BC Health Systems Partnership

UBC Health works under the Office of the Vice-President, Health to enhance and enable interprofessional and collaborative health education and research to train people, develop knowledge, and shape policy—seeking to address inequities and improve the systems that produce health. The Office of the Vice-President, Health advances these aims by promoting and facilitating equitable collaborations across disciplines and faculties at UBC’s Vancouver and Okanagan campuses that collectively contribute to UBC Health, as well as with communities, institutions, and government organizations around the province.

Purpose

The BC Health Systems Partnership leverages the convening power of UBC Health to facilitate dialogue and collaborations across partners in the learning community – academia, health administrators, policy-makers, communities, health professionals, and linked-sectors. Catalyzing meaningful collaboration through this group will facilitate inclusive and coordinated engagement with practitioners, communities, and policymakers to influence better health in BC.

Role

• Guide strategic priorities related to the integrated health systems mandate of UBC Health.
• Identify emerging health issues, trends, challenges and opportunities in provincial, national and global context to consider collaboratively.
• Advise on ways to engage with sector and government partners to anticipate the needs of the provincial population and contemplate the possibilities and implications of the future of health.
• Identify strategies to help align university and sector activities to establish evidence for new approaches to health.
• Recommend the formation of and set the direction for working groups to advance strategic systems priorities.
• Identify where there might be benefit to shared university resources in areas such as communications, government relations, and evaluation to support unit-level efforts to engage with health sectors and systems. 

Accountability

The BC Health Systems Partnership advises the UBC Health Director of Health Systems. It is one of three committees for each of UBC Health’s core areas – the other two focused on Research and Education – in addition to a Patient and Community Advisory. Meeting minutes and issues of common concern will be communicated to UBC Health Senior Leadership Team to inform decision-making.

Composition and Organization

1. The UBC Health Director of Health Systems serves as Chair.
2. The Health Systems Partnership will be supported by staff from the Office of UBC Health.
3. Membership will consist of a core group of 10-12 individuals, 1-2 individuals able to provide a collective perspective for each partner in the Partnership Pentagram Plus*
    a. Academia (UBC Health providing a collective perspective built through the UBC Health governance)  
    b. Citizens/Community
    c. Health Administrators
    d. Health Care Providers
    e. Linked Sectors (e.g. Industry, Non-Profit Organizations)
    f. Policy Makers
4. As strategic foci evolve, form will follow function with fluid membership that will facilitate the involvement of specific individuals able to address different foci.
5. Meetings will be scheduled three to four times per year, or as needed under special circumstance.
6. Terms will be two years with the possibility of renewal.
7. Terms of Reference will be reviewed annually.

*A Pentagram Partnership embraces all partners simultaneously with an appreciative inquiry approach to build on existing strengths and is an effective route to positive systems change. 

Expectations and Obligations of Members

• Foster and contribute to open, collaborative, and respectful discussions.
• Read and review all meeting materials which, combined with active participation time, is expected to require an average commitment of up to 20 hours per year of membership.
• Actively participate in all meetings, drawing on their own knowledge, expertise, and experience to provide constructive advice.
• At the beginning of each meeting, the Chair will ask members to disclose any potential conflicts of interest. Should a real or perceived conflict of interest arise, the member must disclose this conflict to the Chair whose responsibility it is to ensure conflicts are appropriately managed.

• Dermot Kelleher, Vice-President, Health, UBC
• Christie Newton, Associate Vice-President, Health, UBC
• Kevin Brown, Executive Director, Workforce Planning and Management Branch, Ministry of Health
• Stephen Brown, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Health
• Stirling Bryan, Chief Scientific Officer, Michael Smith Health Research BC
• Teri Charrois, Associate Dean, Practice Innovation, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UBC
• Wade Grant, Chair, First Nations Health Council
• Christina Krause, Chief Executive Officer, Health Quality BC
• Darren Lauscher, Community Educator
• Cheryl Mitchell, Academic Director, MBA in Sustainable Innovation, University of Victoria
• Maureen O'Donnell, Executive Vice President, Provincial Clinical Policy, Planning and Partnerships, Provincial Health Services Authority
• Julia Wagner, Associate Director, Métis Nation British Columbia
• Cindi Valensky, Special Advisor, Government Relations, Faculty of Medicine, UBC