RNZFB Board Chair’s Newsletter – March 2026

Donna McCaskill

Hi everyone. I hope everyone had a lovely summer break and are safe and well. Christmas already feels like a distant memory. Here in Ashburton, the weather has been getting cooler recently, and there is definitely a chill in the air.

This is my first newsletter as Chair of the RNZFB Board, and I’m pleased to share highlights from our first Board meeting of the year, held in Christchurch on 7 March. This meeting was one of several the Board attended during a busy two day visit to Christchurch.

The Board began 2026 with its annual retreat, held in Auckland at the end of January. Directors came together for a valuable programme that included a joint strategic planning session with the Chief Executive and BLVNZ’s Executive Leadership Team. The Board received presentations on the Pulse Survey, the IDI report, financial sustainability, impact and legacy, as well as discussions on fundraising, consumer organisations, international connections, the website, strategy, and policy. The retreat provided an important opportunity to reflect, plan strategically, and set priorities for the year ahead. A key theme this year was future-focused governance — what it means in practice and how the Board can govern effectively for now while considering the needs of future generations. We look forward to continuing that journey in the year ahead and as we start thinking about the next Strategic Plan.

I also attended the launch of the The Shining a Light on Blindness report at the Parnell Community Hub on 27 February and again in Wellington on 3 March. Both events were well attended by health practitioners, researchers, government representatives, and allies attended, with cross-party political support shown for people who are blind or have low vision. The launch was a strong and successful opportunity to highlight the report’s findings and build wider awareness of the issues facing our community.

The full Shining a Light on Blindness report is also available to read or download now from the Blind Low Vision NZ website.

At our recent Board meeting, we remembered members of our community who have passed away since the last meeting, including Mike Smith and former Board member CP Lin.

A new consent agenda process was used for the first time, allowing a number of reports to be approved together. Board members reflected that this would help keep future meetings focused on governance and strategy.

We received updates from all Board committees:

• The Governance Committee will soon begin work on the constitutional review recommendations.
• The Audit and Risk Committee reported that preparations for the year-end audit are well underway, and the Board approved Deloitte’s reappointment as auditor for the year ending 30 June 2027 and will also be recommending to the AGM later this year that Deloitte be reappointed to carry out next year’s audit.
• The People Committee received a presentation from Victoria Davy on the volunteer programme, alongside positive updates on Pulse Survey results and ongoing work in health, safety and wellbeing, learning and development, and the graduate programme. The Committee noted strong progress across these areas, with learning and development activity continuing well and the graduate programme again recognised as a success. Plans are underway to increase participation next year, including a stronger focus on opportunities for younger graduates from the blind community.
• The Client Services Committee reported good progress on establishing the new Client Reference Group, with more than 50 expressions of interest received. The Committee also continued to monitor the issue of dangerous and roaming dogs, noting ongoing work with councils and advocacy efforts to improve safety for guide dog users and the wider blind and low vision community. In addition, the Committee discussed service eligibility criteria, recognising that growing demand may require future change, and confirmed that its focus for the year will now shift toward quality improvement and developing better ways to measure and demonstrate the impact of BLVNZ services.

Key discussion items included:

• a six-month strategy progress update,
• advocacy priorities for 2026–2027, including transport accessibility and Total Mobility,
• a Braille Project update.

The Board received a presentation from Kantar on the findings of our Communications Survey Report. The report reinforced the importance of communications that are accessible, personalised, and easy to navigate. Last year, BLVNZ engaged an independent research agency to carry out the survey, ensuring an objective review of how clients and members experience our communications. The survey found that our communications and touchpoints play an important role in empowering clients and strengthening trust and connection with BLVNZ. The information we share across channels is seen to reduce lived barriers, build confidence, and create a sense of belonging, enabling clients to manage their lives with greater independence and dignity.

The Board also formally approved the date, time and location of this year’s AGM as 10:30am on Saturday 21 November 2026 in Dunedin.

It was clarified that there is no fixed retirement age of 10 for guide dogs. Retirement decisions will continue to be made based on the needs of the individual dog and handler.

We were also pleased to hear from Professor Hamish Jamieson, who presented on vision and hearing impairment in older New Zealanders, and Kerri Tait from Kantar, who shared findings from the communications research.

Finally, the Board noted several matters discussed in committee the previous day, including progress on constitutional review recommendations, the appointment of two directors to the Client Reference Group, and approval to investigate property projects in Christchurch and Whanganui. Members also reflected positively on the value of observers and guest speakers and agreed to continue inviting external speakers to support the Board’s strategic thinking.

Those are the highlights from our March meeting but there is always a lot more going on. More detail can be found in the minutes of our open meetings which are readily available. Remember also most of our meetings are open to observers and we do our best to provide all the agenda papers to observers. So please contact the Board Secretary if you would like more information or if you would like to observe any of our open meetings.

Other news

Earlier this year, Eda Tang from The D*List interviewed me about my new role as Board Chair. That interview is on The D*List website at the following link: Meet Donna McCaskill, Blind Low Vision NZ’s newest Board Chair | The D*List.

Our next meeting is on Saturday 9 May. I’ll be back with another newsletter after that meeting.