Engaging collective strength in action at Central West Specialized Developmental Services

CWSDS
Social Movement Action Framework

Central West Specialized Developmental Services (CWSDS) is a pre-designate Best Practice Spotlight Organization® (BPSO®.) During the BPSO pre-designation process, the CWSDS change team has built a strong core leadership structure to support the implementation of best practices, by including both formal and informal leaders.

The CWSDS change team relied on the following strategies to build a strong core leadership structure:

CWSDS’s RNAO-BPSO organizational structure. Figure provided with permission by CWSDS.

  • embedding the RNAO BPSO pre-designation process within the organization’s strategic plan.
  • emphasizing the interprofessional nature of the initiative by encouraging professionals from all disciplines to become involved.
  • engaging an interprofessional team of stakeholders within the organization with the change, including direct support professionals, managers, food services, human resources staff, and members of the communication and information technology teams.
  • encouraging stakeholders to become trained RNAO Best Practice Champions and to participate in RNAO events.
  • making sure all stakeholders were informed and involved in the change initiative (by, for example, providing updates during managerial meetings and including stakeholders in completing gap analyses.)
  • supporting Best Practice Champions in leading best practice guideline (BPG) implementation alongside the BPSO Steering Committee.

As a result of the change team’s work to build a core leadership structure, they were able to tailor the implementation of BPGs toward daily clinical problems relevant to their direct support professionals. This increased recognition of and support for their change initiative.

To learn more about CWSDS’s BPG implementation journey, watch their 38-minute webinar: Collective Strength in Action: How to Promote and Implement Best Practice Guidelines.