With a unique and vital role as the only organisation specifically focused on supporting associations of midwives and their midwife members around the world, ICM is recognised as a leader in providing knowledge, resources, and support to the midwifery profession. ICM has and continues to also solidify its added value to the broader landscape of partners by contributing to improving sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health (SRMNCAH), gender equality, and equal access to quality health care for women and communities.
With this role comes the responsibility to serve as a convenor, connector, and catalyst, both within the midwifery sector and outside – representing the interests of Member Associations (MAs) and midwives across new sectors, allies outside of the midwifery space, decision-makers, and non-traditional partners, and expanding the recognition and support that midwives receive. Refining this role required taking stock of what has worked for ICM in the past, what needs to shift and adapt to a changing global health and development landscape, and what areas ICM should focus on in the next three-year strategic plan (January 2021-December 2023).
The development of the 2021-2023 ICM strategic plan came at a time when the organisation was also assessing and updating the Professional Framework for Midwifery and internally piloting the Member Association Capacity Assessment Tool (MACAT)2, which focuses on assessing the operational capacity of the organisation (e.g. governance, management, human resources, budgeting, etc.). The strategic planning process also aligned with the Year of the Midwife in 2020, and with plans to roll out the “Decade of the Midwife” campaign with other partners in 2021. This process allowed ICM to focus and define the way forward through a holistic approach that will further enhance its impact and reach.
The resulting three-year strategic plan (2021-2023) builds on key areas of success and lessons learned, leverages ICM’s unique value added and niche in the landscape, and reflects inputs from across the organisation as well as from key external partners and donors. The strategic plan positions ICM as a partner, advocate, technical adviser, and knowledge base for midwives’ associations and midwives around the world, allowing the organisation to grow and expand in tailored ways that will make the largest impact on the profession of midwifery, with broader impacts on gender equality, human rights, diversity, and universal health coverage. The core strategic priorities for 2021-2023 are summarised below.
The overarching goal of the strategic plan over the next three years is to position ICM as an expert in creating, advising, influencing, and enabling the profession of midwifery globally. In support of that goal, the following three areas have been identified as key strategic priorities for ICM for 2021-2023:
- Drive innovation and sustainability for the future of midwifery
- Develop, strengthen, and support the rollout of a new professional framework
for midwifery - Foster a movement for midwifery, enabling and strengthening partnerships,
advocacy, and communications for midwifery, with women’s voices at the centre.
As separate entities, these three priorities deliver on key areas of interest for ICM’s growth, while as a collective, they serve to pave the way for a stronger, more
sustainable, and impactful ICM. Cutting across all three of the strategic priorities is a commitment to foster and promote gender equality both within ICM and across the midwifery profession.
