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Dietitians of Canada’s new strategic objectives: 2020-24


Dietitians of Canada exists so that dietitians have the best opportunities to experience professional success throughout their careers – this is the driving force behind the 2020-24 Strategic Objectives. These objectives reflects how we will focus the association’s energy and resources over the next four years.

Key priorities

At the very core of the 2020-24 Strategic Objectives are three key priorities:
  • Create a diverse and inclusive community.
  • Be the national voice of dietitians.
  • Support career-long leadership, excellence and growth.
Each of these components supports the others. If you take a look at the infographic created to summarize the Strategic Objectives, you’ll see that they form a pattern not unlike an infinity symbol, but with three lobes instead of two. This symbolizes that the components are very interdependent on each other.


Click here to enlarge the infographic

Underpinning these key priorities is a fourth. It’s separated out because, just as a foundation supports a house, it upholds the other priorities and is necessary for the survival and success of the association:
  • Ensure the sustainability of our association.
How will we act on these priorities?

Now let’s take a closer look at the meaning of each priority and the types of activities that Dietitians of Canada will prioritize:

Community means that DC Members experience a sense of belonging to a mutually supportive, engaged, diverse and inclusive professional community. To do this, we will:
  • Evolve DC Networks to deliver the best member value.
  • Strengthen member engagement and member communities.
  • Commit to making DC a more diverse and inclusive community.
In this area, we’ll enhance supports for Networks and seek ways to leverage technology to strengthen our communities. A very important part of community building is working with members to develop a diversity and inclusion strategy for the organization. This includes taking steps along the path of Truth and Reconciliation.

Voice means that dietitians are valued by the public, health professionals and others and are equipped to influence decisions. To do this, we will:
  • Promote the value of dietitians to key stakeholders.
  • Be a trusted collaborator and partner to influence food, nutrition and health system issues.
One of the ways we have traditionally done this is through the Nutrition Month campaign, which is designed to promote the profession to the public at a national level. The theme for Nutrition Month 2021 is “Good for you! Dietitians help you find your healthy.” Being the national voice also involves bringing together the diverse voices in our community and leveraging relationships with national organizations and the federal government to influence issues that matter to dietitians, like coverage for dietitians on Extended Health Benefit Plans.

Support means that dietitians have the knowledge, skills and resources to enter and succeed in their profession, along with forums and networks to build relationships and advance the profession. To do this, we will:
  • Champion excellence in education standards.
  • Be an innovator in professional development.
  • Advance the profession’s knowledge translation database and access to practice-based research.
To achieve this part of the Strategic Plan, we’ll continue with our involvement in PDEP to advance dietetic education and practice, engage in actions such as creating an innovative and financially self-sustaining Professional Development strategy, as well as advancing ongoing work such as PEN: Practice-Based Evidence in Nutrition® and the DC Journal.

Sustainability means creating a financially self-sufficient association so that we can continue to support members. To do this, we will
  • Commit to a sustainable membership retention and growth strategy.
  • Grow new revenue opportunities.
  • Continue to focus on cost reduction and organizational efficiencies.
To continue successfully as a national association, we need to continue to be strong in numbers, we need to find new revenue sources, and of course, the Board and Leadership team will continue to provide transparent and responsible stewardship of all resources, including your membership dues. 

Planning for a bright future

Community, Voice, Support, Sustainability: everything we do, throughout every part of our organization —networks, committees, working groups, individual members, staff and leadership— will be aligned to one (or more) of these four key priorities.

In the coming year, members can expect to see updates on the ideas and initiatives that grow out of this Strategic Objectives and will receive progress reports, just as they have in the past.  We feel confident that by coming together as a community and focusing on this new Strategic Objectives, Dietitians of Canada can build a profession that is stronger than ever.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Wojcik
Senior Director, Member and Stakeholder Engagement

If you want to speak further, please email CEO@dietitians.ca.
 
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