2018 / 19Year in Review

2018/19

An Active Life

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Inside2

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Our Vision

A message from our President

Our Service Snapshot

Tools for an active life

Our Developments

Martin’s story

A message from our CEO

Our Therapy Team

Our Volunteer Team

Our Supporters

Meet our Board

Meet our Team

Volunteers & Friends of Solve

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Team We are a team who engage through respectful communication and collaborative interactions.

Client Focussed

We are enthusiastic about finding solutions for our clients. We listen and are responsive.

CreativityWe value and encourage innovative thinking.

SupportiveWe foster an environment that values and recognises contributions from all.

ExpertiseWe provide clever, high quality and cost effective products.

Our Vision

Our Purpose

To solve equipment related problems faced by people with disabilities, of all ages, through specialised occupational therapy, and the design, construction or modification of equipment where commercial solutions are not suitable.

Our Values

No limits to participation

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A message from our President

2018-19 continued to be a time of change for Solve. The work we have delivered in the last year to increase brand awareness and referrals, manage our projects, engage with stakeholders and share knowledge has strengthened our position for a healthy future.

Under Doug Haig’s leadership, the staff and volunteers have pursued our goals with vigour and passion, unrelenting in their drive to evolve a Solve for the new age of disability services and, in so doing, have managed to preserve the values that differentiate us. There is fabulous energy and drive in the team, all of whom are excited by the possibilities in the future. Our culture is constantly evolving but a focus on the needs of people with disability is at the core of our business, and our practices.

Collaborations are fuelling our growing strength; collaborations between staff and volunteers to quality control practices; collaborations between Solve and universities in mutually beneficial exchanges of knowledge and innovation; and collaborations between the wider TAD Australia network, to share knowledge, information and materials to enable us to work smarter and more efficiently – together. These are but a few examples. They auger well for our culture of collaboration and our position within our community.

Last year our Board said farewell to our founding member, Mark Dohrmann after 43 years of service to Solve and Victorians living with disability.

Earlier in the year we welcomed Dr Lisa Chaffey to the Board.

Lisa brings a wealth of Occupational Therapy, research and lived experience to the Board, as well as great connections within the Disability Services Sector. We welcome her and the significant contributions she is making to our organisation.

I thank you all for the energy, good-will and diverse expertise each of you bring to Solve, and to working with our clients in such a unique and inclusive way. We continue to persevere and deliver to our goals, despite many challenges, and with your ongoing support we will advance our good work into a sustainable future.

Felicity Isaac | President

Our culture is constantly

evolving but a focus on

the needs of people with

disability is at the core of our

business, and our practices.

“ “

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A message from our CEO

I start this report with very clear recognition of the great work and contribution of the central team, our talented volunteers, the Board and the many individuals and organisations who have supported us with their time and resources.

2018-19 has been an exciting and challenging year for Solve Disability Solutions, as we continue to adapt, evolve and navigate the new NDIS landscape, while continuing to support those in the community and outside of the NDIS.

A highlight of the year was the continued solid growth in the volume and variety of work we delivered - project numbers are up by 20% for the second year in a row. Ultimately, it is the number of individuals in the community we support, the individual outcomes, and the impact our solutions deliver that is the greatest measure of our success.

Our business development team continue to work tirelessly to build relationships, and develop recognition and support from many philanthropic organisations, whose significant support remains key to our ongoing viability and enables us to explore new opportunities.

Focus on our Innovation Initiative has been strengthened by the employment of an engineer to oversee partnerships connecting design/engineering students with Solve volunteers. The initiative has

generated innovative research and design concepts that have progressed prototypes to products, towards commercial viability.

Last year we received a significant grant from the NDIS. The Information Linkages and & Capacity Building (ILC) grant, lead by our Solve Project Team, delivered enormous value to both Solve and the wider TAD Australia network, and those in the community we support. Over the past year, teams across (TAD) Australia collaborated through dedicated working groups to deliver a nationally consistent, best-practice service across all states and territories. As a result, people with disability and healthcare professionals now have access to consistent information for key parts of our service through two new national websites – TAD Australia and Freedom Wheels.

We continue to be in awe of our volunteers who bring a broad range of expertise to the organisation in the areas of technical/engineering, cycling (Freedom Wheels), therapy and administration. I thank you all for your commitment, dedication and demonstration of a genuine desire to improve the lives of others.

Thank you to our volunteer Board of Directors, who provide a diverse range of skills and expertise, support and encouragement. Thank you all for your time, guidance and insight.

It has been an incredibly energetic and productive year, and this review only touches a fraction of what we have achieved together. To our clients, supporters, referrers and the wider Solve community, my sincere thanks and best wishes for a fantastic 2019-20.

Doug Haig | CEO

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and be a hands-on dad… even if I can’t physically be hands-on.”

Our volunteers designed and built a custom baby seat attachment for Martin’s electric wheelchair, allowing him to safely hold and transport his son, Vinnie.

“Vinnie will see his chair, point to it and say, ‘Dada’…he wants to be close to me and go for rides and I want to be able to travel and take him places – now I can.”

These days Martin is back to work, raising his son, spending time with his wife, and working toward one day using a manual wheelchair. With a strong support network and Solve’s assistive technologies, Martin Sheldon is reclaiming his life.

“It’s not that I can no longer do something, it’s that I need to learn a different way to do things that I did before.”

Picture it… You’re a new parent, just going about your day, taking a morning bike ride before work.

It’s a typical ride, on a path you’ve been down a hundred times before. This time though, your front wheel slips and you go over the handlebars and land on your head.

In an instant, your life is changed, forever.

You’re alone and confused, and can’t feel or move anything – you are paralysed from the neck down.

This is what happened to Martin Sheldon in March of 2018. An avid cyclist, with a six week old baby, Martin was severely injured, alone and unconscious for six hours before police located him.

Found freezing, short of breath, and immobile, Martin was airlifted from Gippsland to Melbourne where he would remain heavily sedated for the next month, and spend another 10 months in hospital rehabilitating and preparing for his new normal.

After nearly a year in hospital and rehab, Martin is now back home with his wife, Laura and his one year old son, Vinnie. His main goal – to get back to the activities he enjoys, and travelling with his family.

Supported by a care team and motivated by his family, Martin has made remarkable progress. He now has limited arm and shoulder movement allowing him to independently operate his wheelchair. Martin has even returned to working part-time from home using voice recognition software and other assistive technologies, while balancing life as a new dad.

“There’s often another way to do things, it’s just finding what those ways are – Solve’s volunteer-made solutions allow me to get back to business as usual,

Martin’s Story

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Our Service Snapshot

Services for all ages

Client/Family

HealthProfessional

School Other

Access at every point

EverydayLiving

Sport & Rec

Freedom Wheels

EducationVocational

Getting Out & About

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90

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150

Q4Q3Q2Q1

2018/2019

2017/2018

Across all life domains

Keeping up with demand

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Over 64

Under 7

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of re

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Q4Q3Q2Q1

2018/2019

2017/2018

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Q1 (19-20)Q4 (18-19)Q3 (18-19)Q2 (18-19)Q1 (18-19)

NDISOther funding

33,000 page views

8,500 visitors

86.8% new visitors

Solve Website

40% more followers

Freedom Wheels - continuing to grow

Meeting the needs of NDIS participants

482 Requests for service342 Clients assisted

80 Freedom Wheels solutions

# of

requ

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# of

requ

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Coupled with the high-level of energy, enthusiasm and teamwork of the Peninsula Branch volunteers, and of course having Plucka Duck himself along for the final delivery, was a prime example of our person-centred approach to services and support.

Setting goals is the first step. Finding the tools and motivation to start reaching those goals is another.

Christopher was looking for find ways to increase his motivation, and participate in exercise/activity. His goal was to lose weight and improve his overall health.

As a long-time fan of Hey Hey It’s Saturday’s, Plucka Duck and having collected over 100 Plucka Duck plush toys, Christopher and his carers wanted to find a way to incorporate his collection and love of Plucka Duck to help motivate his physical activities. They approached Solve with an idea - to recreate a Plucka Duck carousel with an attached exercise bike.

In co-design with Christopher, Solve volunteers took note of Christopher’s attention to detail. To get it right, a standard exercise bike wasn’t going to cut it. Modifying a commercial bike frame into a Penny Farthing style bike to match the aesthetics of the original Plucka cycle, Solve volunteers mounted the custom cycle on a metal frame to function as a stationary exercise bike, and finally, connected the cycle to the carousel .

The completion of the Pluck-a-Duck exercise bike made headlines and was certainly a highlight project of the year.

The therapeutic consideration of sensory and visual perception to motivate Christopher’s participation in physical activity was nothing shy of ingenious!

Tools for an Active Life

Follow Solve on Facebook to keep up with our latest innovative solutions

www.facebook.com/solvedisabilitysolutions

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Our Developments2018/19 was an exciting year of growth and development for Solve’s marketing team as our service and business model continued to evolve, diversify and grow.

We continued to align marketing strategies with our overarching Strategic Plan to deliver an active and focused marketing plan, with a targeted community engagement schedule.

The collaborative marketing contributions across all areas of our organisation generated stronger brand recognition and community engagement, resulting in prominent features in both media and the wider disability sector.

Our Partnerships In growing our inter-industry network, we continued partnerships with Swinburne University of Technology and RMIT University and established a new community partnership with TOM (Tikkun Olam Makers): Melbourne. In doing so, we have strengthened our position and contribution to the open-source community in Victoria, linking Solve’s seasoned technical expertise with an engaging community of innovative designers, therapists, engineers and people with disability.

Our Projects Through the NDIS Information Linkages & Capacity Project our team built new relationships and created new channels of collaboration with the wider TAD Australia network. All State organisations worked together to deliver exceptional results in line with the continued rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Key deliverables of the project established a national best practice model - ensuring our brands, services and information/communications are consistent across all seven states and territories to enable greater participant awareness, access, choice and outcomes. Our teams delivered:

• Best practice protocols - Assistive Technology • Best practice protocols - Freedom Wheels • TAD Australia re-branding• TAD Australia national website • Freedom Wheels re-branding• Freedom Wheels national website• Solve website and content refresh

Solve, on behalf of TAD Australia, established and lead a national marketing team and communication platform to link state-to-national marketing, communications and community engagement activities. The ongoing work of the national teams will continue to support and drive the mission of TAD Australia, and its members as leaders in the provision of specialised therapy services and assistive technology.

TAD Australia - strong together!

Nick Warren | Marketing | Project Manager

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Our Therapy Teamrelationships and important community connections within our industry, including local AT suppliers and the bike community, to maintain and strengthen the quality, safety and value of our service.

As the therapy landscape continues to evolve, we emphasise the importance of keeping abreast with all things OT and policy. As a team, we have concentrated on building and providing a comprehensive service that goes beyond delivery of assistive technology. This includes development of tailored therapy training programs and packages to further enhance and build capacity of our clients.

Ensuring our specialised practice is available beyond the space of our appointments, we continue to contribute to the wider OT network across Australia with regular editorial contributions to OT Australia’s Connection magazine and their suite of therapy resources for both clients and families as well as allied health professionals.

Our Freedom Wheels team has been extremely busy with bike clinic days being run every week to accommodate the growing number of requests for our customised bikes. The Freedom Wheels service has been expanded to incorporate additional cycling options including trikes, and the addition of the Freewheelers Bike Skills Training Program and regular family fun cycling days at Kew Traffic School.

The collaboration between regional and central office OT’s was enhanced through regular online meetings and sharing of ideas. At the end of this year, we said farewell to Anne Collins after 10 years in Gippsland, Coralie Cooper and Fiona Sheehan from Barwon and Ballarat, as they left to pursue other roles. We now welcome Joanne Grigg and Johanne Walker to the team and look forward to working with them.

Finally, we couldn’t do what we do without our trusted team of technical volunteers, who bring innovation and imagination to reality, creating the magic that is Solve solutions!

Liz Doyle | Occupational Therapist

2018/19 has been the year of co-design in the Solve therapy team.

We have made some very exciting developments with our practice, community partnerships and getting the Solve story far afield. A key part of our role is to keep the Solve/TAD Australia narrative in the minds of those in industry, other therapists, AT users and the general public. Together, Occupational Therapy staff from Solve and TAD presented at the national Australian Rehabilitation & Assistive Technology Association (ARATA) Conference in Melbourne. This gave us a wonderful opportunity and platform to highlight the benefits and outcomes of fit-for-purpose assistive technology for people with disability.

Once again we hosted OT undergrad and honours level students, providing them with clinical supervision and a unique opportunity and experience into the Solve therapy practice. Students are enthusiastic learners who bring along contemporary OT theory. As an extension of our student engagement we continue to present OT and physio tutorials at universities, offering our team an opportunity to share our industry experience and collaborative business model.

While we continue to work through the ongoing stages of the NDIS rollout our service team continues to build new

Swinburne students on final year placement with Solve Occupational Therapists Melissa Thai (2nd from right) and Liz Doyle (far right)

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We thank volunteers who have stepped up to fill additional roles in the areas of risk, peer reviews and project coordination, student mentoring, branch leadership and marketing.

This year we introduced four volunteer awards to recognise achievements in the categories of Design, Value, Innovation and Freedom Wheels. We also presented the annual Ern and Les Rothschild Award, recognising a volunteer for their overall dedication, commitment and achievements during their time at Solve.

As technology evolves, our volunteer skills are also diversifying. While still requiring conventional engineering and trades skills, many of our newer volunteers have skills in digital technologies such as CAD and 3D printing which enhances our capabilities and offering to people with disability. Partnering with RMIT to mentor Biomedical, Mechanical and Mechatronic students has also enabled volunteers to consider and investigate alternative technologies when exploring assistive technology solutions. We are very grateful to all of our volunteers. Their goodwill and support has enabled us to continue our mission through these times of change and into the future.

Jenny Stephen | HR Advisor & Volunteer Coordinator

Our Volunteer Program

We are fortunate to have an amazing workforce of 150 skilled volunteers who selflessly donate their time and expertise to help people with disability live more independently, and achieve their goals.

Our largest group of volunteers are our technical volunteers who work closely with our clients and occupational therapists to design and build innovative assistive technology solutions.

The Freedom Wheels volunteers work as a team either assisting OT’s when assessing a client for their Freedom Wheels bike, or assembling each client’s custom bike in the Royal Talbot workshop.

A much smaller, but equally important group of volunteers assist with a wide range of administration, therapy and project coordination tasks both in central office and in the regional branches.

Solve is governed by a Board of volunteer Directors who bring to the organisation a wealth of experience in key business disciplines, as well as lived experience of disability.

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Our Supporters

Our Government SupportersState: Department of Health & Human Services (Operational Grant & Transition Support Package) Federal: National Disability Insurance Agency (Information, Linkages and Capacity Building Grant)Department of Social Services (Volunteer Grant)

Our service delivery is supported by the funding of state and federal governments, and the generosity of our corporate partners, private donors, foundations and trusts.

We thank you for your ongoing support of our work, and people with disability!

TrustsChain Reaction Challenge FoundationCollier Charitable FundGandel PhilanthropyGive Where You Live - GeelongThe Ian Potter FoundationMarian & EH Flack TrustThe Pierce Armstrong FoundationThe Sentinel Foundation

The Springwaters Foundation

Workplace GivingDeutsche Bank EmployeesJB Were & NAB EmployeesKarma Currency programsTelstra Employees

Our Major Supporters

Corporate Active One Group P/LDeutsche Bank AGMcDonald Upton National Australia Bank LtdSaward Dawson

Community GroupsCharity Drive DaysCWA ToongabbieRotary KewRotary Geelong

In-kind SupportersBack2BikesBike VaultFallshaw Wheels & CastorsJohn SinclairLINAK AustraliaLME Pty LtdMaddocks LawyersMelbourne Bicycle CentreMildura Powder CoatingNavascues UpholsteryNorth Fitzroy CyclesPickering Transport GroupPista Bikes - ToorakPlumtec MilduraRosta AustraliaSinclair + May Lawyers

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Felicity Isaac | President

Barbara Doyle

Mark Howlett | Treasurer

Meet Our Board

Ian Picken Mark Eldridge

Welcome Dr. Lisa ChaffeyThis year we welcomed Dr. Lisa Chaffey, Occupational Therapist, Author, Researcher, and Unintentional Disruptor to our Board of Directors.

Lisa is an experienced and accomplished leader across the fields of disability, community development, occupational therapy, and sport. Lisa is skilled in risk management, stakeholder engagement, service design, curriculum and research design and operational delivery. “I take my lifelong experience of being a wheelchair user, and create learning opportunities for industry, health professional students and people with disabilities throughout the Australia Oceania region.”

Philip Wright | Secretary

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Meet Our Team

Chee LaiFinance Officer

Doug HaigCEO

Sue HallNDIS & Accounts Officer

Rosemary NolanBusiness Manager

Jenny StephenHR Advisor | Volunteer Coordinator

Nick WarrenMarketing | Project Manager

Melissa Thai Occupational Therapist

Sunny Mellor Freedom Wheels Coordinator

Johanne WalkerOccupational Therapist

Joanne Grigg Occupational Therapist

Liz DoyleOccupational Therapist

Patsy MoloneyBus. Systems | Project Coordinator

Hassan MalikEngineer

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Volunteers & Friends of Solve

Garry AddicoatOwen AndersonStuart AndersonMichael AndersonMary AppsNeville ArmstrongDonald AuldMichael BentvelzenRobin BlairJudith BlairIan BrownRalph BrownWilliam BurnsJarryd CaruanaBrian CatchpoleLisa ChaffeyKevin ChristiansDarien ColbeckChristopher ColvinGuy CooksonRoger CornellZeke CrandallRod CrippsPaul CrocittiIan CrossTom DaviesPamela DaviesJen DavorenRichard DayMargaret DeanBelinda DixonBill DooleyDavid DowdlePeter DoyleBarbara DoyleIan DuffStanley DuncanDorothy DuncanJudith D`Abbs

Mark EldridgeKen EndacottDouglas FaramMark FeissDon FergussonRobin FergussonJacques FievezKingsman Foster-GreenPeter FranklynBrian GeorgePeter GillettGraham GoebyTheo GoossensBrian GrayAlan GrimesBruce HainesBertil HallenrudBill HallettBarbara HamiltonJack HarriottRichard HartLeanne HassanGuorun HeMichael HofmannBrian HoskingMark HowlettDavid HubbardHayley HughesElizabeth IrwinFelicity IsaacPippa IvaPeter KayLaurie KingDavid KneeboneRobert KnightonJoanne KralKirk KratzmannMaurice LeanTony Limosani

Max LloydPaul LucasGreg MacDougallBryan MackenzieBarry MagnierAndrew MarmincAllan MartinPeter McGowanJohn McKeownBrian MiddletonStephen MiltonDavid MitchellSamuel MoraClive MorganLynette MorganBill MorlingFrank MullinsPatrick NavascuesEvan NewnhamGeoffrey OliverRichard O`KeefeGeoff PayneDavid PearceRay PeersAndrew PettitIan PickenPhilip PilgrimAlan PreacherStan ProctorHimanshu Singh RathorJustin ReevesBruce ReynoldsJanet RichardsEdmond RobertsLynton RobertsIan RobertsonPhoebe RogersJohn RogersAnthony Rosengren

Tim RowleyLaurence SartoriSaeed SeifmohammadiMark ShelleyBrian SheltonMerrilyn ShepherdSam SirianniRonald SpencerMarian StanfordWilliam StathamFrederick SyerFreedom Wheels TeamMichael ThorburnAlan TonkinVan TranAdam TrudgenDavid TuckTroy UpfieldFrancesca UpfieldHenry van GinkelRoland WahlquistMeryl WaldronNeville WaldronMichael WallaceGraham WallisNorman WatchornGilbert WignallIan WilkinsonRobert WilkinsonLen WilliamsMichael WilliamsonJohn WilsonIan WinchMark WoolnoughPhilip WrightBruce YoungRichard Ziegeler

Solve Disability Solutions

Solve Disability Solutions Inc.C/o Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre

1 Yarra BoulevardKew VIC 3101

03 9853 8655 | 1300 663 243info@solve.org.au

solve.org.au

ABN 16 294 381 734

NDIS Provider 405 0000 978