Our Strategic Direction and Initiatives
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What we want to achieve
- We want members to experience
- greater levels of fitness, skill or wellness,
- to be fully satisfied with the level and quality of service received,
- and achieve their personal fitness,
- training,
- skill,
- and wellness goals.
- Provide services to a greater number of Steadward Centre members and children and youth participants.
- Expand the community’s capacity to serve persons with disabilities.
- New knowledge is created and applied through research intensiveness to the benefit of persons with disabilities and their families, and is communicated widely.
- We want The Steadward Centre to be recognized nationally and internationally for its expertise and innovation.
- We aim to increase financial and volunteer support for The Steadward Centre's vision and mission from a broader representation of the community and key stakeholders.
- Increase the range of high quality learning opportunities and experiences for students
- Engage our employees and volunteers in being committed to the success of the Steadward Centre.
- Ensure The Steadward Centre’s processes and delivery model are cost-effective
Strategic Directions
Over the next three to five years the following six directions will be our focus:
- Optimize programs to
- maximize access,
- independence
- and satisfaction
- Increase capacity and capability through highly developed partnerships
- Broaden and strengthen support for The Steadward Centre vision
- Build research intensity
- Create rewarding learning, employment and volunteer opportunities
- Focus and streamline operations to maximize effectiveness
Primary Strategic Initiatives
We plan to undertake a wide range of initiatives and activities to help achieve our goals. These are the highlights:
- Work with public and private community partners to build Alberta’s capacity to serve children, youth and adults with disabilities and their families.
- Develop and institute a community transition model that reflects the needs and perspectives of current and prospective members.
- Design innovative programs grounded in sound evidence that address the needs of a diverse range of members, from fitness enhancement, to motor skill development, to the training of elite athletes.
- Reach a larger number of school-aged children with disabilities to support health and wellness through motor skill development and enjoyment of sport and physical fitness.
- Identify, develop and nurture meaningful and productive partnerships that are aligned with The Steadward Centre’s vision and strategic directions. In particular, partnerships that:
- increase The Steadward Centre’s capacity to deliver tailored services to a broad range of individuals.
- Improve learning opportunities for students
- Advance the development of instructional approaches, technologies and programs through sound research
- Increase financial and volunteer support
- Establish a Steadward Centre research team and develop a research program that advances collaboration between organizations and clarifies research opportunities and priorities.
- Develop an integrated marketing communications strategy to broaden and deepen support for The Steadward Centre vision and achievement of its mission.
- Investigate and institute a fund development model deigned to help The Steadward Centre meet its medium and longer term funding needs, inclusive of fundraising and grant writing.
- Institute creative strategies to recruit and retain quality employees, based on employee input and individual employee needs.
Learning, Discovery, and Citizenship
As a research centre within the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, we endorse the tenets of University of Alberta President, Dr. Indira Samarasekera’s document, Dare to Discover: A Vision for a Great University, and do our best to fulfill the values of learning, discovery and citizenship within our operations.Learning
At our Centre, students have the opportunity to become involved in the learning process through extra-curricular volunteer positions, curricular course work placements such as practicums and during specific courses taught by The Steadward Centre staff. Applied practicum and volunteer placements under the supervision of researchers and professional program staff have the potential to- facilitate discovery,
- create excitement in one’s own learning,
- and build commitment to high professional standards.
Discovery
The Steadward Centre is creating research capacity with the involvement of staff, graduate and undergraduate students. Collaborative research is a focus of this process as multidisciplinary researchers are encouraged to come into The Steadward Centre to perform research here. Knowledge dissemination will allow us to establish the link between research and our high quality programs, in addition to sharing results with the academic community and community at large.Citizenship
Our Centre has long been established as a community leader in improving the quality of life and promoting independence for people with disabilities. We regularly share our knowledge and experience with other professionals and community agencies, through workshops, seminars, training sessions and consultation.By forming partnerships with communities, we complement and support other groups and organizations in enhancing programs and services that already exist for people with disabilities, while avoiding duplication.
Vibrant community partnerships have allowed us to expand our services to two satellite sites in Edmonton. In doing so we've created a greater convenience for people with disabilities to participate in fitness, health and lifestyle-related programs. Through partnerships we've developed a number of cooperative programs in traditional fitness centres throughout Edmonton.