Building Financial Capability
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What is Building Financial Capability?
MSD has changed how it funds and supports budgeting services. A new approach, called Building Financial Capability (BFC), was developed through co-design with the sector. The aim of BFC is to build the financial capability and resilience of people, families and whānau experiencing hardship. We are putting in place a suite of products and services from prevention to intensive support that will help people have:
- reduced unproductive debt
- reduced stress caused by financial problems
- increased short- and longterm savings
- improved financial confidence and capability
- improved resilience to cope with financial shocks
- improved financial and material wellbeing.
BFC services, products and support
- Financial mentors – one-on-one service focused on helping people, families and whānau with their finances
- MoneyMates – peer-led support group programme that encourages people to learn from others as they talk about money and finances in a group situation
- MoneyMates Fund – grants to support innovative ideas that will build the financial capability of people in hardship
- Community Finance Initiative – affordable credit for individuals and whānau on low incomes.
These services are supported by:
- a strengths-based financial plan - the Financial Plan of Action
- strengthened and consistent referral and communication practice with Work and Income.
- new national entity – the National Building Financial Capability Charitable Trust provides a range of support functions to BFC providers and is a sector voice to communicate advice and insights to government and others.
What’s coming next
We are now working with the sector to co-design the following services that will be phased in over the next year.
- New service (interim name BFC Plus) being co-designed for vulnerable clients experiencing crisis who have low financial capability. .
- The Generator – generating prosperity through community action and enterprise in New Zealand communities that are the most vulnerable to poverty.
- Financially inclusive products: a savings trial – for people, families and whānau in hardship to build savings alongside financial capability, to buffer them from financial crises and enable them to grow.
- Five-year BFC Evaluation Programme – to measure the targeting, client experience, effectiveness and impact of BFC services
Co-design of the new services
The new BFC services and products are being developed through a co-design process. Co-design is based on the idea that those closest to the problem have the expertise, insight and motivation to solve it. Enabling input and support from people experiencing hardship, service users and providers is an important factor in ensuring new financial capability services are successful.
Guidance and resources for providers
- BFC guidance and resources are available for providers. This includes the BFC Service Guidelines, Results Measurement Framework and the Client Outcomes Measurement Tool.
- BFC Funding model. The way we fund BFC services was developed through the redesign process. Find out more about the funding allocation model and how we purchase and price the core components.
- Visit our training page to find out more about the training available, when it will be held, where it will be held and who is expected to attend.
