The Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals (Core Competencies), a set of knowledge and skills desirable for the broad practice of public health, can be used by public health organizations as they create workforce development plans to address training needs and build workforce competence – a key requirement for health departments seeking accreditation through the Public Health Accreditation Board. The 3-Step Competency Prioritization Sequence is a set of quality improvement (QI) tools – a radar chart, a prioritization matrix, and a matrix diagram – designed to help organizations focus their competency development efforts on Core Competencies domains important for meeting their organizational needs.

 

Used in sequence, these three QI tools can assist public health organizations in identifying where to invest limited time and professional development resources for the largest potential benefit. The radar chart can be used to determine an organization’s current level of competence in each domain of the Core Competencies, while the prioritization matrix helps identify the Core Competencies domains that are most important to achieving an organization’s strategic goals. Results from the radar chart and prioritization matrix can be combined using the matrix diagram, allowing organizations to visualize areas of high priority in which competence is comparatively low.

 

The 3-Step Competency Prioritization Sequence provides step-by-step instructions for using the three tools, illustrated by an example. Also included are blank templates for each of the tools. Public health professionals can use these templates as they begin workforce development planning within their organizations. Stories of how organizations are using these tools, as well as feedback on their usability, are welcome. Stories, comments, and questions may be sent to Kathleen Amos at kamos@phf.org.