Our Strategic Plan 2022 – 2027
Every five years as part of our strategic planning process, People for a Healthy Community (PHC) takes time to reflect on how we are serving our community, where the gaps are, and how we can adjust to address those gaps. We also regularly respond to requests from our community partners for new programs and services. PHC’s updated strategic plan has been developed in the context of our Constitution and by-laws, community needs, feedback from staff and participants, and current funding opportunities.
PHC is sometimes referred to as the “heart of the community” and our programs reflect our community values of caring, inclusivity and sustainability. Our programs focus on serving the community regardless of economic status, ability or disability, age, or life circumstance. Through our updated bylaws, PHC provides programming and support to residents of Electoral Area B, which includes Gabriola, Mudge, and DeCourcy Islands. PHC has realized organizational growth and impact in recent years, due in part to the stability we have achieved as a result of a long-term rental relationship with The Commons.
Much has happened in the world around us in the past few years that has helped us to focus resources on serving our community while simultaneously strengthening our organization. Despite the pandemic, PHC’s key programs continued in a modified state and staff focused on improving day-to-day operations as well as conducting a formal review of one of our core programs - the food program. Like many organizations, the pandemic created challenges for PHC, but the creativity, commitment, and resiliency of staff and volunteers enabled critical programs to continue. While the pandemic and subsequent supply chain challenges placed stress on our ability to support those who required our services, it also provided an opportunity to re-evaluate how we engage with and serve participants and partners.
Our updated strategic plan builds on the strengths of the organization and seeks to address gaps and key learnings from the past few years. And, while PHC acknowledges that housing and youth programs are top of mind for our community, this plan does not identify dedicated priorities and goals around these issues. Instead, PHC intends to address these issues through many of the other priorities and goals indicated below, such as continuing to collaborate with other island organizations to provide support and find solutions to these important issues.
The strategic plan has been updated with input from senior members of PHC’s staff team along with input from the Board of Directors. Key stakeholders, including staff, volunteers, program participants and community partners, provided feedback on a draft before the plan was finalized. The updated strategic plan will require new sources of funding and it is our intention to only activate new programs and services as funding is secured.
With this new strategic plan, PHC is excited for its next chapter as we move through and beyond the pandemic with an openness for bold action.
Vision | Mission | Values
Vision
An inclusive, thriving island community where everyone feels connected.
Mission
To provide services and support to Gabriolans* throughout their lives, and especially at vulnerable points, to improve their health and quality of life in a manner that builds community, maintains dignity, and challenges inequities. Through its own initiatives and in collaboration with others, PHC will seek to accomplish this mission through programming that includes: • Food programs, ranging from elementary nutrition to family grocery support to seniors’ lunches • Seniors’ programs ranging from adult activity days to aging in place support • Providing access to services such as advocacy, caregiver support, hospice, physical and mental health, and transportation. * All members of Electoral Area B, which includes Gabriola, Mudge & DeCourcy Islands
Values
People for a Healthy Community is guided by its core values: Lead with Heart – People matter to us. We are committed to nurturing all members of our community in a kind and caring way, so they can grow and thrive. We want everyone who works for and with us to live safe, sustainable and happy lives. We treat all people with dignity and respect. Empowerment – We believe in empowering community members to make choices about their lives. We recognize and value the expertise of program participants and will work to ensure they have the resources and skills to identify their own needs, take leadership in program implementation, and speak out on the issues that impact them. Inclusion, Equity, and Justice – We believe in fair and just treatment and opportunities for all, which are inclusive of various ways of being part of our community. We commit to addressing root injustices through our work as well as acting on the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Social Connection – We believe that bringing community members together in a safe place and reducing isolation are key to achieving our mission to improve health and quality of life and to build community resilience. Innovation and Accountability – We are creative in the delivery of our programs. We value innovative, professional, and fiscally responsible practices, integrated approaches across our program areas; continuous improvement in our programs to deliver impact and continuous learning for board, volunteers, employees, and participants. Continuity of our programs is a priority. Collaboration – We are connectors and strive to help our participants feel safe and connected, and thrive. We are networked with other organizations and partners across the community to deliver the most impactful services and programs for our participants. Sustainability – We believe that environmental health is linked to the wellbeing of our community and will work to reduce our environmental and climate change impact.
Strategic Priorities Overview
Strategic Priority 1
Strengthen organizational efficiency and effectiveness, where staff, participants, volunteers and board members can thrive, through specific improvements to administration, evaluation, and organizational processes.
GOAL | MEASURES OF SUCCESS | TIMING | |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Develop plans that reflect PHC’s need for an additional facility and potential renovation of The Commons to support current and future programming | • Plan defines needs / desires and enables meaningful dialogue with stakeholders to drive decisions quickly | December, 2023 |
2 | Develop fundraising goal with corresponding plan to support annual goals – signature event vs. other activities | • An actionable plan | June, 2023 |
3 | Establish an appropriate evaluation framework that reflects quantitative and qualitative data (beyond standard grant reporting) to drive program and process improvement and support communication and fundraising activities | • Framework ready for implementation for major programs by July 1, 2023, to coincide with new PHC fiscal year
• Program improvements identified and implemented in 2023/24 | 2024 |
4 | Optimize board & committee structure and function; establish succession planning for Board members and committees | Board expansion to at least 10 members
• Committee expansion to include 1-2 community members per committee
• Implementation of continuous improvement plans at the board and committee levels | November 2023 (AGM) & Annually |
5 | Improve data automation across programs; explore application of Link2Feed across all PHC programs | Staff proficiency in generating reports from Link2Feed and other data automation tools (by 2.2023)
• Reports feed evaluation framework (goal #3)
• Front end data automation of school lunch program (by Sept 2022 and Jan 2023)
• Evaluate CanadaHelps & United Way data platforms for application to PHC programs (by 6.2023) | June 2023 |
6 | Expand employee focused activities to enhance employee satisfaction and pride in PHC goals / impact; continue focus on staff development and retention | Staff participating in provincial & national opportunities for networking and showcasing program innovation
• Annual employee evaluation feedback and exit interview feedback
• Review staff input to strategic plan, develop action plan by end of Q1 2023 | Annually; Q1 2023 |
7 | Monitor government policy decisions, changes in the economy, and non-profit best practices to better advocate for policy changes and understand potential implications to program development. | • Formalize access to scanning efforts
• Regular reporting to board of impact to programming | Annually |
8 | Review best practice in volunteer development and coordination, including identifying clear volunteer roles, and recruiting and training for specific roles; evaluate need for volunteer coordinator role | • PHC volunteer orientation onboarding event
• Job description(s)
• Training program
• Standard Operating Procedure(s) for volunteers reviewed, updated & incorporated into on-boarding | March 2023 |
Strategic Priority 2
Build awareness with public, partners, and participants to foster collaborations and improve program accessibility and participation, using a variety of communication approaches that support expanding scale and reach of programs of interest.
GOAL | MEASURES OF SUCCESS | TIMING | |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Enhance program awareness
across the Gabriola
community (which includes
all residents of Electoral Area
B) | • Improved awareness across community
about PHC programs, target audiences and
impact
• Regular newsletter published with 1st issue by
AGM 2022
• Improvement in social media metrics
(increased traffic, likes, shares, etc.)
• Increased program participant interest
• Improved donor activity | Annually; establish
social media
baseline by June
2023 |
2 | Enhance use of recognizable
branding across programs
(e.g., grow with us,
neighbours helping
neighbours) | Community recognition of PHC logo and
symbols | Ongoing |
3 | Showcase local program
innovation and provide local
/ rural perspectives to
provincial policy and
program makers | Staff participating in conferences (as
speakers, panel members) to highlight
program innovation
• Provincial and national committee and
community of practice involvement
• Staff presentation to Board | Annually; annual
schedule of staff
participation |
4 | Collaborate with local
transportation programs to
enable greater and
consistently reliable program
access | • No transportation complaints
• Consistent access to programs
• Decreased number of transportation
incidences
• Community forms a public transportation
committee to improve service (five-year
goal) | 2027 |
5 | Deepen existing
collaborations with
community partners and
establish new ones to
address community and
organizational needs. | • Understanding of potential with each partner
• Prioritizing of potential actions with a plan to
activate at least 3 over next 3 years | Ongoing; 2027 |
6 | Develop a set of
communication tools across
programs to streamline
internal and external
communications; update
contacts; clarify connections
between programs | • Integrated program communication
solution | December 2023 |
Strategic Priority 3
Build on the core strengths of the Food and Seniors programs and seasonal event programs and expand programming to reduce social isolation; incorporate best practices in program development and transformation, and integrate services across all programs
All Programs
GOALS | MEASURES OF SUCCESS | TIMING | |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Expand inter-generational
activity across PHC
programs (food program,
day program, kids
programming) and
community programs;
restore programming to
pre-pandemic levels and
continue selected virtual
programming | • Participant feedback indicating development
of ongoing relationships across generations
• Program offerings
• Participant numbers
• Waiting list of participants | Ongoing |
2 | Complete audit to assess
environmental impact of
programs: evaluate level of
locally sourced foods;
identify waste stream,
plastic diversion, etc.;
identify impacts of climate
change for current and
future threats, future
mitigation efforts | Audit report completed and presented to
Board by 2025
• Mitigation actions implemented | 2025 and
Ongoing |
Food Programs
GOAL | MEASURE OF SUCCESS | TIMING | |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Expand food literacy
program partnership /
education with GES and/or
Hope Center After School
Programs; expand food
literacy program to Grocery
and Seniors Program
participants | • Pilot program launched by end of school
year 2023
• Identify ongoing partnerships
• Participants demonstrate food literacy /
testing measurement | January 2024 |
2 | Review and implement
Food Program Review
report recommendations | • Recommendations prioritized and
implemented
• Monthly reporting of progress | 2022 and ongoing |
3 | Identify and implement
solution to address summer
and Christmas break gaps
in School Nutrition Program | • Pilot “pop-up” snack program in summer
2022
• Christmas pilot program 2022
• Solution identified and implemented by
6.2023 | June 2023 |
Seniors Programs
GOAL | MEASURES OF SUCCESS | TIMING | |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Complete Seniors Program
Review and leverage
communication and insights
from UN Decade on Aging
(2021-2031); review and
implement
recommendations | • Report presented and approved by board
by Dec 2022 | 2022 - 2023 |
2 | Engage 50+ demographic
in PHC opportunities
(volunteering or programs);
and explore new programs
to support Aging in Place
while increasing social
involvement and supporting
mental wellbeing | • Reinstatement of New Age of Aging
programs, i.e., community conversations
around aging well, aging in place and
advanced care planning to 50+ demographic
(2022)
• Increased 50+ demographic as volunteers
and program participants (2023 and beyond)
• New media tools developed to target 50+
demographic (2022/2023)
• Rejuvenate community exercise programs for
older adults (2023)
• Expanded fitness and wellness focus in
programs and collaborations (2024)
• Reinvigorate senior garden plot program
(2022)
• Explore integration of music programming
into PHC programs to support a healthy
community | 2022 - 2024 |
3 | Continue to build on
community care practice
team to match needs with
services and expand
community awareness
(seniors’ program) and
integrate with community-
based services | • Consistent attendance by founding members
• Member reports showcasing impact stories
to be shared within their respective
organizations
• Implementation of Green Sleeves program | Ongoing |
4 | Increase PHC capacity to
work with primary care
providers in Gabriola’s
integrated primary care
network to improve seniors’
health | • Increased training and development of staff
and volunteers (gerontology; social
prescribing)
• Defined service continuum
• Formalized roles / responsibilities | 2024 |
5 | Develop capacity plan to
double the number of
SUSO participants | • Plan funded by VIHA | 2025 |
Social Connection & Involvement
GOAL | MEASURES OF SUCCESS | TIMING | |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Promote / encourage
neighborhood-based
connections; increase
social connection and
involvement; connect
and leverage
community
partnerships | • Identify under-served people and map by
neighbourhood
• Capture in database
• Use of common tools amongst partners | 2024 |
2 | Develop a model that
defines PHC role and
involvement in
mental wellbeing and
resiliency with a focus
on education and
connection, not
mental health clinical
treatment | • Model developed and proposed to Board by
Dec 2023 | 2024 |
3 | Develop and
implement a suite of
programs under
Social Connection
and Involvement in
consultation with
community partners
and program users to
meet the needs of
the increasing
number of adults
living alone on
Gabriola | • Expanded relationship with Health &
Wellness Collaborative that addresses mental
well-being needs
• Pilot program(s) implemented by June 2026 | June 2026 |
Appendix A: Strategic Planning Process
The Board of Directors established a committee to develop a new strategic plan for PHC in December 2021 and approved the committee mandate in January 2022. The Strategic Planning Committee began its work in February 2022, which included updating PHC’s vision, mission, and values, and developing new strategic priorities for the period 2022-2027. The new strategic plan builds upon the strategic priorities developed in 2015 and updated in 2018, and reflects insights from population and health statistics, current socioeconomic conditions on Gabriola, and local community needs. See Appendix B for some local data that sets the context for the new strategic plan. The vision, mission, and values statements were given directional approval by the Board on March 22, 2022, followed by directional approval of the strategic priorities on May 24, 2022. Subsequently, at a meeting on June 1, 2022, the strategic priorities were discussed with lead staff members, who made valuable contributions to establishing associated goals and measures. See Appendix C for a chronological list of the goals and associated timelines. The Committee recommended that the board engage in a two-stage process of approval of the plan, which consisted of initial approval of the plan as presented (step 1), followed by a process to involve stakeholders in reviewing and contributing to the plan (step 2). The Committee incorporated stakeholder input into the plan in preparation for final approval at the October 2022 Board Meeting and prior to the Annual General Meeting in November. Stakeholders include staff, volunteers, partners, program participants, donors, and interested members of the broader community. The members of the Strategic Planning Committee are MaryLee Burns, Roger Christie, Audra Davies, Brenda Fowler, Jennefer Laidley, and Wendy Phillips.
Appendix B: Context: Our Community is Changing & Growing
• Gabriola’s resident population is 4,500, which is an increase of 27.8% in the past twenty years. (Source: 2021 Census; 2001 Census). • The population of Gabriola Island is expected to grow by 17% in the next ten years. (Source: BC Stats Population Projections) • Gabriola has nearly as many seniors (1,995) as working-age adults (2,205), and only 290 children aged 0 to 14 (Source: 2021 Census). • Gabriolans’ median age is 63.2, which is significantly higher than the BC average of 42.8. (Source: 2021 Census) • Gabriola Medical Clinic data indicates that approximately 60% of the attached patients are over 58 years of age. Urgent Treatment Facility (UTF) visits have increased by 40% in the 4-year period from 2015 to 2019. • The same data shows that 38.3% of attached patients have complex care needs and 10% have a mental health diagnosis. • Gabriola has lower incidence and prevalence of most select chronic diseases compared to BC, but higher incidence rates of depression and mood and anxiety disorders. (Source: BC CHSA Health Profile Version 1.0, 2020) • 1 in 65 Gabriolans were identified as homeless in the 2019 provincial homelessness count as compared to 1 in 653 in BC, and 1 in 270 in Nanaimo. (Source: Gabriola Health Report 2020) • Approximately 18% of Gabriolans are in low income (compared to 11% for BC). Gabriola has higher levels of low income across all age groups than the BC rates, with 19% of children, 18.7% of working age adults, and 16.6% of seniors in low-income. (Source: 2021 Census) • Approximately 36% of Gabriolans live alone. Of the 64% of households comprised of two or more people, 74% are couples without children, 17% are couples with children, and 9% are one-parent families. (Source: 2021 Census) • 23% of Gabriola households are in “core housing need” (either spending 30% or more of income on shelter, living in unsuitable housing, or living in housing with major repairs needed). 93.5% of the housing stock on Gabriola is single-detached houses. (Source: 2021) • The SPEAK survey indicated that 79% of children on Gabriola indicated being stressed and 93% said they had less connection with friends after the pandemic than before. (Source: BC COVID- 19 SPEAK Dashboard Round 2) • The survey also indicated that 68% of Gabriola residents said they had a sense of community belonging, which is a decline from 83% before the pandemic. 53% indicated they had worsening mental health and 26% said they felt helpless.
Appendix C: Goals and Timelines
Monitor government policy decisions, changes in the economy, and non-profit best practices to better advocate for policy changes and understand potential implications to program development - Annually Expand employee focused activities to enhance employee satisfaction and pride in PHC goals / impact; continue focus on staff development and retention - Annually Q1, 2023 Enhance program awareness across the Gabriola community Annually; establish baseline Annually; annual schedule of staff participation - Showcase local program innovation and provide local / rural perspectives to provincial policy and program makers - by June 2023 Enhance use of recognizable branding across programs (e.g., grow with us, neighbours helping neighbours) - Ongoing Expand inter-generational activity across PHC programs (food program, day program, kids programming) and community programs; restore programming to pre-pandemic levels and continue selected virtual programming - Ongoing Continue to build on community care practice team to match needs with services and expand community awareness (seniors’ program) and integrate with community-based services - Ongoing Review and implement food program review recommendations - 2022 and ongoing Complete senior program review and leverage communication and insights from UN Decade on Aging (2021 - 2031); review and implement recommendations - 2022/2023 Engage 50+ demographic into PHC opportunities (volunteering or programs); and explore new programs to support Aging in Place while increasing social involvement and supporting mental wellbeing - Various 2022-2024 Review best practice in volunteer development and coordination, including identifying clear volunteer roles, and recruiting and training for specific roles; evaluate need for volunteer coordinator role - March 2023 Improve data automation across programs; explore application of Link2Feed across all PHC programs - Feb 2023 and June 2023 Develop fundraising goal with corresponding plan to support annual goals - signature event vs. other activities - June 2023 Identify and implement solution to address summer and Christmas break gaps in School Nutrition program - June 2023 Optimize board & committee structure and function; establish succession planning for Board members and committees - Nov 2023 (AGM) Develop plans that reflect PHC’s need for an additional facility and potential renovation of The Commons to support current and future programming - Dec 2023 Develop a set of communication tools across programs to streamline internal and external communications; update contacts; clarify connections between programs - Dec 2023 Establish an appropriate evaluation framework that reflects quantitative and qualitative data (beyond standard grant reporting) to drive program and process improvement and support communication and fundraising activities - 2024 Increase PHC capacity to work with primary care providers in Gabriola’s integrated primary care network to improve seniors’ health - 2024 Promote / encourage neighborhood-based connections; increase social involvement; leverage community partnerships - 2024 Develop a model that defines PHC role and involvement in mental wellbeing and resiliency with a focus on education and connection, not mental health clinical treatment - 2024 Expand food literacy program partnership / education with GES and/or Hope Center After School Programs; expand food literacy program to Grocery and Senior Program participants - Jan 2024 Develop capacity plan to double the number of SUSO participants - 2025 Complete audit to assess environmental impact of programs: evaluate level of locally sourced foods; identify waste stream, plastic diversion, etc.; identify impacts of climate change for current and future threats, future mitigation efforts - 2025 and ongoing Develop and implement a suite of programs under Social Connection and Involvement in consultation with community partners and program users to meet the needs of the increasing number of adults living alone on Gabriola - June 2026 Deepen existing collaborations with community partners and establish new ones to address community and organizational needs - Ongoing; 2027 Collaborate with local transportation programs to enable greater and consistently reliable program access - 2027