Envision Teleconference: 24th February 2015

Envision held a teleconference last night to reflect on the progress of the first year of the campaigning network, as well as the changes it has made to the lives of the members involved with the steering group - whether it be through building confidence, achieving independence, developing new skills or networking with new people.

This was the final teleconference with the current steering group line-up, as voting is now open to elect members of the new steering group who have put themselves forward.

We first discussed what we felt we had gained from Envision and how that would benefit us in the future. Confidence-boosting, volunteering and employment opportunities were mentioned by my fellow steering group members and I followed this on with how my independence has grown from strength-to-strength over the past year since being involved with the network. I now travel on my own, with my Guide Dog, when previously with my cane I would request that a sighted member of staff meet up with me for the train journey. I'm also much more happy to stay away from home for days at a time without my family, thanks to the Parliamentary trip and RNIB Campaigners Convention.

Following this, we talked about what we enjoyed the most and the least over the past year. The Parliament visit was agreed to be the highlight so far, as well as face-to-face meetings at Judd Street and having the chance to meet other young visually impaired people from all over the country. I felt a need for more workshops and skills-building opportunities as many of the group have expressed in the past that they don't know where to start with social media and / or feel uncomfortable with either Facebook or Twitter and have trouble adjusting from one to the other.

To end, we considered how the running of Envision could be improved for the next year. Suggestions included more regional meetings, more involvement in local areas and the chance to develop social media skills. I mentioned how I would like more communication with the wider network to involve them more with things going forward and access to our social media accounts.

As mentioned above, voting is now open to elect new members of the steering group for the coming year. You can find out more about the nominees, their statements and how to vote via SurveyMonkey by visiting the RNIB site here.

Useful Links

• E-mail • Facebook • Twitter • All Envision Blog Posts • Envision Microsite • Envision Launch • Envision Steering Group • Our First Campaign • YouTube Video • Insight Radio Interview

Envision Teleconference: November 17th 2014

The Steering Group and I held a teleconference last night to discuss our recently drafted charter. We looked over each of the 7 points, as a group, making clarifications and expanding points to provide more detail of our asks. The amended charter will be e-mailed around to the steering group, followed by the wider network as a whole, in the very near future.

After editing the charter we moved our conversation towards how we would present it to the industry. Do we target individuals or do we look into communicating with head offices in the retail sector? We agreed that the New Year would be a good time in order to do this, with 'New Year Resolutions' being a suitable theme of which to achieve our asks, and perhaps even launch an event nationally to draw attention to the charter itself and the evidence we've explored.

We talked about the bus charter and how that was recently presented with a nationwide event; first with a meeting at the Head Office, proceeded by the Minister of Transport giving a speech, with bus companies following suit and signing up to the charter.

Finally, we conversed about what to do at a local level. Coffee mornings and group meetings at coffee shops, involving visually impaired people for their support, were mentioned as well as contacting local store managers and staff members. This is something we will be thinking about over the next few weeks.

The next steering group teleconference will be held in the evening of Tuesday, December 9th.

Useful Links

• E-mail • Facebook • Twitter • All Envision Blog Posts • Envision Microsite • Envision Launch • Envision Steering Group • Our First Campaign • YouTube Video • Insight Radio Interview

Envision & VCC Teleconference: 6th October

Last night I chaired my first teleconference with VCC's (Volunteer Campaign Co-Ordinators) and campaigners from across England, two of which are members of Envision - both steering group and wider network, attending the call.

The teleconference was designed as a focus group; an alternate channel of gathering views and experiences, rather than solely through our mystery shopper survey that we've been circulating via social media recently. Everyone on the call had a specific interest in the issue of accessible menus in coffee shops - as well as staff awareness training and less cluttered layouts.

As chair, it was my job to introduce Envision and the work that we do as well lay some ground rules for the teleconference, outline the agenda and ensure that it's followed closely, have good time-keeping and make sure that everyone has had the chance to speak and give their views.

After going through most of the key questions on our mystery shopper survey and collecting a stronger body of evidence from the campaigners on the call, I also encouraged responses for improvements which can be used on our charter to present to the industry.

Some great points were raised, especially around the coffee shop layout; ensuring that there's a clear passage through to the counter, making sure the the counter is as obvious as possible (not right at the back of the store!), ensuring there is a consistent layout throughout all stores pertaining to that particular chain, good lighting for those with low vision, ensuring chairs are securely placed underneath tables, and outside tables and chairs are cordoned off with a metal bar that long canes can detect.

You can provide your own responses and help Envision build a stronger campaign - for accessible coffee shop menus, staff awareness and overall positive experiences - by completing our short survey located at SurveyMonkey, here. Our feedback can then be collated and designed into a charter which the steering group will be focusing on during our London meeting on October 23rd.

Useful Links

• E-mail • Facebook • Twitter • All Envision Blog Posts • Envision Microsite • Envision Launch • Envision Steering Group • Our First Campaign • YouTube Video • Insight Radio Interview

Envision Teleconference: Comms Sub-Group

The communications sub-group members of the Envision steering group held a teleconference tonight, with discussion focused around the coffee shop survey responses that we circulated recently as well as discussion of the charter that we will be drawing up to present, our use of social media, and so on.

As always, I helped to take the minutes during the phone call to share with everyone else via Facebook and Twitter; to keep you up-to-date with all things Envision!

Mystery Shopper Surveys / Questionnaires

27 responses have been received altogether so far, with one more in the process of being completed (I was contacted via e-mail by someone who had read my article in the Henshaws Hello! newsletter and will complete the coffee shop mystery shopper survey ASAP). More could have been completed by those who undertook the mystery shopping itself, but haven't sent them off to the Envision mailbox yet. Two VCC teleconferences will take place to share ideas on how to promote and gain further responses to the coffee shop surveys.

Future Teleconferences

The Co-chairs of Envision (Nina, Tom and myself) will be having a teleconference on October 1st, and there will also be two VCC (Volunteer Campaign Co-ordinator) teleconferences on October 6th to discuss further survey responses and the charter. I will be attending the second VCC teleconference in the evening.

Coffee Shop Charter
The campaigns planning sub-group had their teleconference on September 15th (minutes from the call will be circulated soon) to hold discussion around the charter. Some members have e-mailed ideas already, and further discussion will be provided by VCC's during their two teleconferences on October 6th.

Social Media
Discussion was had regarding our social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter; both of which are doing really well, receiving strong interest and going from strength to strength. They are both interesting platforms to communicate and network with and make our presence known online. Our Twitter account now has 102 followers! The Facebook Friday rota will be discussed during our London meeting on October 23rd. I am also very happy to support anyone who needs help with setting up social media accounts and learning the basics, and could possibly hold a workshop during our London meeting.

London Meeting at Judd Street
The steering group will be meeting on October 23rd at the RNIB headquarters in Judd Street, London. This will be an excellent opportunity to catch up and discuss topics such as social media, the funding application (which is currently being redefined and redeveloped), as well as the charter and survey responses. If there is enough time, ideas for the next campaign could also be discussed and developed.

Useful Links

• E-mail • Facebook • Twitter • All Envision Blog Posts • Envision Microsite • Envision Launch • Envision Steering Group • Our First Campaign • YouTube Video • Insight Radio Interview

Envision Teleconference: Tuesday, August 19th

The Envision steering group and I had a teleconference tonight to touch base with each other on how our progress is going regarding distributing the coffee shop mystery shopping questionnaire, and to also start discussion on our next steps in the campaigning process for accessible menus in coffee shops.

I have so far promoted the questionnaire through the Envision Facebook page and Twitter page and I have also used Henshaws Society for Blind People's quarterly Hello! Newsletter to present the questionnaire to service users, as well as their online e-mail mailing list.

You can help with Envision's campaign for accessible menus, in the 4 main coffee chains in the UK, by downloading the survey form here and detailing your past experiences when choosing what to purchase without an accessible menu provided. You are free to share with other visually impaired friends and family members too; the more responses, the stronger our voice!

Responses are to be sent to the Envision mailbox (envision@rnib.org.uk) by September 12th.

Here are my notes from tonight's teleconference!

• Recap of last meeting's agenda

What key points from the agenda had been signed off and completed. Action plans - discussion of the learning points from the Campaigner's Convention that have been received so far, any outstanding ones are to be completed ideally by the end of the week and e-mailed to Lindsay. These will be compiled into one document to then be e-mailed to the steering group as an attachment.

• Questionnaire

Now signed off and being distributed. Kimberley has shared it with the Henshaws mailing list, Henshaws Hello! Newsletter (Autumn edition) and through Envision's Facebook and Twitter pages, Naomi has shared it with the RLSB group and Nina will be sharing with Focus and the Birmingham Actioneers. The campaigns planning group will then sift through the responses, identify key themes, e-mail out the evidence and promote the findings to implement into our campaigning. Aim for September 12th to have all questionnaires sent back.

• Update to the wider network

Discussion around the update to be sent out to the wider Envision network which is now signed off. Agreement to keep communications regular, possibly monthly as a guideline, but be flexible to whenever seems appropriate to share important news items and issues. Rotate the duty of writing updates between each other, particularly comms and co-chairs, to provide everyone with the opportunity to write something. September 19th is penciled in for the next update.

• Charter

The bus charter used in the 'Stop for Me, Speak to Me' campaign was sent out as an attachment recently, to use as a foundation and a formula for our own coffee shop charter. We need to identify what our asks are and to think internally as to what the best mechanisms are. For example, do we just want to focus on menus or look at the whole package of the coffee shop experience? Do we want VI awareness training implemented into the manual, included in a full training day or slotting into the half-day training session?

Once identified we can build our asks around those. Cover the key areas, keep consistent to the focus and responses received in the questionnaires and be logical when pulling all of this evidence and information together under headings to then translate when presenting to providers. It was agreed to draft something for the charter and ideally have something to agree on in time for our October meeting in London. This will enable us to have the charter then signed off and put our focus into planning and lobbying the industry.

Two suggestions came up in the teleconference - one was that we could suggest that each store has a designated supporter for visually impaired people. Looking at the bus campaign, using their charter as a guide, a champion is mentioned to oversee that visually impaired people have found their seat, are aware of the bus number and destination, that drivers do not pull away from a bus stop, etc. We could use similar points, tailored to coffee shops. Another suggestion was to perhaps reach out to a contact within the environment and industry to give their input too, and to help with research in regards to what coffee shops currently provide.

• Upcoming Teleconferences

Teleconferences in the near future, include; one for the Campaigns Planning group on Monday, 15th September between 7pm and 8pm, one for the Communications sub-group held on Wednesday, 24th September between 5:30pm to 6:30pm, and the Co-chairs will have their teleconference on Wednesday, 1st October (time to be decided nearer to the date). Ideally 4 members from each group would be beneficial, though if one or two can't attend then we will try to keep things moving forward as much as possible rather than rescheduling. It just provides the opportunity to touch base with each other, though between those times do feel free to keep in touch and converse, and give input regarding important items.

• Meeting in London

Our next face-to-face meeting will be on Thursday, 23rd October from 11pm to 3pm at Judd Street. Think about the agenda and discussion points you'd like to include; discussion of drafted charter, the practicalities of how to get chains signed up to the charter and the area of focus for the next campaign.

• Next Campaign

Think about putting the question out to the wider network, in the next e-mail update perhaps, of what they think the next campaign should be focused around (employment and built environments were mentioned during the teleconference). This allows them to feel more involved and empowered, in the confidence that they have contributed. Ask that question beforehand prior to the October meeting. Follow it up again through e-mail, and even through social media, to push for more responses.

Useful Links

• E-mail • Facebook • Twitter • All Envision Blog Posts • Envision Microsite • Envision Launch • Envision Steering Group • Our First Campaign • YouTube Video • Insight Radio Interview

Envision Teleconference: 3rd July 2014

The Envision Steering Group and I had a teleconference tonight, from 6pm to 7pm, to follow-up from the Campaigner's Convention that we attended recently and to give initial thoughts on the key learning points for Envision to implement into the coffee shop campaign that we are currently working on.

I have been appointed to the position of Co-Chair, as well as still being a member of the communications team, after the departure of Adele Waterfall-Brown. I took notes during the teleconference which you can read below:


Campaigner's Convention Follow-Up

Steering Group discussed initial thoughts and a follow-up to the RNIB's Campaigner's Convention. Group members all agree that it was a fantastic opportunity to meet with like-minded people and, at the same time, different in terms of their perspectives, experiences and approach to campaigning and we learned a lot from them. The social aspect was great to build our networks, both in terms of friends and campaigning. It was a very empowering event to see the impact of all of the different campaigns and to look at the bigger picture of campaigning - it does make a difference and is such a positive thing. It's vital to keep going and persevere, there is plenty of time to achieve your goals - do not rush when campaigning!

Online Portal / Learning Hub

For those who could not attend the Campaigner's Convention, the RNIB are working on an online portal where you can access the information and notes from all of the workshops and the open space sessions that took place during the convention's weekend.

Key Learning Points

Attendees should e-mail key learning points to the rest of the Steering group within the next week or so, if at all possible; providing a few bullet points of what they have learned from the Open Space sessions and / or workshops that can be of use to Envision and what skills or knowledge can be applied to our own campaigning work of the coffee shop campaign. Kimberley Burrows has written a blog post regarding the weekend's workshops and open space sessions that she attended.

New Members & Positions!

Adele Waterfall-Brown has parted ways with Envision due to her heavy workload; setting up her own business and planning her wedding. We have welcomed Naomi Stevenson from Royal Tunbridge Wells to the Steering Group, who will fill Adele's former position in the Campaigns Planning sub-group. Naomi attended the Campaigner's Convention and expressed her interest to join Envision, and has previously worked with Mohammed Mohsan-Ali from London. Kimberley Burrows, from Manchester, has filed Adele's former position as Co-Chair, alongside Tom and Nina. A list of who is in each sub-group will be circulated again, with the new members who have filled recent vacated posts.

Upcoming Teleconferences

The next teleconference, among the Campaigns Planning sub-group, will take place on July 16th at 2pm. There was discussion of Hugh Huddy possibly joining this teleconference or perhaps even some others in the near future.

Amended Mystery Shopper Survey

Signed off the amended questionnaire, which members can now distribute throughout their own networks; Action Connect, Henshaws Society for Blind People, Transport for London, etc. which can also work as a recruitment exercise; generating momentum and interest in Envision. In regards to the questionnaire, it may also be useful to add an age-bracket question towards the beginning, as it may be beneficial to ask all age groups about their experiences at coffee shops. This will gather more feedback and will tie into some of the target audiences of the other main coffee shops; Costa Coffee having a larger number of middle-aged females in the demographic of customers and Cafe Nero targeting older males. The more responses involved with the questionnaire - the louder the voice for change of accessible menus.

Wider Network

Discussion of the Facebook page, Facebook Friday and the rotor of looking after the page offering similar links of interest and updates from the group. Discussion of communication within the network, via e-mails. Perhaps quarterly main e-mails to the wider network compiling progress so far from each season, with smaller e-mails every 2 or 3 months in-between to keep them updated on everything happening Envision-wise. There are between 50 to 60 members of Envision altogether.

Useful Links

• E-mail • Facebook • Twitter • All Envision Blog Posts • Envision Microsite • Envision Launch • Envision Steering Group • Our First Campaign • YouTube Video • Insight Radio Interview

Envision Teleconference: 29th April

After I came back home from my visit to Rivington Barn with the Henshaws arts & crafts group last night, I attended an hour-long teleconference with the rest of the Envision steering group from 6pm to 7pm.

For those that couldn't attend, I made some notes on my iPad during the call to share with them via e-mail this morning so that they are up-to-date with what was discussed during the teleconference. I thought I'd also make a blog post about it to share with the Envision network as a while via the Facebook and Twitter accounts.

We followed an agenda that was e-mailed to us prior to the call and discussed each section and gave suggestions and feedback as a group. The agenda included next steps, keeping in touch with the wider network, maintaining the Twitter and Facebook pages and setting up future meetings.

Next Steps

The first thing for us to think about was next steps in the campaign. Co-chair Nina suggested reaching out to the young members at Action in the West Midlands to get them involved with the mystery shopping survey, as well as young students at the QAC college, perhaps even meeting at a Starbucks so that they can test the service out together and have the staff approach them in the process. The current mystery shopper survey came into question about what we can do to make it more compact; we discussed perhaps offering an incentive (such being entered into a draw for book vouchers, coffee shop vouchers, etc.) and maybe even surveying on past experiences rather than have people going out to the shop itself - which is what may be a barrier for people completing the form for additional visits to other chains.

Wider Network

The next thing on the agenda to discuss was keeping in touch with the wider network especially through our social networking accounts. We've made progress with our Twitter, in that guidelines are currently being drafted which will be shared to those who will be contributing to the Twitter profile. Twitter now has the option to update profiles so that they look slightly different. I've changed Envision's theme to compliment the new layout, which I personally think is a lot nicer and is easier to read - especially in terms of the previous text on top of the header that was used as a brief introduction and could be hard to read without VoiceOver. It has now been removed for those who have activated the new layout.

Social Media

Regarding the Facebook page, it's the same people contributing and commenting and we need to think of ways of involving more people. That could be down to not knowing how to use Facebook, so there are a couple of things that could be done to help. One of our co-chairs, Nina, has a document full of short commands for Facebook mobile which she'll be e-mailing to everyone, and also at the campaigner's convention in June there may be opportunities to have a social media workshop. I myself am a very keen Facebook and Twitter user, so if anyone ever needs any help I will be very glad to assist as well.

In regards to keeping in touch with the wider Envision network, I suggested perhaps having a short newsletter to send to everyone via post in their preferred format so that we're not just relying on e-mail as a form of communication. Getting these printed in preferred formats, such as Braille, can take a little while to produce so will need to be prepared in advance - but it's certainly something to think about. Another way of keeping in touch with everyone could be to send a short summary about what we've been doing via e-mail to circulate to the wider network and keep them updated and involved.

Future Meetings & Teleconferences

We then discussed setting up future meetings and I believe the time period we decided on was to have teleconferences with each of our own subgroups every 3-4 weeks and then have a teleconference with the wider steering group every 6-8 weeks. As a group, we would like to have dates in advance so that we have them ready in our diaries so that events don't clash and so we have some prep time beforehand.

Envision's next meeting will be over the weekend of the 14th and 15th of June during the campaigner's convention in Birmingham. It should be a really productive and educational weekend and I will of course keep you updated on the event!

Outreach & Networking

We talked about other campaigning networks, such as Haggeye (who we met in October) and Trailblazers, and how they can help us as a newly formed group. They will be more than happy to help and offer experience from their past campaigning work and we shouldn't be afraid to approach them and ask for advice.

Envision Paragraph

The final thing up for discussion was the paragraph that the comms group recently submitted, to be used in media, speeches and other forms of communication when introducing our campaigning group. It needs minor tweaking which will be done over the course of the next few weeks and then that will be finalised and ready to use.

Useful Links

• E-mail • Facebook • Twitter • All Envision Blog Posts • Envision Microsite • Envision Launch • Envision Steering Group • Our First Campaign • YouTube Video • Insight Radio Interview