Creating Our Path Forward: Department of Family Practice Strategic Planning Process
We are developing a new strategic plan to unite the Department under a shared vision and mission, and to guide our efforts over the next five years.
Learn more about our strategic planning process and how you can get involved below.
Update – December 17, 2025
What has been done
Through November and early December, we completed five engagement sessions that helped us better understand the work happening across the Department, including:
- A focus group session on November 25th with eight participants from across the province.
- Conversations with representatives from the Undergraduate Program, the Midwifery Program, Research, and the Sport and Exercise Medicine Clinic.
Thank you to everyone who generously contributed to our understanding of the day-to-day work, priorities, external influences, and future aspirations of the different areas that make up our Department.
Coming up
- In early January, we will complete our conversations with program leaders and key members from the Postgraduate Program and UBC Health Clinic.
Bringing program representatives together in early 2026
Everyone who participated in conversations through November, December, and January will be invited to participate in sessions that bring together representatives from all programs and clinics to discuss the common themes we heard, and to provide thoughts or ideas to deepen our understanding of them. Invitations will be sent shortly, and participants will be able choose from three time slots that best suits their schedule.
Stay tuned to here, or subscribe to the Family Practice and Midwifery Connector to stay updated.
Wishing you a happy holidays!
Elevate Consulting
About the Strategic Plan
The 2024 external review highlighted that the Department needs to strengthen how we support our programs. One key recommendation was to create a strategic plan that provides a clear, shared vision all programs can support.
This strategic planning process directly responds to that recommendation.
What will a strategic plan do for us?
A strategic plan is a roadmap: it shows where we’re headed and how we’ll get there together.
The Department’s roadmap will:
- Capture the strength and realities of all our program areas: Undergraduate, Postgraduate, Midwifery, Research, and our Health and Sport and Exercise Medicine Clinics.
- Based on our strengths and realities, set our direction, guide our decision making, and outline how we’ll measure progress.
- Strengthen alignment between our Department and the Faculty of Medicine so our work stays responsive to evolving needs.
- Highlight the actions we’ll take together to achieve our shared vision.
As a Department, we are comprised of many different programs. A strategic plan that unites us under a shared vision must reflect the working realities and aspirations of each program. Your input is crucial to our collective success.
Learn more about how you can get involved.
What does a strategic plan include?
The elements of a strategic plan are designed to work together:
- The vision and mission provide high-level guidance that reflects the aspirations and work of all the programs across the Department.
- Goals and objectives outline the changes or results the Department needs to realize to move towards the vision and mission. These must also reflect the realities of all our programs.
- Focus areas/strategies, and priority activities shape the work the Department will do to achieve our goals and objectives.
About the Engagement Process
Our Department’s greatest strength lies in the people providing medical education — midwives, faculty, physicians, rural and remote practitioners, learners, and partners working together to advance primary health care across B.C. Our network is extensive, diverse, and rich with knowledge, and we want our plan to reflect that diversity, capturing the full range of insights and experiences across the province.
How can you be involved?
Engagement is now underway, beginning with leaders and key members of each program — Undergraduate, Postgraduate, Midwifery, Research, and our Health and Sports and Exercise Medicine Clinics. Early next year we will invite broad engagement from staff and faculty. We encourage everyone to participate to ensure all voices are reflected in the plan.
The goals of the strategic planning engagement process include:
- Connecting with programs by revitalizing relationships with and between program leadership and key members of each program to build a shared understanding of priorities, challenges, and opportunities.
- Gathering practical insights to understand the current priorities for all programs, and to lay the foundation for a new strategic direction, including a mission, vision, and goals that are reflective of all programs within the Department.
- Establishing the roots of long-term collaboration between programs and the Department: strengthening feedback loops, improving communication, and creating connection points that will sustain engagement well beyond this plan.
This is only the beginning of our engagement process. We’ll continue to invite you to participate and share feedback as we move into future phases of our strategic planning work.
Where to Learn More
To contribute to a transparent planning process, we will keep this page updated as we progress through the project. If you have any questions, please contact dfp.comms@ubc.ca.