Below are featured snapshots of some recent projects
Strategy
Governance
Collaboration/Integration
Physician Organizations
- With the hard work of gaining approval for a new venture, a school of biomedical engineering, given birth to by both the Faculties of Medicine and Health Science, the need for a five year strategy was identified. Working with the senior leaders, a highly regarded external advisory committee and a cross functional steering committee over a six month period, important conversations were had about strategic positioning, unique educational contributions and research potential. Outreach to the life sciences community as well as to the regional health authorities ensured that the strategy development process was focused on need and opportunity. The inspirational plan is available as a glossy full colour publication, in part to support the capital campaign in place to raise funding for a beautiful new campus home for the school
- The leadership of a national health charity, as the timelines associated with the current five year plan drew to a close, recognized the need to do more than renew the current strategic direction. While the charity had sizeable reserves, annual funding trends were down and deficit budgets had been approved for the past several years. Other issues to be addressed included finding a different way of working with the provincial organizations that reflected relative strengths and addressing the imminent retirements of a couple of long serving staff leaders. With the support of a committed small steering committee, an inclusive process involving the provinces, other key stakeholders including pharma, and the board resulted in the approval of a strategic framework, a three year operating plan and a balanced scorecard. This was achieved in some 15 months, notwithstanding the onset of the pandemic six months in which led to radical recalibration and redesign in order to achieve the desired outputs
- Having worked with the board and management over the initial ten years of its existence, we were asked to support the development of a crucial third five-year cycle of funding for the National Centres of Excellence funded research organization by developing a robust strategic plan that would not only inform the application but also help the organization prepare for a future outside of the NCE program. Changes in the NCE requirements led to the development of an initial strategic framework with the Board and then a significant tailoring to comply with the application template. Success with that application has led to a request to develop a plan for the future, working with the board’s Sustainability Committee.
Governance
- A physician organization administering the academic payment plan for specialists working across five sites and three different hospital systems was experiencing challenges in alignment of interests, agile decision making and engagement with the affairs of the organization, leading to the decision to undertake a governance review. An engaged process led to the unanimous approval of a new set of bylaws and operating procedures over a six-month period.
- Founded by sixteen of the largest health charities to fundraise among employers starting in the federal government, decision making had become challenging and there were pressing issues to be addressed with respect to geographic differences, campaign success, growth of the organization and distribution of funding. A series of interventions resulted in changes over the years to bylaws, policy and practices that enabled more consistent member engagement and decision making and ultimately, a shift away from a representative board model
- Challenges in federation relationships and funding arrangements and with the departure of a long serving CEO, the Board of this national charity determined the need for a governance review. Working closely with a small staff team and steering committee, an inclusive process that respected and reflected the views of the provincial partners, led to the development of a number of options with a preferred model being presented to the Board by the steering committee. Strong disagreement from one provincial member led to other options being explored and ultimately, a less ambitious set of changes being adopted. However, the process set the backdrop for a series of subsequent conversations that resulted in strengthened relationships across the federation, and ultimately, amalgamation.
Collaboration/Integration
- Working with the board chair of a large national health charity, we supported the design and facilitated the integration of a smaller research and service provider charity into the larger entity. This project included the development of creative options to retain the brand identity of the smaller organization, redefining the ‘moral ownership’ of the larger organization, changing board composition and placing appropriate safeguards into the decision making processes
- Working with a Steering Committee comprised of leaders from the national and provincial chapters of one of Canada’s medium sized health charities, over an eight month period, we designed a set of governance and organizational recommendations that led to the formation of a unified structure and board. The resultant organization was not only resilient in weathering a downturn in revenue, continuing to provide member/patient support, but the restructured Board was forward thinking and continuously engaging in generative conversations leading to innovation and change
- Supporting a special cross-organization task force comprised of the chair and CEO of a national health charity and the chair and interim Executive Director of one of the provincial members of the Federation to provide guidance to the national board with respect to a request put forward by the province for amalgamation. Given the provincial organization had recently lost its Executive Director and was under significant financial pressure, its chair was interested in exploring an alternative structure and governance arrangement in order to continue to provide mission services to the community. Consultation took place across the country with respect to the proposed hybrid governance and organizational model culminating in-person meetings of the provincial board and the national board where the recommendation was approved as tabled.
Physician Organizations
- The new Division chief of a major Ontario academic hospital wanted to develop a 5-year strategic plan. Consultant advice following an initial data gathering exercise, indicated that there were leadership and cultural issues that needed to be addressed first. A process was agreed upon whereby, one at a time, each of the three divisional programs underwent a leadership assessment. In two of the three cases, these have coincided with the selection of new leaders and so have helped them to establish initial priorities. Overall, the assessments have resulted in more visible leadership, clearer roles and responsibilities, a stronger alignment of each physicians’ contribution to the academic mandate, and a more transparent and collegial working environment where tough conversations are being had, research output is strong and patients are receiving excellent care
- The concern of the chair of the Finance Committee of a major academic medical organization as to whether the committee was functioning optimally given the unique nature of the organization and the scale of the funding flows, led to a revisit of the Terms of Reference, important discussions about the role of governors and staff, conflicts of interest, and the distinction between Finance and Audit Committees in the not-for-profit sector. Following approval of the new terms of reference, a series of education sessions were held, both with the committee and the full board
- Seeing visible contributions to health system reform as an important way to secure both the longer-term professional autonomy and the compensation levels of the specialty, the chair of this OMA’s specialty section hired Bataleur to support the development of a first ever five-year strategic plan. Ongoing strategic advice has been provided over the life span of the plan, supporting the development and roll out of two practice changing tools/guides in support of provincial priorities, custom leadership education programs and tailored stakeholder outreach. While the Section is highly regarded internally and externally and wins have definitely been achieved, against a backdrop of an increasingly volatile health system, ongoing change at the OMA, including at the leadership levels, impact has been hard to measure.
A partial client list
Health Charities
- The Alzheimers Society of Canada, Ontario, Brant, Haldimand Norfolk, Hamilton and Halton
- The ALS Society of Canada and Ontario
- Canadian Cancer Society and National Cancer Institute of Canada
- Canadian Hearing Society
- Canadian Hemophilia Society
- Canadian Transplant Society
- Heart and Stroke Foundation/s of Canada, Ontario, Manitoba, NS, PEI
- Heart and Stroke Foundation Centre for Stroke Recovery
- Kidney Foundation of Canada
- Parkinson Canada
- Planned Parenthood
- Red Cross Society
- The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada
- Canadian Association of Chain Drug Stores
- Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists
- Canadian Association of Optometrists
- Canadian Federation of Medical Students
- Canadian National Institute for the Blind
- Canadian Nurses Association
- Canadian Public Health Association
- Canadian Urological Association
- Dietitians of Canada
- Healthpartners Fund
- Ontario Association of Optometrists
- Ontario Medical Association (OMA)
- Centre for Behavioural Research and Program Evaluation, University of Waterloo (now PROPEL)
- Centre for Faculty Development, St Michael’s Hospital
- Centre for Interprofessional Education, Toronto Western/Faculty of Medicine, UofT
- Dalhousie Medical School
- Dorval Medical Associates
- MSH-UHN Academic Medical Association
- MSH-UHN Anesthesia Associates
- Ontario’s Anesthesiologists, A Section of the OMA
- Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
- Standardized Patient Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
- Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
- The Ottawa Hospital: Hematology Division
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto: Departments of Immunology, Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Nutritional Sciences, Otolaryngology-HNS, Radiation Oncology, Rehabilitation Sciences
- University of British Columbia: School of Biomedical Engineering (Faculties of Medicine and Applied Science)
- University Health Network: Radiation Medicine Program
- College of Nurses of Ontario
- College of Physiotherapists of Ontario
- Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, Ontario: Local Health Integration Network Liaison Branch
- Office of Nutrition Policy and Promotion, Health Canada
- BC Academic Health Science Network
- Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation
- Canadian Breast Cancer Research Alliance
- Canadian Stroke Strategy
- Child Bright, a SPOR-funded project
- Kids Brain Health Network (formerly Neurodevnet), a Network of Centres of Excellence federal program
- Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research
- Research Canada
- Eli Lilly Canada
- Merck Frosst Canada
- Grey Bruce Health Services
- Nutrition Resource Centre, a program of the Ontario Public Health Association
- Pan Canadian Task Force on Public Health Nutrition
- Task Force on Public Health Nutrition Practice
- Task Force on Dietetic Education and Practical Experience
- The Thrive Group