The Health Canada Policy Toolkit for Public Involvement in Decision Making

Introduction
Purpose

The purpose of the Health Canada Policy Toolkit for Public Involvement in Decision Making is to support Health Canada's mission to maintain and improve the health of Canadians by providing direction for Health Canada employees on public involvement. The document affirms the department's commitment to public involvement. It provides principles, guidelines and information for the effective involvement of citizens in government decision making on health issues.

This document builds on the department's existing culture and capacity for public involvement in determining health priorities, policies and programs. It is intended to help Health Canada respond to an unprecedented call for public involvement relating to the department's mandate by clarifying the types and best uses of the array of public involvement techniques available. The document outlines departmental expectations, roles and responsibilities in fostering a citizen-focussed culture for the federal government's role in health. There are many benefits to public involvement, including stronger policy, programs and health outcomes. Over time, it is hoped that Health Canada will be well known and highly regarded as a leader for its citizen focus and track record for involving Canadians, together with other levels of government and health professionals, in developing ways to maintain and improve their health and build their confidence in the health system.

The components of this document are:

• overview of the context, government and departmental commitments
  a vision statement and departmental policy framework highlighting key principles
• practical guidelines for planning, designing, implementing and evaluating a range of public involvement techniques
• an information toolkit that describes an array of public involvement techniques, provides relevant case studies and names resource persons for further information
• a list of reference materials for further enquiry.

This document is not intended to be overly prescriptive. Rather, it should be used in the spirit of continuous learning. Public involvement strategies, including citizen engagement, are based on judgement, which may be improved with experience.

This document meets Management Council's direction to develop a framework and tools for public involvement. A Speaker's Series on public involvement has also been established in response to Management Council's direction. Management Council further directed the development of a training program, validation of the policy framework by external experts and the establishment of a virtual centre of expertise on public involvement. The Corporate Consultation Secretariat in the Health Policy and Communications Branch is working on these priorities in collaboration with other branches and regions.