Social Policy & Advocacy Strategy

The SP&A Committee serves as a compass, an example, and a resource.

• As a compass, it sets the overarching direction of SP&A activities.
• As an example, the individual and collective projects of the committee lead SP&A by example.
• As a resource, it provides clear lines of communication with department members and funding opportunities.

Guiding principles

These principles guide SP&A activities:

• People-first with kindness: To promote a sense of belonging and community.
• Pluralism/Two-eyed seeing: To include a stance of curiosity & reciprocity in learning and to promote diversity.
• Strengths-based: To align with positive psychiatry/psychology and to support advocacy.
• Nothing about us without us: To promote reciprocal co-creation and co-ownership of programs and all academic deliverables.
• Do no harm: To include awareness of past/present colonial harms, potential future harms, and environmental stewardship.

Operational areas of focus

To implement the SP&A strategy, the committee focuses on its function in the department, equity-deserving communities we serve, its guiding principles, funding, developing SP&A skills, communications, sharing knowledge, evaluation, and positive reinforcement.