ARCHIVED - Integrated Strategy on Healthy Living and Chronic Diseases - Healthy Living Program Component

Increase integration across the four components of the Healthy Living Program.

• Develop collaborative work plans across all four components of the HLP to ensure maximum impact and to avoid any risk of duplication.
• Establish Memoranda of Agreements with agencies outside the Healthy Living Unit responsible for components of the Healthy Living Program, including ONPP and PHAC Communications.

Increase emphasis on target populations. The Healthy Living Program should take a strategic approach to targeting a small number of well-resourced initiatives to improve healthy living behaviours among vulnerable populations. This approach should include:

• consistent definition of target populations;
• annual prioritization of targets;
• directed funding to organizations equipped to address identified targets; and
• intermediary approaches to support work of identified targets.

Increase alignment with Healthy Eating.

The overarching goal of the Healthy Living Program is to “lead, foster and support action to address the conditions that support healthy eating, physical activity and healthy weight for all Canadians.” To do this it must ensure better alignment of strategic efforts to increase healthy living behaviours through physical activity and healthy eating. This should include:

• joint planning activities with the ONPP at Health Canada; and
• identification of joint priority initiatives and priority activities.

Implement process improvements for the Healthy Living Fund

Continue to identify and implement process improvements for the Health Living Fund. Specific areas for consideration include:

• adjust timing for the national solicitation process to not carry out exclusively in the December timeframe;
• modify, communicate and respect approval timelines for national stream to allow for project commencement on April 1st;
• provide project funding for multiple years as to allow for the achievement of outcomes as well as better project delivery;
• consider a staggered letter-of-interest process to call for innovative and collaborative (leveraging alliances) projects per vulnerable population group (year round);
• improve timeliness of approvals for funding under the bilateral process;
• include approval commitment timelines for partners within the Bilateral Agreements; and
• refine the PERT to improve Healthy Living outcomes reporting and better align with target populations.

Develop learning and knowledge exchange and transfer strategies and tools to build on successful programs identified from the HL Fund Program.

• Identify promising practices within the national and regional stream of community projects as part of KD&E operations to enable further study regarding their effectiveness and transferability.

Develop Terms of Reference (TOR) for the IHLN and ensure their alignment with the existing TOR for the HLIG to provide seamless planning for the entire network.

• Strengthen the HLIG with financial and secretariat resources needed to carry out the leadership, strategic policy initiatives and priorities identified to ensure the success of the HL Program.
• Implement and enable the terms of reference for the IHLN once developed.

Improve alignment and delivery of Social Marketing activities:

• Ensure alignment of priorities, activities and accountabilities for social marketing activities between the Communications Unit and the Healthy Living Unit through:
  • joint planning processes;
  • memoranda of agreement for resource allocations and management of resources; and
  • monitoring and evaluation of campaign outcomes.
• Consider establishing long-term strategic partnerships with NGO(s) and other stakeholders to deliver certain components of the physical activity component of the HL social marketing program. It would be essential that this include:
  • clearly defined target populations;
  • clearly defined performance deliverables;
  • a secure resource base and term; and
  • clearly defined expectations regarding NGO Social Marketing financial sponsors.