Below is the Council on Linkages Update for February 2018. Please feel free to use all or part(s) of this update in your organization's newsletter or other communications.

Reminder: February 28th AHD Webinar to Explore How Academic Health Department Partnerships Can Support PHAB and CEPH Accreditation

Academic health department (AHD) partnerships - formal partnerships between health departments and academic institutions - have the potential to offer all organizations involved a variety of benefits. Join the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice and the Public Health Foundation on Wednesday, February 28, 2018 from 1-2pm EST to explore how AHD partnerships can support achieving and maintaining accreditation through the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) for health departments and Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) for academic institutions. Jessica Kronstadt, MPP, Director of Research and Evaluation, PHAB, and Laura Rasar King, MPH, MCHES, Executive Director, CEPH, will join the webinar to share ways that accreditation efforts can benefit from partnerships and will be available for questions and discussion. This webinar is free and open to all members of the public health and healthcare communities. Please visit the webinar webpage for more information or to register and contact Kathleen Amos at kamos@phf.org with any questions.

New Paper from the Wisconsin Public Health Research Network Discusses Opportunities for AHD Research

A new paper released this month by the Wisconsin Public Health Research Network (WPHRN), a public health practice-based research network (PH-PBRN), suggests areas for potential collaboration on public health research. Using the Academic Health Department (AHD) Research Agenda developed through the AHD Learning Community, the paper compares potential research questions focused on the AHD model with priority research questions of relevance and importance to public health practice identified by the WPHRN to guide researchers and practitioners conducting public health services and systems research in Wisconsin. This paper highlights areas of overlapping research interest related to shared services, workforce, and accreditation, among other areas. Read the latest post on the PHF Pulse blog, Overlapping Research Interests: PH-PBRN and AHD, to learn more.

Upcoming Listening Session: Provide Your Feedback on Draft Competencies for Performance Improvement Professionals

Does your work involve activities in the areas of quality improvement, performance management, workforce development, accreditation, or community health assessment and improvement? Are you actively engaged in supporting your organization's performance improvement (PI) efforts? Share your feedback on a draft set of competencies for PI professionals to help ensure it best meets the needs of the public health workforce. Feedback is being accepted on the draft Competencies for Performance Improvement Professionals in Public Health (PI Competencies), designed to align with the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals, through March 31, 2018 and will inform further refinement of the competency set for release later this year. Join the Public Health Foundation (PHF) on Monday, March 12, 2018 from 3-4pm EDT for a virtual PI Competencies Listening Session to share your thoughts or visit PHF's website to learn more about the variety of ways feedback can be submitted. Questions can be sent to Kathleen Amos at kamos@phf.org.

Listening Session Scheduled: Share Your Feedback to Help Shape Competencies for Population Health Professionals

Feedback is being accepted on a draft set of Priority Competencies for Population Health Professionals (Population Health Competencies) through March 31, 2018. Based on the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals, these competencies are designed to support non-clinical hospital, health system, public health, or healthcare professionals engaged in population health programs, services, and practice. Are you passionate about population health? Is community benefit work a core part of what you do? Contribute your feedback on these draft competencies to support the population health workforce. Feedback will be used to finalize the competency set for release later this year. Join the Public Health Foundation on Monday, March 19, 2018 from 2-3pm EDT for a virtual Population Health Competencies Listening Session to share your thoughts or read Share Your Feedback on Competencies for Population Health Professionals to learn more about opportunities for providing feedback. Questions can be sent to Kathleen Amos at kamos@phf.org.

The Heart of New Ulm: Population Health Takes a Village

In New Ulm, Minnesota, Hearts Beat Back: The Heart of New Ulm, an exciting partnership focused on heart health, was formed 10 years ago. This initiative has successfully reduced heart attacks and improved heart disease risk factors in a rural Minnesota town with partnerships across public health, healthcare, education, government, and business. Join the Public Health Foundation and leaders of this innovative program on Wednesday, March 21, 2018 from 1-2pm EDT for a webinar to learn more about what is working to improve health outcomes in the New Ulm community. This webinar is free and open to all members of the public health and healthcare communities. Please visit the webinar webpage for more information or to register and contact Margie Beaudry at mbeaudry@phf.org with any questions.

Applications Open in April 2018 for Kresge's Emerging Leaders in Public Health Initiative

The Kresge Foundation is partnering with the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health to recruit and select 20 teams for the third cohort of Emerging Leaders in Public Health (ELPH). ELPH is a leadership development initiative aimed at providing local, governmental public health leaders with the knowledge and skills to lead in today's changing health care environment. During this 18-month, action-oriented experience designed to enhance skills and competencies in communications, business planning, and leading organizational change, each team will focus on developing and implementing a "transformative concept" that shifts or expands the role of their local health department in the community and translates into sustainable change. In addition to receiving leadership coaching and development, each team receives a grant of up to $125,000 to develop and implement this transformative concept. The Kresge Foundation will be accepting applications for ELPH from April 2-30, 2018. For more information about the selection criteria, application process, and stories of previous participants, please visit http://kresge.org/elph. Questions may be sent to the National Program Office at elph@kresge.org.