StrategicPlan-24-26 FINAL - Flipbook - Page 6
Our strategy should reflect our
role in shaping this change to
benefit the needs of the people
we represent. Listening to the
stories of our members and
reflecting these in terms of the
needs of the community is a key
element of stimulating change.
Kenneth Fox, CEO
CEO Introduction
Kenneth Fox
The Disabled Drivers Association of
Ireland is pleased to present its Strategic
Plan 2024-2026. It has been over 20
years, since DDAI had an externally
moderated Strategic Plan and it is hoped
that the processes developed at this
time will serve as learning for successive
strategic plans, whether externally
moderated or not. In recent years, the
DDAI has invested in capacity building
within the organisation. It is envisaged
that this Plan will deploy this capacity
in actions that will directly benefit the
members of our Association, who are all
persons with a disability, and persons with
a disability in the wider community.
Historically, the DDAI strategy has been project
based. Projects were proposed either through
the Board or from the Executive and evaluated
in terms of, the purpose of the Association,
cost/benefit both in financial terms and benefit
to people with disabilities. Reviews were
periodically applied to existing activities, which
may have been re-vamped or discontinued
according to the same considerations.
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In strict terms, this is not true strategy, in that, all
of the Association’s activities are not considered
together, changes to different activities may
not be co-ordinated sufficiently and a difficulty
with larger projects is that they can demand
resources for a period at the expense of other
activities. The vast majority of these projects
did achieve their goals although some did not.
In recent years there have been a number of
operational projects which improved capacity
but were less direct in terms their impact on
people with disabilities. Some services were
discontinued or declined during the pandemic
and this is therefore an opportune time to ask
the fundamental questions. What do we do, what
can we do and what should we do?
As the Disabled Drivers Association, our historic
focus has been on the importance of personal/
individual mobility for a person with a physical
disability. Our founders saw this as key to
education, employment and independence.
We have a history of involvement at every
stage of the personal mobility process; driving
assessment; driving tuition; driver licensing;
vehicle choice; vehicle adaptation; financial
supports; insurance; parking; accessible parking;
tolls and toll accessibility. Access to a personal
vehicle remains a key enabler for persons with a
disability, either as passengers or drivers.
