Wellbeing is a shared responsibility, and shaping its future direction at UBC is a shared opportunity
At UBC, we believe wellbeing for students, faculty, staff, and our broader community matters. It shapes how we live, learn, teach, research, and work every day. When we build environments and systems that help our community thrive, our entire university is stronger.
Wellbeing is more than individual health habits. It’s about the conditions that shape our daily experiences — our learning and work environments, natural spaces and planetary health, systems, policies, relationships, and campus culture. It’s also about how we address issues that are deeply interconnected within wellbeing, including advancing Indigeneity, equity, diversity, inclusion, and sustainability.
To help make this work more visible and accessible, we’ve developed the UBC Wellbeing Ecosystem, a visual representation of how wellbeing is cultivated across our university community. It offers a way to explore the interconnected systems, roles, and priorities that shape wellbeing at UBC. View the ecosystem visual here.
Over the coming months, we are refreshing UBC’s Wellbeing Strategic Framework to reflect the evolving needs, priorities, and commitments of our community. This is an opportunity to reaffirm who we are and who we aspire to be as a university community.
Your voice matters. We invite you to be part of this shared process.
Engagement Update
The Office of Wellbeing Strategy and Wellbeing Strategic Framework (WSF) Refresh Project Team are happy to share that the engagement phase of the WSF Refresh has been completed. The team is grateful for the thoughtful participation of students, faculty, staff, leaders, and community partners across UBC Vancouver and Okanagan, whose contributions are helping shape the future of wellbeing at UBC.
Engagement highlights include:
- 475 points of student feedback gathered through in-person engagement
- 1,300 points of staff and faculty feedback gathered through in-person engagement
- 20 presentations to committees, units, and leadership across UBC Vancouver and Okanagan
- 10 engagement booths and displays at events across UBC Vancouver and Okanagan
- 3 open house events (1 Vancouver, 1 Okanagan, and 1 virtual session for all UBC sites)
- 170 online feedback form responses
With the engagement phase now complete, the project team is focused on synthesizing feedback and drafting the refreshed Wellbeing Strategic Framework. Thank you to everyone for your ongoing support. Please stay tuned for updates on this webpage.
Why This Refresh?
Wellbeing is foundational to UBC’s mission. It influences our capacity for academic excellence, research innovation, workplace engagement, and our broader community impact. The Wellbeing Strategic Framework provides high-level direction to guide coordinated efforts across teaching, learning, working, and research settings. It helps us:
- Align our wellbeing efforts across faculties, departments, units, and campuses
- Strengthen our shared understanding of what wellbeing means at UBC
- Foster inclusive environments where students, faculty, and staff can flourish
- Embed interconnected priorities, including Indigeneity, equity, diversity, inclusion, and sustainability, to ensure wellbeing is systemic and for everyone
This refresh is timely. It aligns with the UBC Strategic Directions 2025-2030 and updates to associated strategies, such as the Student Strategic Plan and HR’s Focus on People plans.
Globally, it also coincides with renewed momentum in the health promoting campuses movement, including the 10-year anniversary of the Okanagan Charter and the launch of the Limerick Framework for Action. Together, these milestones create an opportunity to reaffirm wellbeing as a shared institutional commitment and strengthen UBC’s leadership internationally.
Where We Came From
In 2019, UBC launched the Wellbeing Strategic Framework, marking an important shift to recognize wellbeing as a collective, systemic priority rather than an individual responsibility alone. The Framework was guided by the Okanagan Charter, which calls on universities to embed wellbeing into campus culture and lead health promotion locally and globally. It connects UBC’s long-term aspirations with actionable focus areas to promote wellbeing across the university.
Since then, students, faculty, and staff across UBC have driven meaningful progress. Initiatives have expanded supports, strengthened partnerships, and advanced conversations about wellbeing, Indigeneity, equity, diversity, inclusion, and sustainability.
The refresh builds on this strong foundation. It honours what we have learned and the progress made while ensuring the Framework continues to evolve with our community.
How to Stay Informed
There are several ways to stay connected throughout the refresh process:
- Check this page for engagement sessions, timelines, and summaries
- Follow UBC Wellbeing on Instagram
- Email us your question at ubc.wellbeing@ubc.ca
We will regularly share what we are hearing and how community input is shaping the refreshed Framework.