Care Alliance Ireland Strategic Plan 2025–2030

(Download Pdf Version Here)

Introduction

This Strategic Plan builds on our Strategic Plan 2019–2024 and is the result of both mid- term and end-term internal reviews. We commissioned an external consultant to perform an independent review of our operations in late 2024. We learned that our team and our work are valued, our adherence to high governance standards is admired, and our lean operations are delivering considerable return on investment in terms of impact. Although our representative activities with stakeholders, submissions and research are well regarded, our engagement with member organisations is moderate. Furthermore, our clarity of purpose needs improvement and while our recent pivot into direct family carer support interventions is welcomed, it was noted that this should be reflected in our new Strategic Plan. The findings also indicate that we unnecessarily fly under the radar and we do not get sufficient credit for our work over recent years. We acknowledged the feedback and developed a Strategic Plan for 2025–2030, which our Board approved in March 2025.

Our why

Family carers are people who provide unpaid help with daily activities or other supports to a family member, neighbour or friend with a disability, long-term illness or issue related to old age. Family carers provide the majority of care within our society.

Family caring can have considerable benefits for individuals, communities and societies as a whole. The intensity and duration of caregiving can create challenges, however. Further progress is required to achieve full appreciation of these benefits and challenges. Family carers may experience social, health and financial exclusion associated with their caring responsibilities. Not every family carer experiences exclusion in the same way, with minority carers often feeling these impacts more strongly. We believe unequivocally that all family carers deserve to be recognised and supported in their role.

Our values

Our work is infused with three core values. We are professional, collaborative and evidence-informed in everything we do. In practice this means that we will maintain high standards of work; be transparent, open and honest in all our interactions; and value the contributions of all our stakeholders. We will seek to collaborate at all times as we believe this increases our collective impact. The existing and emerging evidence about what actions and interventions are effective in improving the situation of family carers will inform our work. 

Our mission

Care Alliance Ireland works to enhance the wellbeing of family carers so that they are better able to care for their loved ones. We provide direct support to family carers as well as indirectly supporting them by working with researchers, statutory actors and  other not-for-profits.

How we make a difference

Our vision

An Ireland in which the role of family carers is fully recognised and where family carers are adequately supported.

Strategic Priorities

We have formulated five Strategic Priorities, reflecting our work with our four primary stakeholder groups (family carers, not-for-profits, researchers and the State). The fifth is an enabling aim, ensuring we as an organisation are in a strong position to   undertake our vital work. Each Strategic Priority has equal weighting.

During the period 2025–2030, Care Alliance Ireland will:

1. Offer responsive and inclusive support interventions to family carers
2. Make meaningful contributions to the family caring research agenda
3. Influence public policy to improve the lives of family carers
4. Work with other not-for-profits to effectively support family carers
5. Be a well-known, financially viable, well-governed and high-performing organisation

1. Offer responsive and inclusive support interventions to family carers

Objectives

• 1.1 Provide a professionally moderated and safe online support group for family carers
• 1.2 Deliver intensive employability supports to cohorts of current and former family carers
• 1.3 Signpost family carers to relevant resources and opportunities
• 1.4 Coordinate an annual National Carers Week that recognises the valuable role of family carer

Desired outcome: Family carers feel more supported, experience greater wellbeing and are in a better position to care.

Measured by

• Positive feedback from family carers about our services
• Levels of participation in our online projects
• Engagement by current and former family carers in education/training/volunteering/employment opportunities
• Engagement by not-for-profits in National Carers Week annually

2. Make meaningful contributions to the family caring research agenda

Objectives

• 2.1 Promote the need for ongoing resourcing of family carer research
• 2.2 Support early-stage researchers with their research
• 2.3 Be central to the delivery and/or dissemination of high-quality collaborative and accessible primary research that informs policy and service development for family carers
• 2.4 Produce thought-provoking and analytically rigorous research briefings and discussion documents
• 2.5 Create opportunities for successful collaboration in family carer research across the academic, statutory and not-for-profit  sectors, both nationally and internationally

Desired outcome Generation of a larger and stronger evidence base for family caring. 

Measured by

• Involvement in advocacy activities related to resourcing family carer research, and engagement with key philanthropic and statutory sources 
• Meaningful engagement with early-career researchers
• Dissemination of research primarily through Open Access routes, and primarily guided by a Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) framework at every stage of the process – from design to knowledge dissemination – supported by a research advisory group
• Involvement in new research collaborations
• Engagement of a greater number and range of individuals with our Family Carer Research Group and our research dissemination events

3. Influence public policy to improve the lives of family carers

Objectives

• 3.1 Use policy submissions, national representative opportunities and any other relevant means to influence and inform policymakers and implementers of policy about family caring
• 3.2 Provide robust up-to-date information about the family carer experience and agitate for evidence-informed solutions to address any associated exclusion 

Desired outcome Public policy goals and practice meet the needs of family carers. 

As measured by

• Referencing of our research work and policy advice within national policy documents
• Publication and implementation, in a collaborative manner, of a new National Carers
• Strategy that is funded and that includes ambitious but achievable goals for improving the lives of family carers
• Inclusion of family carer issues in other emerging national policy documents
• Expansion of existing and new family carer support initiatives with dedicated budgets
• Delivery of more impactful and collaborative carer support services by a range of providers

4. Work with other not-for-profits to effectively support family carers

Objectives

• 4.1 Increase the number of not-for-profit organisations that join our alliance
• 4.2 Provide opportunities for member organisations to collaborate with each otherand with other stakeholders
• 4.3 Encourage the active participation of member organisations in all aspects ofour work
• 4.4 Share relevant information with member organisations on an ongoing basis,including information about funding opportunities in line with our stakeholderengagement strategy
• 4.5 Provide guidance to not-for-profits on effectively supporting family carers, witha particular focus on online supports
• 4.6 Develop international links and participate in international networks tofacilitate knowledge exchange

Desired outcome Increased support to the family carers with whom our members interact.

As measured by

• Applications for and approvals of membership
• Engagement from member organisations, including greater numbers of member organisations contributing to our discussion documents and policy submissions and getting actively involved in National Carers Week
• Bidding by organisations and subsequent securing of funds to implement new interventions to support family carers
• Use by organisations of online carer support interventions

5. Be a well-known, financially viable, well-governed and high-performing organisation

Objectives

• 5.1 Continue to build sustainable funding sources and our unrestricted reserves to successfully implement our Strategic Plan
• 5.2 Implement exemplary governance structures and processes that provide a solid basis for the way we manage and deliver our work
• 5.3 Support the ongoing development of our staff and volunteers
• 5.4 Raise the profile of Care Alliance Ireland generally to all relevant stakeholder groups in line with our stakeholder engagement strategy

Desired outcome A strong organisation making measurable progress in achieving its  vision.

As measured by

• Funding on a multi-annual basis, together with greater diversification of funding sources
• Engagement and performance of staff and volunteers
• Engagement by media and through social media
• Regarded as a leader in governance, management and operational delivery
• Seen as the go-to organisation in family carer research, policy and online support

Translating the Plan into action

Each year, we will establish an operational plan that will inform the work of our volunteers and employees. These annual plans will contain targets for each objective, and we will track our performance relative to our Strategic Priorities every year with a summary  in our annual Directors’ Report.

Reviewing the plan

We will undertake a mid-term review of the Strategic Plan 2025–2030 towards the end of 2027 and course-correct as necessary. We will then undertake an end-term review towards the end of 2030 in preparation for a new plan.