Product details

This case discusses the merger in 2009 of The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) with Action for Blind People (ABP), creating the UK's largest charity for the blind and visually impaired. The CEO of RNIB, Lesley-Anne Alexander, CBE, was the driving force behind the merger as she identified a need to consolidate that part of the voluntary sector which had over 700 charities for the blind and visually impaired - following a so-called 'roll-up strategy'. The case provides background into why charities are formed and why they would merge, the history of both the RNIB and APB, and how the two came to merge. The case ends at the start of the post-merger integration when some problems were already beginning to arise. The case was written with the support of RNIB and contains excerpts of interviews with key executives from both organisations. The case is perhaps one of the first to be available in braille, large type and in talking-book format from the RNIB. A 20 minute video is available to accompany the case during which Lesley-Anne Alexander discusses the background and challenges of the merger. A teaching note is also available which discusses why a Third Sector case should be added to a course which heretofore only includes private sector cases. This case was published as part of our collection of free cases (visit www.thecasecentre.org/freecases for more information on the collection).