Debt charity unveils five year plan

StepChange Debt Charity has revealed its new five-year organisational strategy.

The strategy reflects a year of working with stakeholders and service users to define a clear theory of change and identify how best to progress the charity’s vision of a society free from problem debt.

Notable changes over the coming five years include a shift in service focus beyond crisis support to achieving the long-term outcome of greater financial resilience for clients, as well as restructuring funding foundations to increase the organisation’s long-term financial stability and predictability in a world where previous funding models no longer accurately reflect the nature of the services required.

Within the wider debt advice sector, StepChange sees its positioning over the next five years being increasingly targeted towards those clients who are comfortable with a “digital-first” approach to debt advice services, backed up by the human touch when needed.

In five years’ time, StepChange wants everyone to know the charity for the following key outcomes that will consistently define the organisation:

• An unwavering focus on good long-term client outcomes
• Being digital-first, data-led, and powered by experts (both internal and external)
• Achieving meaningful change through policy and influence, and being a financially sustainable not-for-profit organisation.

Everything the charity does will be in support of these outcomes. Through them, StepChange seeks to clearly define its role within the wider financial and debt advice sectors.

Lesley Titcomb, Chair of StepChange, said “There’s still a stigma to being in problem debt, and to getting help. Changing this is part of StepChange’s strategy, and we’re grateful to everyone we work with who wants to be part of that change, and help people achieve better long-term outcomes. The next five years will see us becoming increasingly efficient, digital-first and data-led, while maintaining our empathetic ethos.”

Vikki Brownridge, CEO of the charity, said “Our goal has been to create a sustainable strategy built primarily on delivering improvements to clients and to the debt advice environment. By getting people to the help they need more quickly, and in ways that work best for them personally, we know we can reduce the harm that problem debt can wreak on people’s lives and help to set people up for a better future. We are wholly committed to ensuring that our colleagues are rewarded and inspired as part of our evolution, recognising that this will be a period of significant but also exciting change for our organisation.”