Strategic Plan

Goal:  We will be established as a leader in blending the most progressive and theoretical clinical expertise with social accountability and change leadership.  Our graduates, faculty and community will continually develop the capacity to influence change toward better practice, more accessible care, advocacy for equitable health policy and a connected system.  Our learners will graduate with foundational leadership, advocacy and collaboration skills and we will partner to offer a full suite of ongoing professional development opportunities for our broader community.

Objectives:

• Integrate leadership, social accountability and change leadership into curriculum
• Build mentorship opportunities to connect students to system influencers
• Collaborate with other faculties to offer ongoing professional development in change leadership
• Continue to foster flourishing community that builds resilience, connection and lifelong learning

Goal:  Commit to working for transformative change on structural inequities and oppression, within the faculty, in our research and across the profession. 

Objectives:

• Create an environment of intentional learning and capacity building around issues of race, equity, diversity and inclusion among our faculty and learners.  
• Apply EDI lens to all teaching and research
• Ensure admissions and recruitment processes actively reflect our communities
• Actively promote PT as a career path in diverse communities

Goal:  Create new approaches to experience-based learning that fosters whole person, accessible care, and sets learners up for a future of diverse practice environments and types of practice.  As a community, we will co-create a vibrant, interprofessional, collaborative, supportive and compassionate environment that supports everyone to fully develop their unique strengths.

Objectives:

• Build on our innovative teaching practices for meaningful social impact
• Develop evidence and education scholarship to share and deepen our innovative approaches.
• Develop novel internship/ practice exposure options
• Develop excellence in virtual teaching/ research/practice
• Integrate community and client voices into PT curriculum and research

Goal:  We will be researching, influencing and advocating for funding, system structures and practice models that integrate physical therapy into  whole person care, fully coordinated across all settings, accessible to all. Our voice will be a key part of decisions about change to practice and care models to ensure they fully take into account all physical and psychosocial needs.

Objectives:

• Develop resources and opportunities to advocate for funding for physical therapy as part of whole person health
• In collaboration with other stakeholders, establish faculty, students and practice community as trusted advocates and opinion leaders
• Strengthen our voice and public "brand”
• Develop evidence-based advocacy resources for policy and health system change
• Seek opportunities to "be at the table" for policy change, clinical practice guideline development, etc.
• Explore leadership opportunities for advocacy through clinical internships 

Goal:  Continually strengthen our already exceptional science, while evolving its social impact.  We will develop a shared focus for research and knowledge translation on physical therapy that supports better quality of life and societal participation, innovative approaches to practice and models that foster greater access to high quality care. 

Objectives:

• Build evidence for innovative, multi-modal interventions and the role and impact of physical therapy on quality of life and societal participation
• In partnership with other Rehab Sciences, revamp the doctoral stream
• Build research partnerships with industry, other disciplines and the community
• Integrate the new framework for PT science into curriculum and develop shared research agenda around key topics
• Build capacity and strengthen mentorship for research in the faculty