Our Strategic Plan

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From the President

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At the heart of our work there is and will continue to be the Deaf community member and their family. We know that there are approximately 3000 people throughout Victoria that use Auslan to communicate on a day to day basis.

Over the past 12 months, with the input of our community stakeholders, the JPC Board, Strategic Committee and staff have been formulating the organization’s strategic direction. We are delighted to share with you our Strategic Plan 2023-2025. It is a document that will need to continue to reflect the evolving landscape within which we operate.

In developing our strategic direction we have acknowledged the ongoing challenges our organisation faces including: an ageing membership base, limited funding, low brand awareness of the John Pierce Center outside of the Deaf sector, lack of understanding within the general community of the social support needs of Deaf people, perception of the JPC as a religious organisation, sector duplication and a lack of evidence of need to drive change where its most needed. We also acknowledge the many positive developments in the sector including the increased public profile of Auslan as a language throughout the COVID19 pandemic. The John Pierce Center Strategic Plan sets out our strategic objectives across the following three key areas: Our Organisation, Our Services and The Sector.

Listening and learning from our stakeholders underpins our future growth and success, so we welcome your feedback and look forward to amplifying the voice of the Deaf community at the heart of what we do.

 

Our Values

The values that form the foundation upon which our work is based are: inclusivity, volunteerism, collaboration, efficient and effective use of resources, providing a safe place being accountable and transparent . These values will feature in our approach to our work, the services we deliver and in our organizational culture.

 

Our Mission

The John Pierce Centre seeks to empower the Deaf people to live their lives to the full.

 

Our Purpose

The role that the John Pierce Centre takes on in achieving the above Mission is to: -

- Educate the Deaf community

- Provide spiritual support

- Offer pastoral care for individuals

- Provide a space for the Deaf community to remain socially connected

 

Key Results Area (Success Factors)

We recognize that in order to fulfil our Purpose, we need to focus on the following Key Results Areas:

Our Organisation: having sufficient resources and effective systems in place to support our work

Our Services: ensuring that service provision is and remains at the core of our work

The Sector: working with the sector to advocate for meaningful change

 

Strategic Objectives

The strategic objectives that we have identified across these three areas are:

1) Sustainability: Develop a financially sustainable organisation that is responsive and well equipped to deliver on its Purpose

2) Profile & Branding: Raise the profile of the organisation to increase membership, facilitate the development of strategic working partnerships and securing ongoing financial support

3) Information Resources: become a highly regarded source of information, referral and education

4) Projects: Secure funding to pilot initiatives that support our purpose and creates sector knowledge

5) Collaboration: Become a respected collaborative partner within and across sectors

 

Our Projects

Some of the project work we have identified as important in our strategic planning process includes:

- Provide staff with clarity and direction through the development of comprehensive Business Plans for each program area

- Secure Community Fundraising and Events Management expertise to create and maintain an untied revenue stream

- Develop a Communications Plan detailing our various target audiences and their tailored messages and communication channels

- Redevelop the John Pierce Centre website to better reflect the information needs of our target audiences

- Review the role and nature of membership at the John Pierce Centre

- Develop a comprehensive and well-resourced Volunteer strategy to support the future work of the John Pierce Centre

- Develop a sector Engagement Plan to ensure we maximize our profile as well as partnership and funding opportunities

- Secure recurrent funding to support a rural and regional pastoral outreach program

- Secure funding to pilot the recruitment of a Deaf/Auslan fluent male John Pierce Centre staff member

 

The Next Steps

Our next steps are to communicate our strategic direction and obtain feedback, invest in the required infrastructure, processes and culture and then implement the Plan.