SPECIALIZED COURSE
Leadership for Change: Toward Sustainable Health Systems Course
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Session dates: September 23, October 7, October 21, November 4
(9am-1pm PT | 12-4pm ET | 1-5pm AT)
Course Description
Strengthen your capacity for change-oriented health system leadership in the face of profound environmental and sustainability challenges.
Through pre-work, four interactive sessions, team and individual mentorship, and debriefing opportunities, we explore the challenges, opportunities, and leadership capabilities required to improve, change, and transform the health sector for sustainability.
This course provides Canadian health leaders a new avenue to build knowledge, skills, and networks to help them promote and deliver sustainable health systems. It is grounded in the LEADS in a Caring Environment framework (Dickson & Tholl, 2014; 2020) and draws on various leadership and management theories, models, and methods to assess and strengthen relevant leadership capabilities. To support this, the course covers principles and practices in both leadership development and change leadership for sustainable healthcare. This course will be most useful for participants who have specific challenges or initiatives that they are working on in their healthcare setting.
The aims of this course are threefold:
- To strengthen the leadership capabilities of existing and emerging health system leaders committed to promoting high quality, low-carbon, climate-resilient, and sustainable health services and systems
- To characterize different types of innovations and explore the associated leadership challenges and opportunities when implementing sustainability initiatives
- To develop a portfolio of change ideas and a plan for leadership development
This course is designed for healthcare providers, administrators, and teams seeking to strengthen their knowledge and leadership capabilities to advance high-quality, low-carbon, climate-resilient, and sustainable health services and systems. We particularly encourage participation from teams working on shared challenges or initiatives within their healthcare settings. However, we discourage participation from individuals who are primarily trainees or researchers and prioritize those working within care delivery organizations or related governance and support organizations.
Prospective participants are asked to complete an application form to ensure the course aligns with their needs. To maximize the learning experience, participants must commit to the following:
- Prior knowledge of sustainable health systems is required. This can be demonstrated by completing the CASCADES Introduction to Sustainable Health Systems e-learning module or an equivalent.
- Attend all four synchronous sessions (4 hours each)
- Participate in two 1:1 mentorship sessions (~30 minutes each).
- Complete pre-work prior to each session. This will involve participating in meetings with your team members between lessons.
- Identify specific sustainability challenges or initiatives within the healthcare setting that participants aim to champion.
Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis by course organizers to ensure essential program requirements are met. Applicants may be required to submit additional information. Successful applicants will be notified within two weeks of submission.
The course will run on four Tuesdays, spaced two weeks apart, with each session lasting four hours: 9am-1pm (Pacific); 12-4pm (Eastern); 1-5pm (Atlantic):
- September 23, 2025 (session 1)
- October 7, 2025 (session 2)
- October 21, 2025 (session 3)
- November 4, 2025 (session 4)
Other key dates
Date (2025) | Activity |
May-September 14 | Accepting applications |
September 18 | Submit pre-work requirements for course |
September 23 | Session 1 |
September 24-October 6 | Meet with leadership mentor |
October 7 | Session 2 |
October 21 | Session 3 |
October 21-November 3 | Meet with leadership mentor |
November 4 | Session 4 |
Course format & materials
The course is delivered virtually, featuring asynchronous online content and synchronous sessions. Importantly, there are four core components to the course:
- Pre-work. Participants are asked to complete pre-work before the course starts and before each session, to contextualize the content and reinforce understanding
- Four Synchronous Sessions. Participants will engage in 4 “live” course sessions, involving didactic & interactive content, guest speakers, group work and mentorship.
- Coaching Sessions. Participants will be asked to engage in one-on-one sessions with their leadership mentors between sessions to receive customized guidance and support for their leadership development plans.
Course materials will be available through an online learning platform
- Resources will be posted in electronic format, when available and where copyright permits.
- Lecture slides will be posted immediately after the session in which they are presented.
Organizers
Testimonials
Cost
Prerequisites
Duration
Audience
Upcoming session
Dates
For our Fall 2024 offering, the course will run on four Tuesdays, spaced two weeks apart, with each session lasting four hours: 9:00am-1:00pm PT; 12:00-4:00pm ET; 1:00-5:00pm AT.
- September 17, 2024
- October 1, 2024
- October 15, 2024
- October 29, 2024