As the national voice for dentists, we promote oral health, support our members and advance the dental profession. Forward Focus: CDA’s New Strategic Plan CDA has a new official strategic plan called Forward Focus: Strategic Plan 2024–2029, approved by the CDA board of directors in May. The plan was the result of almost two years of work overseen by the CDA Strategic Planning Working Group. “We had an opportunity to refocus our mission because we just completed a governance review, an internal staff realignment and had a new CEO,” says Dr. Bruce Ward, chair of the working group and CDA presidentelect. “It was an excellent moment to set a direction for the association. Dr. Aaron Burry, CDA’s CEO, wanted a roadmap, so to speak, to help move the association forward in a collaborative way where we are all working toward shared goals.” CDA was not mandated to formulate and present a strategic plan. However, a strategic plan is good governance practice; it determines CDA’s mission and vision, activities and priorities. It also allows CDA to effectively operate within a framework that is accountable to the board and to other stakeholders. In addition to Dr. Ward, the working group included CDA board members Drs. Kirk Preston, Stuart MacDonald and Jason Noel. It was facilitated by an external consultant, who conferred with CDA’s stakeholders, including the provincial and territorial dental associations (PTDAs), CDA staff, and board members. “I’m the kind of person who would rather do pretty much anything other than create a strategic plan, but thankfully our facilitator made the task a pleasure,” says Dr. Ward. During the process, CDA engaged with the PTDAs to gather insights and feedback. This collaboration helped to shape the plan and ensured that it aligns with the needs and expectations of Canadian dental associations. “It was interesting to find out how passionate people were about the plan,” says Dr. Ward. “There was a lot of 9 Issue 5 | 2024 |
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