A brand-new Five-Year strategy for the NAFD, called Focusing on the Future, was launched today (28 October 2021) which sets out bold and innovative plans for the Association to ensure it is well-equipped to support members through the myriad of issues facing the profession.
The sector remains in the middle of a period of significant change, following extensive scrutiny from policy makers and the media, the introduction of regulation, a pandemic and a significant evolution of consumer expectations of funeral services.
However, the reputation of the NAFD has developed significantly in the last three years and this has put it in a much stronger position to be able to play the leadership role needed of the Association at this critical time.
The Association has built vital partnerships across the end of life, bereavement and funerals sector to enable productive joint working; it has reshaped the NAFD suite of qualifications for the modern era; it has a higher media profile and strong relationships with key media; a broader range of political contacts and, through the pandemic, it has built close working relationships with key Government departments – earning the reputation of being a trusted advisor.
The new strategy seeks to ensure the NAFD can build on these strengths and take bold and decisive action to secure a vibrant future for its members.
Launched after extensive consultation with members and external stakeholders, Focusing on the Future is based around the principle that it is far better for the NAFD to proactively shape the future of the funerals sector, than to simply wait to be subject to it.
There are four key aims within the Strategy, which are to deliver unrivalled support to members, build partnerships and lead a national conversation about funerals and bereavement, enrich the sector through knowledge and education and shape the policy and trading environment for funeral firms to help them to thrive.
And, at the heart of the Strategy, is the NAFD’s new Mission Statement, which is “to be an inclusive and progressive advocate for the funeral profession and bereaved people in all four nations of the United Kingdom.”
Commending Focusing on the Future to the membership, NAFD President Kate Edwards said: “For the NAFD, recent experiences have provoked intense discussion within the NAFD Executive about the nature, role and value of membership organisations in the modern world – as well as the fast-evolving external environment to which we, and our members, continue rapidly to adapt.
“We cannot be defined by what has gone before – even if those events are as seismic as a pandemic and the introduction of regulation. We must now carve out a future in which NAFD members have everything they need to be able to lead the funeral sector and one in which the Association continues to reshape itself, in a post pandemic, post-Brexit, post CMA world, to deliver those needs for members every step of the way.”
If you’d like to find out more and read the strategy, please click here.