A System Approach to Managing Animal Health in Canada

Understanding the Factors Influencing Animal Health and the Process Leading to a National Animal Health Strategy for Canada

Table of Contents

An Iterative Process to Engage Partners

• Phase 1 - Getting the Fundamentals Right
• Phase 2 - Developing the Policy Framework
• Phase 3 - Developing the Strategy for Canada

Engaging all partners at the same time is a daunting task.  In order to facilitate the dialogues between the different partners, a generic process has been developed.  It involves three phases, each of which are culminating in a stocktaking multi-stakeholder workshop with representatives of each working group listed above.

Phase 1 - Getting the Fundamentals Right

The first phase of the process sets the basic framework for engaging stakeholders i.e. defining what we mean by animal, animal health, animal welfare, and agreeing on the terms of reference of the partners working group.  Figure no. 10 illustrates the typical timeframe for this phase to be completed.

This phase culminates in a multi-stakeholder meeting planned for June 5-6, 2007 in Chateau Cartier, Gatineau, Quebec.  Three objectives were set for this workshop:

• taking stock of the different working groups' deliberations on what elements should the Strategy include;

• defining what should be the broad roles and responsibilities of governments, non-government organizations and individual Canadians in Canada's animal health system;
• encouraging dialogue between animal health partners playing a different role in Canada's system and caring for different groups of animals.

Figure 10 - Generic Phase 1 Process for Engaging Partners[D]

Figure 11 adds the proposed Strategy elements to the conceptual models described on page 4.  These elements represent groups of approaches, actions, or categories of objectives that will help partners refine their strategic objectives in Canada's future animal health system.

Figure 11 - Conceptual Model of Drivers, Determinants and
proposed Strategy elements for animal health in Canada [D]

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Phase 2 - Developing the Policy Framework

Each working group have specific interests in the Strategy development.  Those should be respected.

The main objectives of this phase is to refine the scope of the Strategy by answering the following four questions:

• "what is in",
• "what is out",
• "what are the common components between working groups" and
• "what are the unique components of this working group".

This discussion will lead to another multi-stakeholder meeting in December 2007.

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Phase 3 - Developing the Strategy for Canada

Having documented the proposed scope of all partners working groups in Canada's animal health system, it will be time to decide on the key national actions/outcomes sought by the Strategy.  This phase will also lead to discussions related to who will do what specifically and how are we going to measure the success of these agreed-to approaches.

This will lead to the last multi-stakeholder meetings before the publication of the Strategy.  These meetings, to be held in Aprill 2008 in seven locations in Canada (Charlottetown, St-Hyacinthe, Guelph, Ottawa, Saskatoon, Regina or Calgary, Vancouver).