About

We’re BAF, or The Bishop’s Action Foundation. We’ve been working throughout Taranaki for a long time now, researching, collaborating and supporting projects that help our community to flourish. We’re a charitable organisation working to create and sustain flourishing communities. To achieve this we identify the root cause of community and social issues and develop partnerships that can create lasting solutions to them. We have three core action areas of Research, Collaboration and Service which you can learn about below. We like to see ourselves as a catalyst for change, developing collaborations and solutions that can thrive beyond our involvement so that we can continue to look for more good to be done.

For more information on how to become involved in BAF projects from funding to collaboration and research, get in touch with us here.

dr-john-sentamu-pic-sm-493623695

Patron

Dr. John Sentamu

I am pleased to be Patron of the Bishop’s Action Foundation. In 2010 I visited New Zealand and received a powhiri welcome at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Parnell, and valued my time spent with the late Sir Paul Reeves at Owae Marae. There is a strong interface of the Church and community when it comes to social change which the Bishop's Action Foundation seeks to nurture and build up within communities. They are a force for good and an agent for change in local communities – it is this catalyst working for the common good which gives me great hope for the future.``

Research

Think Tank

Research is a fundamental part of our three ‘action’ areas we use to help communities flourish. The research ‘action’ is based on the discussion and exploration of fundamental social issues. What we do is begin research initiatives to discover and understand the root causes of issues and the people who are affected by them, so as to create a solution that has positive and lasting outcomes.

Collaboration

Backbone Organisation

We think that working together can achieve greater outcomes. That’s why BAF works with partners across Taranaki and wider New Zealand to manage and deliver solutions to varying community issues. We see ourselves as the catalyst for change, getting everything in to place and watching it take off. Working with partners allows us to put in the work to get things running, and then hand-over so we can continue to search for and grow new projects.

What we do:

  • Guide vision and strategy among partners
  • Support and enable aligned or innovative activities
  • Establish shared and appropriate measurement practices
  • Build a growing base of support and energy
  • Advance policy change at a system level where this is required for sustainability and lasting change
  • Mobilise funding at seeding, piloting, and operational stages

Projects

Programme and Service Hub

We support and implement a number of projects that create long-term solutions to social issues, helping our community to flourish from the ground up. There’s a lot involved in the creation and running of projects, so we’ve developed our own service hub dedicated to offering start-up support for emerging projects and programmes. BAF calls this ‘Keystone Services’, which is open to initiatives that are in need of support. Take a look below to see if we can help support you in any number of these areas.

Governance

  • Oversight for pilot initiatives including establishing steering groups
  • Appropriate processes and running meetings
  • Support to transition to longer-term governance / entity structures

Management

  • Direction / strategic planning from pilot to fully fledged initiative
  • Policy development and review
  • Developing longer-term organisational culture
  • Establishing effective relationships
  • Building collaboration

Financial Management

  • Account policy and process
  • Formal accounting service for pilot initiatives including financial reporting for small entities
  • Developing longer-term and sustainable funding strategies

Human Resources

  • Employment of staff for pilot projects (employers agent role)
  • Payroll

Risk Management

  • Identifying relevant risks for pilot and beyond
  • Developing risk monitoring processes
  • Strategic risk mitigation

Compliance

  • Reporting on pilot activity to demonstrate impact
  • Keeping up with national and regional policy and legislative developments

Administration

  • Printing and resource development
  • High level administrative services for smaller entities