The Ontario Dental Association (ODA) has been the leading voice of the province’s dental profession for more than 150 years. We are committed to the success of our members in service to their patients and the public.
Our Strategic Plan is the ODA’s guide to navigating the next three years, ensuring we can support our members, advance the dental profession and create collaborative relationships with various stakeholders for the benefit of our members and all Ontarians. The following priorities are aspirational and will inspire and empower our staff, volunteers, members and partners to actively engage in the ODA’s mandate.
Read our Mission, Vision and Values.
Strategic Priorities
- Understand the needs, expectations, and concerns of all members
- Refine membership offerings to appeal to different segments of the ODA’s membership base
- Leverage the Component Societies to build awareness and engagement at the local level
- Enhance the ODA’s multichannel communications approach
- Build awareness among members of the benefits of membership, including the ODA’s essential advocacy role and impact on patients and the profession
- Leverage the ODA’s corporate partnership model to augment benefits to members
- Partner with professional and other organizations
- Work with other dental organizations to ensure the ODA can act as a unified, credible voice for the profession
- Through partnerships, increase our support for members and their teams in dealing with the oral health human resource shortage
- Support an oral health-care system that delivers quality care to all Ontarians by the dentist of their choice
- Support members with accurate and timely information and resources for continued practice
- Build trust in the dental profession and position dental professionals as essential to the health-care spectrum
- Engage health practitioners on why dental care is indispensable to overall health
- Encourage evidence-informed infection, prevention and control standards for dental care to ensure they protect patients, providers and the environment
- Prepare for and address emerging trends and disruptions
- Encourage new idea generation and measured risk taking among all staff and volunteer leaders
- Embrace digitization, data and analytics to improve service delivery and decision making
- Create an organizational culture where volunteers, staff and members build trusting, collaborative relationships; recognize achievements that demonstrate the ODA’s values; and support its governance structure
- Provide meaningful, diverse and inclusive growth opportunities for volunteers and staff
- Invest in human resources to deliver on the promises of the Strategic Plan
- Understand staff needs and ensure staff are engaged in creating an outstanding and productive place to work
- Improve our productivity and efficient use of resources
Pandemic Strategic Focus
For the past several years, the dental profession has experienced disruption in many ways: human resource challenges, environmental considerations and the advent of new technologies are just a few. However, the profession is facing the greatest challenge of our time with COVID-19. In response to the pandemic, the ODA swiftly created resources to support members as they navigate an uncertain and unparalleled time.
As the Strategic Planning Process drew to a close, the world was still in the grips of COVID-19. Recognizing this, the ODA created a Pandemic Strategic Response which underpins this plan. At the same time, we know the world, and the dental profession, must prepare for the years ahead with all the challenges and opportunities they present.
While understanding the current and evolving circumstances, the ODA will lead the dental profession and assist members’ return to practice in a manner that emphasizes safety for patients and the dental team; enhances access to care; and creates sustainable dental practices.
