ADA governance and organizational health evaluation is underway, scheduled to conclude in October 2027
Consulting firm Vista Cova is conducting interviews, preparing surveys and planning focus groups.
The American Dental Association’s comprehensive governance and organizational health evaluation is entering a new phase of stakeholder engagement, with surveys, interviews, focus groups and a town hall planned over the coming months. These inputs will be taken into account to develop the final evaluation with recommendations that will ultimately be considered by the House of Delegates in 2027.
The evaluation, being conducted by nonprofit and association management consulting firm Vista Cova, was authorized by Resolution 521H-2025 and expands on previous ADA governance studies by examining not only ADA governance structure but also organizational accountability, leadership and management culture, and operational and financial health.
According to a May 29 update sent to the House of Delegates, the ADA Board of Trustees’ Standing Committee on Governance opted for the longer timeline than the Association’s last major governance study — which was conducted in 2012 — to allow for broader stakeholder participation and allow recommendations to be refined through member feedback before final consideration by the House. This extended timeline will not result in added cost to the ADA.
The 2012 Governance Study was conducted from February of that year until a final, 350-page report was presented to the House of Delegates in September. Suggested changes in ADA governance outlined in the report led to seven resolutions that were considered by the 2012 House of Delegates. Two of the resolutions were adopted, two were referred to the 2013 House, and three were not adopted. One of the two that were referred to the 2013 House was adopted.
The current evaluation will consider what was learned from the 2012 Governance Study while examining two key questions that were also considered in 2012: Is the American Dental Association sustainable in its current form? and, Is the Association ready for change?
The evaluation is being guided by the Governance and Organizational Workgroup, a 21-member group that includes representatives from the ADA Board of Trustees, the Board’s Standing Committee on Governance and a presidential advisory task force representing stakeholder groups identified in Resolution 521H-2025. The workgroup has already reviewed draft interview, survey and focus group questions developed by Vista Cova.
Data collection is underway and Vista Cova has begun conducting some of the 80 planned one-on-one interviews with stakeholders from across the ADA. This set of interviews is expected to be completed in early June. The firm is also reviewing more than 1,000 documents, including audited financial statements, budgets, forecasts, internal controls, organizational policies and governance documents.
During the week of June 8, two surveys are scheduled to launch. A volunteer and leadership survey will be distributed to individuals who currently serve or have served in an ADA leadership role within the past three years. A separate member pulse survey will be sent to active, life and retired members, as well as provisional members and nonrenewing members from the past three years, to gather feedback on how governance outcomes are experienced.
Vista Cova also plans to conduct focus groups June 16 and 18 with randomly selected House of Delegates members and state executive directors to provide additional context to survey and interview findings.
According to the update sent to the House of Delegates, Vista Cova will host a virtual research review and data synthesis session with the Governance and Organizational Workgroup on July 29 and present preliminary findings to the Board of Trustees on Aug. 21.
A stakeholder town hall is scheduled for Oct. 9, 2026, in Indianapolis. The session will bring together delegates and alternate delegates, state executive directors, state dental leaders, early career dentists and past ADA leaders to review findings, discuss preliminary recommendations and provide feedback.
As directed by the 2025 House of Delegates, the Board of Trustees will provide an informational report to the 2026 House outlining major milestones and actions taken related to the evaluation including any already-implemented recommendations that fell under the purview of the Board or ADA Executive Director and therefore did not require approval by the House of Delegates.
The Governance and Organizational Workgroup is expected to finalize its recommendations in December 2026, which will move forward to the Board, allowing for Board review in January 2027. From February through October 2027, the ADA plans to continue reviewing, aligning and socializing recommendations before presenting a final Board report and proposed resolutions to the House of Delegates in October 2027. Vista Cova’s final report and recommendations will also be provided at that time.
ADA leaders said monthly progress updates will continue throughout the evaluation process.
