Jean Roberts

Non-profit and community sector

From 1985 to the present, Jean has worked with a wide range of organisations in organisational reviews, committee/board development and assessment, management reviews, strategic and business planning, marketing, amalgamation, strategic alliances, measurable consumer outcomes, needs-based planning, evaluation of service design and delivery, submission preparation and tendering, and in-house training and development.

Non-profit sector assignments included the following areas of service:

Jean’s Action-research projects in the nonprofit sector:

Governance Project, 1989-1996: identifying the training and support needs of voluntary committees and boards in government-funded agencies providing services for people with an intellectual disability, and writing a 300-page training manual, The Craft of Managing, in collaboration with CIDA (Council of Intellectual Disability Agencies Victoria Inc).  This Project was funded by (then) Community Services Victoria and a number of Philanthropic Trusts.    This Project led to ongoing consulting and support with CIDA and CIDA member-agencies through to 2004.  This Project included requirements of relevant legislation, standards and accreditation – together with establishment and review of employment services and commercial ventures, extending to other states and territories, including New South Wales.

Leadership Project, 1992-1993: researching and writing a manual for directors of boards of the 150+ sheltered workshops in Australia to encourage extension of employment services for people with intellectual disabilities from sheltered to supported and competitive employment in integrated commercial settings.  This Project was undertaken in collaboration with the National Technical Assistance Unit, a Commonwealth Government initiative hosted by the (then) Mt Eliza College of Management.

Reference Manual Project, 1994-1995: researching and writing a manual setting out the roles and responsibilities of voluntary committees and boards of organisations providing disability employment services ranging from open employment to enclaves.   This Project was undertaken in collaboration with the Commonwealth Department of (then) Health and Family Services, Disability Services Program.  I then designed and undertook an extensive national seminar program to introduce the manual to disability services, to emphasise the appropriate legislative framework in each state and territory.  Working with individual disability services around Australia followed.

With permission from the Commonwealth Government, the Tasmanian Government engaged me to adapt this Manual for Tasmanian Disability Services – leading to many consultancies and workshops with a wide range of nonprofit service providers, including disability service providers, throughout Tasmania through the next 7 years.

5-Levels of Quality Maturity in Board Performance, 2002 and ongoing: development, trialing and refinement of Jean’s 5-level quality model to guide nonprofit Boards and Committees of Management to a level where they are competent, confident and comfortable to lead their organisation into entrepreneurial activity:

• Level 1 – the Board knows and understands its role and responsibilities – as governing body of a legal entity which is also a provider of services
• Level 2 – the Board is capable of assessing and improving its performance – as the governing body
• Level 3 – the Board is capable of assessing and managing risk – at governance, management and operational levels of activity
• Level 4 – the Board is capable of ensuring continuous quality improvement – at governance, management and operational levels of activity
• Level 5 – the Board is capable of engaging in entrepreneurial initiatives - eg strategic relationships, growth strategies, increasing income and reducing costs

Managing Governance in Nonprofit Organisations in Australia, 2006 and ongoing – publication of Jean’s book/CD ROM featuring 29 Building Blocks and 44 Units to ensure an effective, efficient and humane nonprofit organisation – incorporating Jean’s 5-Levels of Quality Maturity in Board Performance:

• each of the Building Blocks consists of 2 or more Units
• the CD ROM enables access via individual Building Blocks, individual Units or any of the 9 Perspectives critical to the work of the Board
• the CD ROM offers the 44 Units as pdfs – equivalent to a 500-page book

Making Ethics Work in a Nonprofit and SME (Small and Medium Enterprise) Workplace, 2011 and ongoing - this free 34-page Toolkit (8 Tools) specially is designed to empower Staff in designing, implementing and evaluating an ethical workplace, and ethical work practices.  Where Making Ethics Work is treated as a core business activity, improvements will include:

• workplace behaviours,
• individual job satisfaction, and
• organisational performance.

The following categories on my website provide information to the not-for-profit sector:

• Contents
  • Books (13)
  • Core Business Strategies (11)
  • Definitions (16)
  • Non-profit (133)
  • Research (74)
  • Small and medium enterprise (118)
  • Tendering, outsourcing and submissions (26)
  • Tools of War and Peace in the World of Management (5)