Strategic Plan: 2024–2028

A strategic plan identifies the vision and mission, values and key priorities that guide the organization over the next five years. The 2024–2028 Strategic Plan includes four priorities that will help Public Health Sudbury & Districts accomplish its vision and mission.

The 2024–2028 Strategic Plan builds on our past successes and directs our future actions, working in partnerships to create optimal conditions for health for all. Informed by community needs and key public health drivers, the four strategic priorities reflect essential concepts of public health practice.

Our new Plan builds on our past successes and sets the direction for local public health into the future. Our values of humility, trust, and respect will continue to underpin our four strategic priorities: equal opportunities for health, impactful relationships, excellence in public health practice, and healthy and resilient workforce.

We look forward to working with all communities over the course of the 2024–2028 Strategic Plan to improve opportunities for health–now and into the future.

View our 2024–2028 Strategic Plan (HTML below, PDF, 4 MB)
View our 2024–2028 Strategic Plan Development Report (PDF, 3 MB)

Strategic Plan: 2024–2028

These lands encompass strong and vibrant communities with Anishinabek, Ininiwak (Cree), and Métis Peoples. We acknowledge the original Peoples of this land. Their enduring presence and resilience is felt throughout our shared history and in present day.

About us

Public Health Sudbury & Districts is a progressive public health agency committed to improving health and health equity through evidence-informed practice and focused on building healthier communities for all.

With offices located in Greater Sudbury and across Sudbury and Manitoulin districts, over 250 dedicated public health professionals deliver provincially legislated programs and services.

Public Health works with individuals, families, communities, and partner agencies in the communities we serve to protect health and prevent disease for everyone. Programs and services are for people of all ages and are offered in places where they are needed the most.

Medical Officer of Health and Chief Executive Officer

I am very pleased to present Public Health Sudbury & Districts’ 2024–2028 Strategic Plan. This plan focuses on working to create equal opportunities for health that builds on our past successes and directs our future actions; establishing impactful relationships that lead to successful partnerships and engagement while simultaneously striving for ongoing excellence in public health service and programming delivered by a healthy and resilient workforce.

Throughout its history, Public Health Sudbury & Districts has continually sought to evolve and strengthen public health practice to meet the needs of local communities. We look forward to working with all communities over the course of the 2024–2028 Strategic Plan to foster and build strong, resilient, and healthier communities for all.

Dr. Penny Sutcliffe

Vision

Healthier communities for all.

Mission

Working with local communities to promote and protect health and to prevent disease for everyone.

Values

The forest can inspire humility, respect for the deep roots of its foundation, and trust for the protection of its canopy.

The following values represent what our organization is all about and guide how we do our work.

These values further articulate our commitments to ourselves and to the communities we serve. These commitments guide the ways in which we embody and live these values in our everyday practice.

Humility

We are modest and self-reflective. We respond to the needs of others, are open to feedback, and seek to understand biases to develop and maintain authentic and trusting relationships. We are committed to reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples and to listening and learning from truth and history.

Trust

We are honest and dependable and demonstrate integrity in our actions. We are evidence-informed, and our approaches are founded on facts, seeking to use objective information. We encourage transparent and accountable decisions, collaboration, and service delivery. We honour our commitments to our funders, stakeholders, partners, and the communities we serve.

Respect

We treat everyone with respect, sensitivity, and empathy, and we value diversity. We show regard and consideration for our team members, partners, stakeholders, and communities, and value all contributions.

Strategic Priorities:

Upstream approaches and interventions are necessary to support health and achieve healthier communities for all.

Equal opportunities for health

We strive for health equity by championing equal opportunities for health.

To achieve this, we will:

Identify and address systemic barriers and social and economic factors that impact health, including mental health.
Support awareness, education, advocacy, and policy development to address the root causes of health inequities, including poverty and class, structural racism, discrimination, and oppression.
Ensure inclusive programs and services that are informed by diverse community voices and experiences, needs, and priorities.
Champion actions to improve health equity at every opportunity by supporting all communities in our service area, including Indigenous, racialized, and all equity-deserving communities, to reach their full health potential.

The bee and the flower support each other; the stronger their relationships, the more productive their futures!

Impactful relationships

We establish relationships that lead to impactful partnerships, collaborations, and engagement.

To achieve this, we will:

Foster strong and collaborative relationships with local communities, organizations, municipalities, and diverse sectors (locally and provincially), to work toward improving the health of the population.
Ensure community engagement with a diversity of people, including with people with lived and living experiences, as we identify, plan, implement, and evaluate initiatives and services.
Engage with all communities, including Indigenous populations, in a way that is meaningful for them and in a manner that is trauma-informed and respectful of their lived experiences.
Invest time and resources in developing and strengthening partnerships and working collaboratively and collectively to positively impact a shared goal.

The tree rings mark the passage of time and symbolize the accumulation of wisdom and the expanding evidence and knowledge that underpins excellence in public health practice.

Excellence in public health practice

We strive for ongoing excellence in local public health practice, including demonstrating accountability and monitoring the effectiveness, impact, and quality of our programs and services.

To achieve this, we will:

Ensure effective public health practice to collect, use, and generate quality evidence, including feedback from communities and partners.
Collaborate with communities and partners from across all sectors that influence health and well-being to deliver programs and services that are innovative and evidence-informed and that can be adapted to reflect current and emerging needs and priorities.
Demonstrate accountability and transparency to clients, communities, and stakeholders.
Safeguard public health resources to ensure appropriate investment in upstream health promotion and disease prevention priorities, leveraging local initiatives while remaining within the scope of public health.

The new branch is grounded in its strong foundation, ensuring a nurturing environment for healthy growth and sustainability.

Healthy and resilient workforce

We will invest in our public health workforce and ensure that we are well positioned to meet the needs of the communities we serve.

To achieve this, we will:

Cultivate a skilled, diverse, and culturally competent and humble workforce that values equity, diversity, and inclusion and prioritizes the creation of safe and supportive environments in efforts to foster genuine allyship.
Build a culture of collaboration, engagement, continuous quality improvement, and ongoing learning.
Foster an enriching work environment that supports and sustains the mental health, well-being, and resiliency of Public Health staff.
Invest in and support the development of a well-trained, knowledgeable, and adaptable workforce to meet the ongoing and evolving public health needs and priorities of the community.

Accountability and Monitoring

Together, individual pebbles reveal that many strategies and approaches are required to build a solid path forward.

The 2024–2028 Strategic Plan will guide and inform Public Health’s programs, services, and initiatives. To demonstrate how Public Health is working to achieve its mission and vision and actioning its values and priorities, we will develop an Accountability Monitoring Plan. This Plan will be implemented in alignment with our other monitoring activities, including the Ministry of Health accountability requirements, and will be shared with our partners and local communities.

This item was last modified on November 28, 2023