By Grace Turner
One of the National Screening Service’s key objectives in 2022 is to develop a strategy that will set our direction for the coming years. To do this, we will spend time considering where we want to go as an organisation and how we’ll get there.
We will think about our purpose - what we do well, what we should stop doing, and what we should do more of… or start doing. We want to consider how we continue to provide quality screening services and how to prepare for screening of the future.
Developing a strategy offers the opportunity for us to look at what’s happening in Ireland and internationally that might have a bearing on NSS and its four screening programmes. Developing our strategy leads us to look to the horizon. The process gives us the opportunity to think about the building blocks we need to put in place now in order to get to the future we want to achieve.
The strategy development team has been working in the background to determine our approach for developing the strategy and I’m pleased to say that the process is now under way.
We have completed Step 1, project establishment. We have now agreed how we’ll develop the strategy; who’ll be involved; who we’ll liaise with; and the associated timelines. We’ve established a Strategy Development Reference Group which will guide, advise, critique and champion the work of the project team.
We are now knee-deep in the second stage - strategic review. The purpose of this stage is to compile relevant information from national and international publications and papers that will inform our strategic priorities as well as ensuring that NSS’s strategic plan is in line with key strategic partners and has considered international best practice. NSS staff members from across the organisation are supporting the strategic review.
Developing the strategy offers the opportunity to liaise with our stakeholders in a meaningful way to hear their views on the future direction of NSS. We have started stage three, our three-month consultation process. Consultation is the longest phase and will take place until the end of June. During this time we intend reaching out to stakeholder groups to ask their opinions, tap into their expertise and gain insights in order to inform the development of our strategy. We will do this in a number of ways:
- One to one interviews
- Focus groups/workshops
- Invite written submissions
Further updates on progress will be posted as we move through the development stages. In the meantime, please contact nss.strategy@screeningservice.ie if you have any comments or wish to be included in stakeholder engagement.
Grace Turner is NSS Head of Strategy, Business and Projects