Join us for the virtual launch on Friday, Nov 22
Join a virtual launch of our new Strategic Action Plan to find out more about the department’s future direction.
Our Department Head, Dr. Ben Mortenson, will present an overview of the new plan, followed by a short Q&A.
All are welcome: colleagues, clinicians, students, alumni and everyone with an interest in occupational therapy and occupational science education and research.
Friday, November 22
12–1pm
Zoom link
*The presentation segment will be recorded and added to our website.
A summary of our strategic planning process
We began our strategic planning process at the start of 2024. We are grateful for the guidance and support from the UBC Strategic Decision Support (SDS) unit, who were able to advise on process and provide support with survey creation and data synthesis.
Advisory groups
Firstly, we identified faculty co-leads for four ‘Core Areas’ of the department (People & Belonging, Education, Research, Organization & Governance) and formed a Faculty Working Group. We then assembled a Community Advisory Group consisting of clinicians, alumni and patient partners. Both groups have been fundamental in steering the direction and the details of our plan. Find out more about the members of these groups.
Survey consultation
Listening and consultation was a key part of the process. We launched a total of three surveys over the course of the summer/fall of 2024, seeking to receive feedback from not only our staff, students and faculty, but clinical faculty, alumni, and other UBC partners and Faculty of Medicine colleagues. The responses were truly helpful and provided much needed context to our position in the wider BC healthcare environment, and underlined the importance of preparing and supporting our graduates, as well as highlighting opportunities for future partnership building and a desire for more open connection with new research.
Idea generation with staff and faculty
An important event in the strategic planning process was a designated ‘retreat’ for faculty and staff to focus on the broader goals of each Core Area, and help suggest actions for how we, as a department, can progress towards each goal. Excellent ideas were suggested and captured, and this valuable session together revealed other previously overlooked nuances and priorities that were subsequently embedded within the next draft of the plan.
Regional events
In addition to these comprehensive surveys, Dr. Ben Mortenson, Department Head, travelled across BC to meet and hear from local OT colleagues in five locations: Prince George, Kelowna, Victoria, Vancouver and Surrey. It was refreshing and a genuine pleasure to meet clinicians who already had a connection with the department and also meeting recent graduates and OTs new to OSOT who were able to offer other perspectives, and share experiences from their own education, practice and impressions of the draft versions of the plan.
Discussion and collation of feedback
All feedback was read, considered and discussed by the Faculty Working Group with additional notes from the Advisory Committee, with many spirited discussions on both the broader comments and specific notes about word choices.
The Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy would like to thank everyone who participated in the creation of the new Strategic Action Plan and we look forward to seeing how the plan develops and progresses over the coming seven years.
The full plan will be available to read on the website after the launch – stay tuned!