THE CBS NEEDS YOUR INPUT!
Canadian Bioethics Society
STRATEGIC PLAN 2020:
The purpose of the Canadian Bioethics
Society (CBS) strategic planning process is to develop a long term
strategic plan to 2020 for the Society.
There are four key phases in this
strategic planning process. First in phase 1, focus groups involving
various CBS members were conducted, where participants were asked
to comment on the current mission of the CBS and provide input into
a future vision and operational plan for the Society. In phase 2,
in December of 2006, the members of the Executive Committee met
face-to-face for an all-day strategic planning session where,
building on the input received from the membership, the Executive
developed a draft mission, vision and strategic operational
priorities for the organization. In phase 3, the draft strategic
plan will be posted on the CBS website for membership review and
comment. In phase 4, the membership will approve a CBS strategic
plan 2020 on May 31st, 2007 at the annual general meeting at the
CBS conference (Joint Ethics Conference.).
1). Phase 1: Focus groups
with members
Data Collection:
Twenty-three tele-conference focus groups were conducted between
July 18, 2006, and November 20, 2006. Groups were offered in both
English and French. While only two groups were conducted completely
in French, a number of Francophones participated in the English
groups . Each focus group lasted approximately one hour and was
guided by a facilitator. Group members were asked to discuss a series
of questions on issues relating to the mission, the vision, the
activities, and a logo for the CBS (CLICK
HERE FOR THE MODERATOR’S GUIDE). For the majority of the
focus groups, a separate recorder was present. Notes were taken
as close to verbatim as possible so specific quotes could be used
in the report.
Sample: A total of
90 people participated in the focus groups. Focus groups were comprised
of current CBS members, including:
Academic Bioethicists and fellows
Practicing Clinical Bioethicists and fellows
Administrators and directors of ethics programs
Healthcare and health policy administrators
Professional practice leaders
Nurses
Physicians
Long term care and providers
Spiritual care providers
Professors
Students
Researchers and research ethics officers
Selection: All current
CBS members were invited through e-mail to participate. An additional
invitation was also sent to all of the directors/program leaders
of bioethics centres and major bioethics programs in Canada. Participants
were selected if they replied to the e-mail. The first set of e-mails
was sent between July 12, 2006, and July 20, 2006. Members who had
not replied were sent a second round of e-mails from August 1, 2006,
to August 4, 2006. A third reminder was also sent out in the CBS
fall newsletter. E-mails were sent in both French and English.
Data Analysis: Focus
group content analysis was conducted independently by two reviewers
and key themes relating to the mission, the vision, and the activities
for the future operational plan of the CBS emerged.
Results: A final
report (CLICK HERE FOR FULL REPORT)
was prepared based on the findings of the focus groups. The material
is organized and presented in the report according to the key questions
in the moderator’s guide. Four key sections are reported.
The feedback is related to: 1) the current CBS mission statement;
2) future vision statement for the CBS; 3) future activities and
operations for CBS to consider; and 4) other findings. To be helpful
as a resource each section is divided into strengths, opportunities
for improvement, and specific recommendations. Direct quotations
are used throughout the report as appropriate but there is no direct
attribution of comments to any individual participant in the final
report.
Limitations: There
are certain limitations to the methodology in this visioning process.
The main limitations relate to the small sample size and selection
of participants. Although 90 members participated in the focus groups,
this only represents 15% of the total CBS membership (a total of
583 individuals in total plus 5 directors of ethics centres who
were not members of the CBS). Considering just those CBS members
with known email access, this proportion rises to 23.4% (90/385)..
This meant that members who did not have an e-mail address were
not contacted and did not participate in the focus groups. This
could potentially exclude certain members in rural areas or other
communities who do not have computer access. Despite sending the
announcements in both French and English, the French representation
was lower than the English representation.
Results
Mission
Regarding the mission statement, most focus group participants felt
that a definition of bioethics and updating the wording to reflect
bioethics in the 21st century could improve the statement.
Vision
For a future vision statement and important aspects, there were
six themes that a majority of people articulated and six subthemes
that were viewed as important issues. The top six themes, in order
of priority include: leadership; teaching, education, and knowledge
dissemination; networking and communities of practice; importance
of theory to practice and practice to theory; respect, tolerance,
and transparency; and diversity and inclusivity. The six subthemes
include student involvement; professionalization and credentialing;
general public engagement; influencing public policy; resources;
and advocacy and the media.
Future operational priorities
In terms of future activities and events, this report touches on
eight potential opportunities, which are listed here in priority.
These consist of the annual conference; dialogue and peer support;
website; listservs, weblogs, and technology; the newsletter; a potential
Canadian bioethics journal; public engagement; and a potential bioethics
week.
Other
Finally, focus group participants also made comments regarding a
potential CBS logo. The focus group participants indicated that
they were pleased with the visioning process and were happy to participate
in this process.
2) Phase 2: Executive Meeting:
The second step in the strategic visioning
process was the meeting of the CBS Executive for a Visioning Strategic
Planning Retreat. This retreat was held on December 3, 2006 in Toronto
and facilitated by Dr. Jennifer Gibson, a strategic retreat facilitator
(CLICK HERE FOR THE MINUTES
FROM THE EXECUTIVE MEETING) The purpose of the retreat was to
develop a draft strategic plan for the society, including mission,
vision, and strategic operational priorities. (Logo development
was outside the scope of this retreat.) See below.
DRAFT
Revised CBS Mission Statement
(2007) DRAFT
The Canadian Bioethics Society (CBS)
is a bioethics* member-driven organization that:
Fosters interdisciplinary networks
of individuals and organizations to collaborate and support each
other in bioethical theorizing, research, practice, policy development
and public engagement.
Recognizes and seeks to support different
publics (stakeholders) including professional ethics staff, academics,
researchers, students, trainees, volunteers committed to ethics
work, enablers of ethics work in society, individuals and institutions
involved in setting public policy, and people interested in ethics.
Supports and mentors students and
trainees.
Engages the general public in the
discussion, education and public policy development around ethical
issues.
Facilitates the development and dissemination
of leading practices, the promotion of excellence in bioethics education,
research policy, and capacity-building.
Promotes an understanding of the unique
impact of the Canadian context on Bioethics issues.
*Definition of Bioethics: Bioethics
is understood in its broadest sense to include critical descriptive
and normative work, theoretical and applied work, and research,
professional and practice focused endeavors in areas of clinical,
organizational, academic, research, political, environmental, and
global arenas.
2020 Vision Statement (DRAFT):
Tagline: Advancing the Wellbeing
of Canadians through Bioethics:
The CBS seeks to advance the health
and wellbeing of the Canadian public by supporting and promoting
effective work in bioethics through the promotion of:
leadership and collaboration in bioethics nationally;
teaching, education and knowledge dissemination in bioethics;
inter-professional and inter-disciplinary networks and communities
of practice where members can share ideas and collaborate around
bioethics education, research, policy development and practice;
theoretical and practice-based approaches to bioethics;
respect, tolerance and mutual respect that allows vigorous debate
of complex topics without fracturing the community;
diversity, inclusivity and mutual respect of the rich bioethics
perspectives in the Canadian community;
2020 CBS Strategic Operational
Priorities (DRAFT:
In its Operational Activities
and financial decision-making, the CBS will seek to:
Continue the annual CBS conference;
Enhance networking & peer support in bioethics;
-create foray for discussion, reflection and dialogue in bioethics
-create a searchable database of members
-support regional and national community building
-explore partnerships (national/regional/local)
-support less visible sectors e.g., northern Canada
-provide more language and cultural translation for more effective
collaboration between Anglophone and Francophone Canadians.
Promote capacity-building and education in bioethics;
-support academic and professional training in bioethics
-support students at all levels in bioethics
Support the identification and sharing
of leading practices, ideas and approaches in bioethics;
-support research and academic exploration of bioethics topics
-support the sharing & dissemination of practice-based ideas
and approaches in bioethics
-examine effectiveness in bioethics practice
-set agenda for bioethics practice in Canada
-promote outreach and dissemination of academic and practice-based
work in bioethics
-continue to examine feasibility of Canadian Bioethics Journal
Support an in-depth examination or research or advocacy on specific
issues of interest in bioethics and Canadian society through working
groups;
Enhance communication/connectivity across the society (internally
and externally);
-explore website and other technological communication innovations
Further the examination of professional issues in bioethics;
-Examine credentialing, professionalization, working conditions
Engage the public in topics related to bioethics
Pursue logo development and other strategies for marketing
Continue to find creative funding opportunities to sustain CBS and
its activities.
3. Phase 3: Membership check
The purpose of phase 3 is to seek comment from the membership
regarding this draft strategic plan using the feedback form provided.
Via the CBS Website, members are invited to give feedback on the
draft mission, vision, and strategic operations (CLICK
HERE FOR THE FEEDBACK FORM). The deadline for comments is MARCH
30, 2007.
Phase 4: Final approval of
CBS strategic plan Then at the Annual CBS Business Meeting
on May 31, 2007 at the CBS conference (Joint Ethics Conference)
the final strategic plan will be presented for approval by the membership.
Visit www.utoronto.ca/jcb/ethicsmatters
for more information about this conference. |
