion of the social model of disability. It also
demonstrates IFA’s commitment to the promotion of
independent living of disabled people, as well as valuing
their contribution in society.
Inclusion through governance and consultation
The Company will undertake proactive measures to
empower disabled people with information and
knowledge. Where ever possible steps would be taken
to create opportunities for people with disabilities to be
integrated in all aspects of the work of IFA. Without a
doubt IFA’s work on empowering disabled people will
pose some real challenges to public service providers.
However, the management and trustees of IFA aim to
work closely with its main partners through intellectual
and meaningful dialogues and will call for a major culture
change in the way services are delivered and managed.
IFA will not act as an activist organisation but the one,
which campaigns to improve services for disabled people
through an intellectual dialogue with commissioners of
services.
CORE values and standards
The core values and principles to which the organisation will continuously
work towards are as follows:
Dignity
IFA will place a high value on the dignity of all individuals and
will respect expectation of its service users to whom it provides
its services.
Equality
IFA will recognise the culture and social diversity within which it
operates and will seek to promote equality of access to its
services for all.
Valuing staff and volunteers
IFA will support and enable the staff and volunteers to provide
high quality services through valuing them both individually and
as a member of the staff team, paying attention to their needs
and aspirations. The management will recognise any specific
needs of staff and will strive to make every reasonable
adjustments to support staff, who may otherwise feel not able to
contribute as fully as they would wish to.
Integrity
The Board members will collectively and individually act with
integrity and honesty.
Efficiency and quality
The management will strive to promote efficiency through
qualitative and quantitative performance targets and will
regularly review service standards to introduce measures for
improvements.
The Board
The Board is elected annually in accordance with the Memorandum and
Articles of Association.
It is the executive decision-making body for
determining strategic direction of the organisation, developing policies and
performance monitoring.
Due to the diverse nature of service portfolio and progressive development of
the organisation, the Board has developed an infrastructure of committees
and steering groups. These committee and steering groups have been
delegated with certain powers to make decisions.
The Board’s role is to drive the development process by looking internally at
the organisational strengths, weaknesses and skills, and match them with
local and national trends and legislation. One of the Board’s roles is to
anticipate problems and opportunities in order to prevent crisis. The executive
director generally services the Board. On more specialised areas, the Board
may seek independent advice from the company secretary and other coopted members. The Board has the discretion to appoint experts to do a
piece of work, which may be of a complex or technical nature.
All members of the Board are expected to participate in the Board’s
development programme, which may include training sessions, residential
weekends, study trips locally, nationally and abroad.
“Ownership by a board of the vision,
mission and direction of an organisation is
invaluable in moving an organisation
forward”
Christopher Spence MBE - Trustee, Diana Princess of Wales
Board Information System
Good governance depends on good and quality information. Board members
need to be knowledgeable about the organisation if they are to make
informed decisions to safeguard and advance the business of the company
they represent.
In IFA, the Executive Director is responsible for providing the board with
quality and up-to-date information. The following are the three key areas,
which enable the Board in making sound decisions:
 Information for Decisions: The Executive Director will provide all the
necessary information in order to empower the board to make informed
decisions. The information may be provided either in the form of a report
or a presentation. The role of the chair would be to encourage a
discussion before reaching a decision.
 Monitoring Information: This information will enable the Board to
assess the performance of the Company and whether its policy directions
need changing. The board will also be able to assess the level of success
and achievements against the service agreement and long term strategic
plans. This information will also include quality standards and performance
against resources. All committees will be expected to provide, wherever
possible, written progress reports. This would generally be aimed to
update the board, where as the responsibility rests with the Executive
Director to keep the chair regularly updated on all issues that are deemed
necessary for the chair to know.
 Incidental Information: The Board may be called upon at a short
notice to address an emergency situation. The executive director will
provide all the necessary information should unforeseen circumstances
arose. The chairman may however decide whether it is necessary to call
the full Board meeting or just a quorum, in which case the rest of the
trustees will be informed of the decisions taken by a group of trustees in
the full Board meeting.
“A Board that realises that its role is to
govern and that is equipped to fulfil that
role, is able to add value to the
organisation and cut down on
unnecessary activity and conflict”.
Anne-Marie Piper - Charity Law
Board - Staff Relationship
The roles of staff and Board members are interdependent. Each party has
something the other needs, and governing Boards have both a legal and
moral responsibility for their organisation’s well being. Therefore it is
important that both parties understand their roles and handle issues
sensitively.
The Board and staff are required to observe the following code in order to
develop a healthy working relationship.
1.
Board members have a legal responsibility to oversee the operation
of the organisation. This responsibility must be recognised and
respected. Board members should undertake such duties in a
structured setting e.g. through committee or board meetings or by
engaging with the Executive Director.
2.
All internal operational controls rest with the executive director, who
may at his/her discretion, delegate certain powers and control to
staff and the Trustees should refrain in getting involved on such
matters. The position of line managers must not be undermined.
3.
Non-executive directors however, remain fully accountable for the
actions of the organisation they represent. Any points of clarity
must be sought first from the executive director rather than the
staff.
4.
Committees chair are entitled to develop
relationships with their servicing officers.
5.
Staff and Board members should not engage in discussions,
internally or externally, which could potentially undermine the
position of fellow board members or staff or the partnership/funding
agencies.
6.
Executive Director’s permission must be sought prior to engaging a
Board member on a task. Similarly, board members must consult
with the Executive Director should they wish to become active
involved in operational matters.
7.
Staff and Board members must follow the committee structures in
order to seek decisions. Please refer to the Governance structure
of IFA.
8.
Complaints, views and concerns should always be brought to the
attention of executive director. Any complaints about the executive
director should be made directly to the chairman.
close
working
Role of Committees and their Delegated Powers
Committees play an important role in undertaking delegated tasks for most
Boards. Overall, committees can be a bonus to a Board’s operation - if they
are handled correctly.
The Board’s policy on setting up committees is clear - they are established to
undertake specific tasks in specific areas. Committees may have a short
term or long-term life span with a degree of flexibility to operate within legal
boundaries and within the delegated decision making and budgetary powers.
Committees are not permitted to over rule the protocol of decisionmaking that rightfully rests with the Board as a whole. Committees can
research, debate, organise, fund-raise, but they must never replace the
Board’s authority, except with the explicit and prior permission of the
Board for a certain task. The Board’s consent must be sought in
principle before undertaking a major piece of work/development, either
by staff or committees. For the committees the channel of
communication is through the Executive Director.
The Board will select from the trustees to chair the committees. The
committee members must respect the chair’s position and attend meetings to
progress work. It is the responsibility of the committee chair to seek
membership for his/her committee in consultation with the executive director.
The chair may co-op ordinary members to bridge skill shortage. The dates of
committee meetings must be announced in advance and proceedings
recorded. The chairs of committees are required to present progress reports
at the Board meetings along with their servicing officers.
Committees must not make decisions, which should in principle be
made in another committees. The interaction with other committees
must be made through the Executive Director. Board members must
not get involved in the implementation of committee decisions
themselves, unless decided at the committee meeting. Committees
should familiarize themselves with the relevant SLA’s and operate
within the boundaries of the SLA requirements.
Individual committees and a summary of there remit follow.
IFA User-led Committees
Executive Group
Remit: To support the Executive Director in the Corporate
Management and governance matters and deal with the
issues arising in between the Board meetings.
Finance & Resources Committee
Remit: To ensure effective efficient financial systems are in place
with the purpose of producing regular comprehensive reports
to ensure IFA remains on a strong financial footing. Annual
budget setting and monthly review of business transactions
are also included in the role.
Independent Living Services Development Committee
Remit: To support the Managers in the delivery of all SLAs/contracts
within the Independent Living Service (ILS) portfolio, ensuring
the principles of user-led governance.
Employment & Life Long Learning Committee
Remit: To support the delivery of SLA targets aimed to promote
educational and economic wellbeing of disabled and
disadvantaged people.
Health and Well Being Services Committee
Remit: To support the managers in the delivery, monitoring and
evaluation of services, which promote the health, physical and
mental wellbeing of people who use our services.
Multi Media and Marketing Review Group
Remit: To keep under review the delivery of Multi Media SLA within
the framework of user led governance.
To debate and progress IFA marketing needs in consultation
with the Executive Director.
Complaints Panel
Remit: To investigate non SLAs/contracts related complaints, liase
with the Executive Director and respond on behalf of Ideal for
All.
Accessible Holidays Steering Group
Remit: To lead the development activities and social events for
disabled people in order to address social isolation faced by
disabled people.
Ideal Quality Services (IQS)
Remit: IQS is a social enterprise set up by Ideal for All to develop a
new set of services for people on personal budgets and
private purchase.
IQS currently provide the following services:
Initial Support
On-going Support
One-off Visits
Payroll Bureau
Managed Accounts
Recruitment
Interview Support
Hiring a Room
Awareness, Training and Group Sessions
Accessible Breaks
If you would like further information or a brochure about the
services provided by IQS please contact Ideal for All.
What underpins our success?
Why is Ideal for All a successful User-led organisation?
Since the very early stages, the key stakeholders were involved in the
user-led management concept of Ideal for All.
Successful mutual negotiation on the location, design and build of the
Independent Living Centre.
Stakeholder involvement in the location, design and build of the
Malthouse Garden and Salop Drive Market Garden.
The joint working of disabled people and statutory agencies in the
continued development of Ideal for All and service portfolio.
Local disabled people given the opportunity to run Ideal for All
themselves and manage contracts / SLA’s and be responsible for
performance and achievements.
Key statutory agencies listened to and responded to the needs of
disabled people positively.
Disabled people and the agencies having the confidence in the
strengths of Ideal for All in managing the business effectively.
Volunteers
IFA will actively strive to engage disabled people as volunteers.
The placements for volunteers must be carefully handled, as an
employer it may be subject to scrutiny under the employment
law.
All placements must be authorised in writing by the executive
director, who is responsible to ensure that the placements are
arranged within the law and the rights of the volunteer and
employer are protected. Section heads and line managers will
be responsible for providing the necessary information for such
an approval.
User-led organisations values, organisational characteristics
and services to support independent living
A ULO should adhere to a minimum set of values:
Ideal for All’s rating
Working
Yes
No
Towards
1. works from a social model of disability
perspective

2. promotes independent living

3. promotes people’s human and other
legal rights

4. shaped and driven by the initiative and
demand of the organisation’s constituency

5. is peer support based

6. covers all local disabled people, carers
and other people who use support either
directly or via establishing links with
other local organisations and networks

7. is non-discriminatory and recognises and
works with diversity in terms of race,
religion and belief, gender, sexual
orientation, disability and age

8. recognises that carers have their own
needs and requirements as carers

9. engages the organisation’s constituents
in decision-making processes at every
level of the organisation

A ULO should have the following organisational characteristics:
Ideal for All’s rating
Working
Yes
No
Towards
10. provides support to enable people to
exercise choice and control

11. is a legally constituted organisation

12. has a minimum of 75 per cent of the
voting members on the management
board drawn from the organisation’s
constituency

13. is able to demonstrate that the
organisation’s constituents are effectively
supported to play a full and active role in
key decision-making process

14. has a clear management structure

15. has robust and rigorous systems for running
a sustainable organisation (e.g. financial
management / contingency planning)

16. is financially sustainable as there will be
no ongoing central government funding

17. has paid employees, many of whom must
reflect the organisation’s constituency

18. identifies the diverse needs of the local
population and contributes to meeting
those needs

19. is accountable to the organisation’s
constituents and represents their views at
a local level

20. supports the participation of its
constituents in designing, delivering and
monitoring of the organisation’s services

21. works with commissioners to improve
commissioning and procurement

The minimum ULO services to support independent living are defined in
Improving Life Chances as:
Ideal for All’s rating
Working
Yes
No
Towards
22. Information and advice.

23. Advocacy and peer support.

24. Support in using direct payments and/or
individual budgets.

25. Support to recruit and employ personal
assistants.

26. Assistance with self-assessment.

27. Disability equality training.

28. Support the implementation of the
Disability Equality Duty by public sector
organisations in the locality (including
consumer audits).

Ideal for All
Independent Living Centre
100 Oldbury Road
Smethwick
West Midlands
B66 1JE
Tel: 0121 558 5555
Fax: 0121 565 7973
Web: www.idealforall.co.uk
Minicom: 0121 565 7667
Email: [email protected]