The Bupa Foundation is a health promotion charity with the principal activity of promoting the prevention or control of disease in human beings.

With new leadership direction to explore customer donations and increasing ambition to achieve and report on impact with its partners, the anniversary year represented an opportunity to reintroduce the Foundation with a compelling vision of change.

However, any changes to activity and investments needed to be evidence-based and consider risks as well as the opportunity to achieve greater impact.

Ellis Jones scoped a program of research work to inform a new strategy and positioning for the Foundation. The work comprised:

• Philanthropy industry analysis to determine investment and activity in the themes of mental health, and the intersection of human health and planetary health.
• Corporate foundation benchmarking to understand the activity and impact of peer organisations.
• Customer and employee surveying to determine donor activity, focus areas for donations, and likelihood of supporting Bupa Foundation.
• Bupa business leader workshopping to reflect on research outcomes and provide direction for vision setting and initiative design/activation.
• Interrogation of three impact domains, leading to vision, narrative, evaluation frameworks and initial theories of change.
• Strategic planning to evolve vision, purpose, goals, positioning, roadmap and fundraising approaches.
• Risk analysis and mitigation.

During each project sprint, detailed modelling was undertaken, with reflection sought from Bupa leadership.

Sector research provided insights on possible fundraising strategies as well as focus areas for investment. Customer and employee research determined that, although not all customers were likely to support the foundation, some well-defined groups were highly aligned and open to greater engagement.

Workshopping with Bupa leaders generated momentum behind change as well as producing innovative ideas and potential areas of risk to mitigate.

The impact strategy is comprehensive. It extends impact from two to three domains, with compelling vision narratives and base theories of change to further develop with flagship partners. Evaluation is aligned to B4SI and group ESG requirements.

The collaborative approach taken by the Bupa ESG & Sustainability team meant each project member could bring their best to the project, producing strong results.

Bupa is ready to celebrate the Foundation’s incredible legacy and surge forward, for the benefit of all Australians and, in particular, young people, the natural environment and First Nations communities.