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The Federation: Your questions answered.
The background, reasons for, purpose and operation of, and advantages of being a member of the Federation: A statement by the Federation interim Management Committee.
Problems:
SeniorNet clubs throughout the country have been receiving support through the work of Grant Sidaway and also in many cases, government funding through schools and polytechnics.
The Telecom support that has made Grant's work possible is being withdrawn and government policy changes have resulted in most earlier sources of funding becoming no longer available.
Costs are rising. Some rentals have risen 40%. New software is expensive.
For these reasons the Federation has been set up as a way of obtaining government funding directly, and thus continue support and funding for clubs.
Background:
Establishment of the Clubs:
SeniorNet clubs started in New Zealand some 15 years ago. Telecom saw a marketing opportunity and provided substantial sponsorship to enable an ambassador to promote SeniorNet throughout the country. It was by this means that Grant Sidaway was able to devote much of his time to support local people start and develop clubs.
The concept of SeniorNet, that is, seniors helping seniors, has been remarkably successful. But also, Grant's ability to promote the concept has been exceptional. This has seen him continue in this role right from the beginning.
These factors led to the establishment of over 100 clubs with almost 20 000 members throughout all of New Zealand. The clubs enrol something like 5 000 new members each year.
Grant's Role:
Grant's role as an ambassador and promoter of SeniorNet has seen him market SeniorNet on the national level, develop resources for teaching, set up purchasing opportunities for members and provide direct assistance to clubs. This assistance has involved Grant traveling extensively to speak at community meetings, club meetings, regional meetings and committee meetings. At times he has been able to rescue clubs that were in difficulties.
All this has been possible entirely because of the support from Telecom, which has recently been over $140 000 pa. However, this support ceases on 31 March 2007, and thus Grant will not be able to continue unless other sources of funding are available.
The Clubs:
An essential part of the operation of the clubs is the need for computers. Also, dedicated space is required and maintenance of the equipment is necessary. These together impose a considerable financial burden on members. In total this is something like $1M pa. It is estimated that there are between 900 and 1000 computers owned by the clubs, each costing about $500 pa in depreciation. Some clubs, particularly in newer areas find that they pay anything like $15 000 pa in rent. There have been 40% increases in rent in some areas.
While some clubs have been successful in obtaining excellent sponsorships, these cannot be relied upon. Also, they usually does not include help for operating expenses, but simply for the purchase of capital equipment.
Given these financial burdens, clubs have sought funding in various ways. Some have been able to obtain grants from local schools and colleges as part of funding provided by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) called Adult Community Education (ACE) funding. Success in this area has been quite varied as clubs must compete each year for limited funds. This has resulted in the number of clubs receiving support in this way being quite low.
Many clubs have been successful in receiving grants through Aoraki Polytechnic. In the early years, these grants were through the ACE funding scheme. In the last few years, this type of funding was by government policy restricted, and the Polytechnic then made "mainstream" funding available, whereby SeniorNet members were enrolled as regular students of the Polytechnic.
Further changes in government policy have forced Aoraki Polytechnic to reduce its support for clubs outside its area and this in fact has almost stopped completely and will do so by the end of 2007.
Finally, the TEC has flagged that further specific funding for SeniorNet clubs through the previous channels cannot be expected for 2007 and beyond, leaving many clubs in the lurch.
Government Grants:
Some club members are against the concept of seeking government grants for their clubs. But it seems that most are in favour. The TEC distributes about $2.45 billion pa to the country's tertiary institutions, a very substantial chunk of taxpayer's money. Many SeniorNet members did not have the opportunity to take part in tertiary education when they were young in the way that it is so readily available to young people today. They have paid taxes most of their lives and in some cases are supporting grandchildren as they study in tertiary institutions.
Recently the TEC has, following government requirements; established priorities for the use of ACE funding. SeniorNet education clearly falls within these (See the Federation Charter and Profile.)
Thus it is appropriate that clubs should continue to seek government grants.
Establishment of the Federation:
The suggestion that a national organisation be set up was raised in early 2006. This became of more interest to clubs as the effects of the changes in government policy became clearer. A draft constitution was drawn up and Grant met with representatives of clubs in all regions. As a result, the draft constitution went through 12 versions and was twice reviewed by a retired judge, who is a SeniorNet member. The number of clubs required to establish an incorporated society signed the application; the constitution was submitted to the Registrar of Incorporated Societies and approved. The Constitution and Certificate of Incorporation are available on the Federation web site
In parallel with the forming of the Federation, discussions were taking place with senior officials from the Head Office of the TEC, the purpose of which was to explore ways in which SeniorNet could be recognised and funded directly. The Hon Ruth Dyson - Minister for Senior Citizens, has been kept briefed on all aspects relating to SeniorNet and has been very supportive of the formation of the Federation and most helpful with the TEC discussions. She is a strong advocate of SeniorNet, (she sees SeniorNet as fulfilling one of the main objectives she has for senior citizens) and as such has offered her support in ensuring that SeniorNet is funded correctly.
The reasons for establishing the Federation:
It is clear from the above that there was a need to seek financial support for both the role of the ambassador and to help the finances of many clubs. In fact, a high proportion of clubs depend on grants.
The TEC made it clear that it would only fund a national body which was established as a legal entity and which represented those clubs that sought funding. The reasons for this are entirely practical. Obviously the TEC would find it inefficient to deal with a large number of individual clubs and also, the documentary requirements would be very difficult for many clubs to meet. In this regard, it would be irrational for all clubs involved to be repeating essentially the same documents.
The TEC has a category of organisations that it terms "Other Tertiary Education Providers". (OTEPs) Alternatively the term "Private Training Establishments" (PTEs) is used. The Federation thus falls into an already established category of similar educational organisations, (such as the Literacy Foundation -- which is similar in size and geographic spread to SeniorNet).
The fact that SeniorNet clubs meet several of the TEC's ACE priorities and that the Federation naturally falls into an established TEC category ensures that funding will be approved on a regular basis.
It should be noted that the Federation is termed the "Provider", even though it does no teaching. As a provider, the operational expenses of the Federation will be paid out of the TEC grants, thus covering the necessary administration costs and the costs of any staff / contractor.
The Purpose of the Federation:
The paragraphs above should have made the purpose of the Federation fairly clear.
However, it needs to be emphasized that the Federation is a Society of members, that is, the clubs that join the Federation. As such, the Federation is clearly the servant of the members and exists to support their needs, not to control them. It should in no way dictate to member clubs.
Reporting and Quality Control:
While the Federation's role is to respond to the needs of clubs, it does have a responsibility to see that the requirements for the payment of government grants are met. To that end, the Federation needs to require Learning Centres to provide certain reports and to maintain a high standard of teaching and learning. In common with all educational organisations, standards of quality of delivery are expected. These are set out in the Quality Management System and Handbook for Societies, both of which are Federation documents, available on the web site.
The Operation of the Federation:
The Federation:
The Constitution, as is usual, provides for the operation of the Federation to be under the control of a management committee elected by the Federation members. (See the Constitution.)
Clubs must make application to join the Federation and in doing so agree to meet basic requirements. That is, to receive grants, an Agreement must exist between member societies and the Federation. The Letter of Application for Membership, which clubs will need to complete to join, is available on the Federation web site.
Each club becomes one member of the Federation with the right to send one representative (or a proxy vote) to the AGM.
To get the Federation operational before the first AGM, regions elected an interim committee. The AGM will be held in June and nominations and elections will be required for all committee positions.
Documentation Requirements:
Charter and Profile:
At its first meeting, the interim committee completed the documentation requirements necessary for the Federation to have OTEP status and to start grants flowing. These were the Charter and Profile, which are statutory requirements. They had been written, submitted to, and approved by, the TEC prior to the meeting. The committee reviewed and adopted them as official Federation documents. (See the web site.) Given the time scale, consultation on these was limited. However, they must be reviewed regularly and further input will then be sought.
The Charter and Profile contain certain requirements that the Federation and member societies are required to meet. They are that
- SeniorNet activities must not overlap those of other educational organisations to any great extent. That is of course no problem.
- The Federation and the member societies must co-operate with other educational organisations where it is appropriate to so do.
- The Federation and the member societies must consult with other organisations that have an interest in their activities to ensure that their activities are of value to them.
The Federation will be giving help on these matters in the future.
Quality Management:
This is a necessary responsibility the Federation must undertake. In this respect the Federation fills the role that Aoraki Polytechnic, or the schools fill. This involves a considerable amount of documentation as set out in the Quality Management System and Handbook for Societies, both of which were reviewed and formally adopted by the committee. (See the web site.)
One big advantage to clubs is that the Federation can help out with this and thus save them considerable effort.
The committee considers that the reporting requirements, while still perhaps onerous, are considerably less than what was required by polytechnics.
On the other hand, some clubs may find that these requirements are more extensive than those imposed by schools. It is clear however, that the TEC is lifting the requirements in these areas.
Please note that the requirements the Federation interim committee has requested, are designed to meet the Federation's responsibilities with minimum demands on clubs.
Management of the Federation:
The committee:
The committee has had its first meeting in Wellington. This involved some cost. But the constitution was written to allow meetings to be held by teleconferencing, so it is expected that costs will be held down in future in that way.
Similarly, the AGM allows for voting by proxy to keep costs down.
Staffing:
The committee considered the various tasks that its staff or contractors would need to undertake. This covers a wide range from representations to government ministers, negotiations with TEC, interactions with other community organisations and the clubs -- including oversight of quality management, promotional and administrative operations. It sees an essential part of the quality management to be frequent visits to clubs to see how they are going (i.e. to audit their activities).
A paper on this role presented by Grant was reviewed and adopted, (see the web site) and a decision made that it was best filled by a contractor. Each item in the list of tasks was costed carefully. Included in the contract are office and support staff costs. A contractual arrangement frees the Federation from many staffing, equipment and office complications.
Grant withdrew from the meeting while the committee considered filling the role, Consideration was given to advertising the position through an employment agency. Balancing the cost of such an exercise, the requirements of the position, and Grant's known in-depth knowledge, understanding and expertise of our operation, the committee chose Grant Sidaway as its contractor and negotiated a contract with him. The details of this are at present in committee and the committee will need to make decisions about what and when of the details to release. But the contract does not take effect until the sponsorship from Telecom ceases at the end of March and is on a short term basis until the future is more certain.
Financial:
The committee has indicated in its first newsletter that it will be able to pay grants to clubs at an interim rate and that it will recommend a membership fee of $1 pa per club member to the AGM. The membership fee is intended to cover the "democracy" costs of the Federation: meetings, financial audits, etc.
A bank account has been opened and will be operated over the internet using two of three committee members to authorize payments. IRD documentations is being completed. The Federation will have charitable status.
At this point in time the Federation has incurred the cost of the Incorporation Certificate ($100), the committee meeting venue and committee members' travel to the first meeting. As the Federation does not yet have any money, these costs are being carried by other means in the interim.
There has been, and will be, no charge to the Federation for costs prior to 2007. That is, there will be no charge for the extensive travel, many meetings, lobbying, negotiations and hours spent developing documents that have brought the Federation to where it is now.
The Advantages to Clubs through Membership of the Federation:
By joining the Federation:
- SeniorNet clubs will have the opportunity to receive (given they meet the Quality Management requirements) significant, automatic, steady funding assistance through the arrangements being developed with the TEC. Clubs will thus be able to plan their futures on a sound basis.
- SeniorNet clubs will have a national voice and lobby mechanism which will proactively promote SeniorNet as the first choice for New Zealand Seniors to learn computer and technology skills
- SeniorNet clubs will be greatly assisted with sponsorship arrangements that further assist with reducing operational costs of their Learning Centres. Such sponsorships will include telecommunications, software and hardware etc.
- SeniorNet clubs will have a supporting organization that will assist with providing teaching resources in a collaborative manner. New materials will be developed as resources allow. Teaching materials will be exchanged regularly.
- SeniorNet clubs will be kept up-to-date with emerging new technologies and given encouragement and support to adopt new courses for their members.
- Members of SeniorNet clubs will have privileged access to a wide range of discounts through its Lifestyle program. Such discounts will make it more affordable to purchase new software and hardware and with arrangements being developed nationwide in areas of travel, holidays, investment etc.
The Federation is determined to be a strong supporting organization for its members. It will act in a professional yet practical way to keep its costs to a minimum.
Further Information:
Further information is available from Grant Sidaway (0800 746 467 or grant@seniornet.co.nz) or from committee members. Grant will be visiting as many regional meetings and individual clubs as possible in the near future to ensure that the information is available and the process gets underway.
On behalf of the interim committee
| Ian Turner |
(i.k.turner@xtra.co.nz) |
Committee Chairman (Member for North Auckland)
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Other Committee members:
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| Ray McDonald (Auckland) |
raymcd-seniornet@ihug.co.nz |
| Lyndsay Noble (Waikato/BOP) |
lyndsay.noble@xtra.co.nz |
| Selwyn Jebson (Central North Island) |
selwynjebson@callsouth.net.nz |
| Brian Nelson (Wellington) |
NELSONBJ@xtra.co.nz |
| Duncan Fuller (Top of the South Island) |
pdfuller@actrix.co.nz |
| John Butler (Canterbury) |
john.butler@xtra.co.nz |
| Bruce Smart (Otago/Southland) |
john.butler@xtra.co.nz |
Federation web site details:
www.seniornet.co.nz
- Click on the Federation Documents Tab
- Login: Federation
- Password: FNZSSUAG
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