On November 25 the OPA Board and senior staff met with Danny Nashman and Catherine Creede of the Potential Group to bring together all the information gathered, and build our new OPA 2018-2023 strategic plan as part of the national collaborative strategic plan. This year our process was intentionally different than it has been in the past – creating a stage where we were able to stretch our thinking in a new way, and engaging consultants who took new and innovative approaches to help capture the information required to build our new progressive plan. The goal of the day was to develop the basis of a plan that would ensure that the Association could lead the profession to a future that speaks to our members, clients, colleagues and stakeholders.
This year OPA had the benefit of engaging in, and building on, the collaborative CPA planning process and resultant new collaborative strategic plan. This new CPA strategic plan outlines the high level goals and priorities shared by all; National, Branches, Divisions and Assemblies, unifying and strengthening the voice of the profession at all levels. In addition to the wealth of information we had available from CPA’s process and plan, each member of the Board reached out to Ontario physiotherapists, members, non-members, health care stakeholders, patients and others and had discussions about health care, the profession and membership. These conversations provided key insights that helped direct our strategic thinking. The information gathered in these conversations was combined with the results of focus groups with OPA’s advisory committees and other groups, and together provided the platform to build OPA’s plan.
The Board’s goal is to have a vision that moves the Association forward and helps address challenges and opportunities brought forward by our members, clients and health system planners and leaders. The conversations that occurred on November 25 were content rich and very inspiring and provided a great basis for further discussion about the desired goals of this new plan. At the end of the day we had created the basis of a framework for our new plan.
The Board thanks all the members who participated in the national process and surveys, the OPA focus groups and everyone who agreed to be interviewed for our process including all the thought leaders within the profession, non-member physiotherapists, political leaders and system influencers. We are excited for our next steps and the chance to present our new plan in the New Year!
By Wendy Smith, OPA President
