Our Purpose & People

The Change Foundation is an independent health policy think tank that generates research, analysis and informed public discussion to support system integration and quality improvement in home and community care in Ontario.

Established and endowed in 1996 by The Ontario Hospital Association, The Change Foundation is an independent charitable foundation with a mandate to promote, support and improve health and the delivery of health care in Ontario.

Located in Toronto, The Change Foundation is governed by a 12-member board of directors, led by President and CEO Cathy Fooks and supported by a small professional staff. Read the auditor's letter and 2007-2008 financial statements.

In 2007, the Foundation decided to evolve from predominantly a granting agency to a health policy think tank, redirecting its resources to provide unique and timely research, analysis and leadership on how best to implement and evaluate the health integration agenda underway in Ontario. The Change Foundation's 2007-2010 strategic plan, Contemplating the way we change/Changing the way we think, lays out three strategic directions:

To support the implementation of an integrated health system in Ontario through evidence-based policy and research.

To improve patient outcomes through integration-related quality improvement projects, starting with a focus on home-care services and informal caregiving.

To drive informed public debate through active engagement with decision-makers, bringing together provincial, national and international experts to exchange evidence and insights about how to make the most of the opportunity that integration offers.

The Centre for Healthcare Quality Improvement at The Change Foundation

As of July 1, 2008, CHQI has joined forces with The Change Foundation. Formerly known as the Ontario Health Performance Initiative (OHPI) of the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care, CHQI is now part of The Change Foundation and will operate at arms-length from the provincial government. The initiative was established in 2006 to accelerate quality improvement in Ontario to improve system-level outcomes in areas of provincial strategic priority. To learn more, click here.

February 9, 2010
Thinking ahead with a little help (or a lot) from our friends: The Change Foundation’s strategic plan renewal for 2010-2013

The Change Foundation’s 2007 - 2010 strategic plan, Contemplating the way we change, Changing the way we think, set up the Foundation to shift from a granting agency to an independent health policy think tank. It carved out a new and narrower set of strategic directions focused on health integration and quality improvement, and laid out expectations for what we wanted to achieve under each of them. And now the Foundation is asking itself - and the health-care community - how it can best build on that plan to precipitate change that improves health-care policy, practice and the patient experience in Ontario.

Change Foundation Chair Scott Dudgeon is heading up a Strategic Plan Renewal Working Group (fortified by board members Susan Pigott, Neil Stuart, and Sheila Jarvis) which is tapping the experience and acumen of an impressive sounding board pulled together to test our thinking as we deliberate on the development of our 2010-2013 strategic plan, targeted for delivery June 2010.

Since December, the Foundation has conducted interviews, webinars and small group discussions with a diverse range of health-care leaders, planners, providers and patients who’ve provided excellent input on where we can make our mark - and make a difference in improving health care and the patient experience in Ontario. We will distill all this advice before testing a preliminary strategic plan.