2026 Strategic Plan

The 2026-27 Strategic Plan sets the National Forum’s course toward realizing our vision of people throughout society living and enjoying heart-healthy, stroke-free lives.

The goals and approaches draw upon the organization’s strengths as a catalyst for collaboration. The plan is centered on the National Forum’s mission to spark and lead collaborative action to ensure optimal cardiovascular and metabolic health and well-being for all people throughout their lifespans.

As you read the plan, keep in mind that the core of the National Forum is its more than 100 members from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. The National Forum is intent on helping member organizations accomplish shared goals through collaboration and synergy with other members.

The Strategic Plan is a living document. It will be changed as environmental factors, new approaches, and opportunities for collective impact evolve. We welcome your input both now and in months to come to ensure the National Forum continues to create and deliver unique value as a trusted convener and spark for collaborative action.

National Forum 2026-27 Strategic Plan

Our Vision

People throughout society living and enjoying heart-healthy, stroke-free lives.

Our Mission

To spark and lead collaborative action to ensure optimal cardiovascular and metabolic health and well-being for all people through their lifespan.

2026 Environmental Factors

• Economic Landscape

• • Research shows that prevention is cost-effective.

• The cost of poor health can be measured.
• Decreases in Federal research funding could affect innovation.
• Changes to reimbursement frameworks influence changes to clinical care.

• • Investment in digital health is increasing.

• • Artificial intelligence is becoming widely used in multiple sectors.
  • Innovation in care delivery models and new investment approaches are transforming healthcare, influencing access, quality, cost, and health outcomes.
  • Market forces and public policy impact pricing and out-of-pocket costs for some patented medications.

• Fair opportunities to attain optimal health and well-being

• • Large health disparities exist between urban and rural populations, sexes, and races.
  • More people have access to care, but large gaps in access and quality of care remain and cause health disparities.
  • Government programs and funding are being reduced.
  • The insured population is shrinking.
  • Differences between people should be recognized and respected.

• Health Landscape

• • There is new and renewed interest in cardiovascular, metabolic, and renal health and well-being, including hypertension, heart failure, LDL-C, and Lp(a), obesity, diabetes, and kidney disease.

• • Rising depression, anxiety, stress, and other mental health conditions, plus increasing awareness that mental health and cardiovascular health are interwoven.
  • GLP-1s can affect cardiovascular, metabolic, renal, and mental health, as well as addiction.

• • Demographic changes, such as an increase in the 65+ population, affect the nation’s health.

• • Unhealthy diets and food insecurity impair health.
  • Continued emphasis on sick/crisis care leads to missed opportunities for wellness and prevention.

• • There is increased attention on hypertension and maternal and child health.

• • More synergy is needed between healthcare delivery and public health.
  • Innovations offer opportunities to treat cardiovascular, metabolic, and renal conditions and manage risk factors.

• • Long COVID complicates cardiovascular health management.

• Policy Landscape

• • The built environment affects opportunities to attain health and well-being.

• • There is ongoing debate about the scope of the government’s role in protecting the public’s health, particularly in preventing chronic disease.

• • Trust in science and public health varies among regions and demographic groups.
  • Congress added restrictions to Medicaid eligibility and Affordable Care Act premium credits.

• The Federal government’s strategy for chronic disease prevention emphasizes nutrition (such as whole foods and reduced consumption of processed food), environmental chemical exposure, lack of physical activity, chronic stress, and over-reliance on medical interventions.

• • Public health funding is likely to decline over the next two years.
  • Changes to the provider reimbursement system may be made.

• • State legislation could affect public health, healthcare costs, and access to care.
  • Mayors demonstrate bipartisan interest in improving health in their communities.

• • National Forum members update their agendas and priorities.

2026 Drivers (Forces that align with an organization’s strategy)

• Economic prosperity and community health are interdependent.
• Community-level interest and commitment to improving cardiovascular, metabolic, and renal health are strong.
• Attention on and investment in cardiovascular disease prevention (CVD) is below the magnitude of CVD’s human and economic costs.
• The nation remains below Healthy People 2030 cardiovascular health goals.
• The National Hypertension Control Roundtable has raised attention on strategies to increase hypertension control.
• Research shows the benefits of preserving and protecting optimal cardiovascular and mental health throughout the lifespan.
• A slow shift from volume-based to value-based care is underway.
• There are geographic, sex-based, racial, and ethnic variances in cardiovascular health risk and outcomes.
• Cardiovascular events and mortality are increasing in working-age adults.
• There are systemic failures, shortcomings, and opportunities in health and healthcare.

• • Imbalance of investment in upstream determinants.

• • Financial barriers to prevention and health promotion.

• • Huge time gap in translating evidence-based clinical guidelines and public health interventions into real-world settings.
  • Women are less likely to receive evidence-based, guideline-directed treatment for cardiovascular disease.

• • Historically under-funded/under-valued/neglected public health infrastructure.

Our Focus

Issues

• Strengthening vital conditions for health and well-being.
• Prevention of cardiovascular and metabolic risk for everyone.
• Community health and economic prosperity.
• Priority on cardiovascular, metabolic, and renal disease prevention.
• Linkage of mental health and heart disease and stroke risk factors.

 Goals

1. Elevate cardiovascular health as a priority.
2. Ensure vital conditions for health and well-being are at the forefront of cardiovascular and metabolic disease prevention and management.
3. Enhance health and well-being by supporting access to cultural, financial, physical, and social assets and mental healthcare.
4. Improve cardiovascular, metabolic, renal, and mental health:

1. • Prevent cardiovascular risk
   • Detect, treat, and manage risk factors
   • Enhance the vital conditions for health and well-being
   • Identify and treat heart attacks, strokes, and kidney disease early
   • Prevent recurrent cardiovascular events
   • Identify and treat renal disease early

5. Increase (and brand) the National Forum’s strength as a thought and change leader to improve cardiovascular, metabolic, and renal health and strengthen the vital conditions for all people’s health and well-being.
6. Mobilize members and collaborators to improve cardiovascular, metabolic, and renal health outcomes, reduce cardiovascular risk, and strengthen vital conditions for all people’s health and well-being. (deepen current members’ engagement and diversify membership)

Our Approach

Leading collaborative action to ensure all people have fair opportunities to make healthy choices and attain optimal cardiovascular, metabolic, and renal health

Advocacy & Policy Development

Forging consensus, presenting a united front, and empowering members to influence policies and systems that improve cardiovascular health and strengthen vital conditions for all people’s health and well-being

Catalyst for Collaboration

Bringing public, private, and nonprofit stakeholders together to accelerate and enhance their impact

Knowledge Exchange

Facilitating the exchange of expertise, insights, and knowledge with partners and stakeholders

Thought Leadership

Drawing attention to innovative and inspiring ideas and evidence-based interventions to improve cardiovascular health.

Operational Excellence

Embracing principles and tools to achieve sustainable improvement and provide access to  resources

OUR CORE VALUES 

• Servant Leadership: empower and optimize cardiovascular and metabolic health and well-being
• Collaboration: work as a team to innovate solutions
• Fairness: provide opportunities to thrive
• Integrity: keep commitments and be accountable
• Respect: treat all with dignity and worth

Code of Conduct

• Lead by example
• Seek clarity and understanding
• Debate constructively, decide definitively, and support actively
• Be courageous and optimistic: encourage ideas, change, and innovation
• Embrace differences in people and thinking
• Keep our commitments: hold ourselves and each other accountable
• Treat everyone with dignity and value