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Engagement Framework
At SickKids we aim to embed partnership in all we do across the organization by adopting core values to guide and evaluate engagement activities.
Our values
Transparency
Advisors and SickKids staff openly share their goals, plans, concerns, expectations and opportunities for impact when working together.
Mutual Respect
Advisors and SickKids staff listen to and consider each other’s ideas, lived experiences, worldviews, cultural beliefs, and knowledge.
Safety
Advisors and SickKids staff work collaboratively to build trust, acknowledge trauma, and prevent unintentional harm to any person with whom they are working by fostering physically and emotionally safe environments. SickKids staff members acknowledge the inherent power imbalances that exist between healthcare professionals and users of the healthcare system and actively take steps to address those imbalances.
Inclusivity
Advisors and SickKids staff foster welcoming and accessible environments which enable everyone to participate to their fullest potential. They prioritize inclusion, equity and diversity across cultural backgrounds, diagnoses, education, socioeconomic status, age, family structure, religion, gender, and ability.
Co-learning
Advisors and SickKids staff approach engagement activities with an openness to learning and growth, and an acknowledgement of the mutual benefits of exchanging knowledge, experiences, and skills when working together.
SickKids has a long history of engaging patients, families and members of the community to drive improvements in care, research and education. This history is rooted in SickKids’ deep commitment to child and family-centered care.
The Framework for Engagement at SickKids (2025) builds on this solid foundation. Its purpose is to set forth best practices for patients, families, community members, and SickKids staff to work together to make changes to the health system that reflect the lived experiences of those who use it, and guide efforts to plan for, implement, and evaluate meaningful engagement.
The framework was co-developed in partnership with Lived Experience Advisors and SickKids staff from across the hospital, Research Institute and Learning Institute. The key components of the framework are: core values, clear definitions of engagement approaches, and institutional facilitators that make engagement possible.