Strategic workforce planning in healthcare: A multi-methodology approach

Abstract

This paper presents a description of the development and use of a framework for strategic workforce planning for healthcare at the national level. The framework is called the Robust Workforce Planning Framework, and was developed by the Centre for Workforce Intelligence. The Centre for Workforce Intelligence was a national organisation that delivered workforce planning advice, and was active from July 2010 until March 2016. The Centre was a key contributor to the planning of future workforce requirements for healthcare in England and was primarily commissioned by the English Department of Health, Health Education England and Public Health England, supporting them in national and local strategic workforce planning. The framework involved the use of multiple methodologies, including the development of strategic workforce models based on System Dynamics, and the framework evolved through practise. This paper describes contributions to three areas in the field: healthcare workforce planning models using System Dynamics, the use of System Dynamics to support strategic planning with the integration of multiple methodologies, and facilitated modelling through building and using System Dynamics models in workshops.