Glossary

The following terms are used in the Touchstone Institute Strategic Plan (2025 to 2030):

Context for Touchstone’s work:

Health human resources/health workforce: All people engaged in actions whose primary intent is to enhance positive health outcomes (World Health Organization).
Health human resource practice: The broader field of related areas including workforce planning and policy evaluation, recruitment and retention, training and development of skilled personnel, performance management, health workforce information systems and research on health workforce strengthening.
Healthcare system: A system of people, institutions and resources that delivers healthcare services. In Canada, each province and territory has a healthcare system.

Touchstone clients, partners and stakeholders:

Network: A group of interconnected organizations and individuals with shared interests and objectives. This network fosters relationships, enhances efficiency and enables knowledge exchange to achieve common goals.
Client: Individuals or organizations who participate in or contract with Touchstone Institute programs or services.
Partner: Entities or individuals who collaborate closely with Touchstone Institute to achieve common goals. Partners can include other healthcare providers, community organizations and governmental bodies.
Stakeholder: Individuals or groups with an interest or investment in the healthcare system's outcomes and Touchstone Institute’s programs and services. This includes healthcare providers, policymakers and the community at large.

Learning vs training vs education:

Learning is a continuous, informal process.
Training is structured and goal-oriented, focusing on specific skills.
Education is a formal, comprehensive process aimed at intellectual development.