Client profile and project

Royal Flying Doctors Service Victoria (RFDS Vic) is a not-for-profit organisation that works across Victoria to improve the health and wellbeing of communities. 

Each year, RFDS Vic engages with more than 100,000 people, providing in-person primary health care services, telehealth and other remote health and wellbeing services, and transports by air or road. They also provide non-emergency patient transport services. 

In July 2020, RFDS Vic engaged Spark Strategy (Spark) to codesign and develop their 2021-24 strategic plan. The project was delivered 100% digitally to respond to the challenges posed by COVID-19.

Project context

Together, Spark and RFDS Vic navigated a range of strategic questions that reflected: balancing impact with funding; defining and articulating RFDS Vic’s role and remit; and building consensus around RFDS Vic’s geographic remit.

The project and strategic considerations

The strategic planning process comprised of extensive desk-based research and document review, 10x interviews and 3x workshops with the RFDS Vic senior leadership team, board and executive and iteration with the staff and board. 

The following nuances and considerations made this project unique: 

• Working through scenarios brought about by changes to the external environment, including the impact of COVID-19 and what this means for funding and the future of service delivery (e.g. greater focus on telehealth);

• Clearly articulating RFDS Vic’s role and remit for the coming years; 
• Defining and building Board consensus around RFDS Vic’s geographic remit; 
• Balancing impact by delivering prevention and health promotion services with funding constraints, characterised by a health system that is geared towards response and recovery; and
• Delivering a bespoke series of workshops 100% online.

Despite the implications brought about by COVID-19, a highly expansive strategy was developed that allowed RFDS Vic scope to significantly transform.