In Spring 2020, DGC leadership started to develop a five-year plan based on a self-assessment we initiated at that time. Then, as with all organizations, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted our planning process and virtually every aspect of our operations.
Through the self-assessment process that extended from 2020 through 2021, we evaluated our activities since launch, accounted for the recommendations of a 2019 external review, and considered evolving societal needs as highlighted by both the pandemic and the call for increased social justice.
This self-assessment had three main results. It led us to:
- Explicitly articulate five DGC core values.
- Articulate a playbook for advancing each DGC objective.
- Delineate our research mission from our service and dissemination missions.
The strategic plan outlines three research objectives and two dissemination objectives, which serve as the drivers of our work:
Research Objective 1: Find causes and delineate trajectories of depression
Research Objective 2: Elucidate the mechanisms underlying depression
Research Objective 3: Develop new and better treatments
Dissemination Objective 1: Make existing treatments more accessible with a focus on communities in need
Dissemination Objective 2: Identify and share best practices to increase the success of treatment interventions and foster social justice
The strategic plan also outlines the critical success factors for our five-year plan.
To articulate core values, direction, specific goals and fundraising priorities for a five-year period commencing July 2022.
July 2022 – June 2027
