Mission

• Teamwork and Collaboration
• Focus on the Future
• People and Partners
• Creativity and Innovation
• Results and Creating Value
• Public Responsibility and Citizenship

• Foster collaborations between academia and practice within the field of public health and between public health and healthcare professionals and organizations.
• Enhance public health practice-oriented education and training.
• Support the development of a highly skilled and motivated public health workforce with the competence and tools to succeed.
• Promote and strengthen collaborative research to build the evidence base for public health practice and its continuous improvement.

Objective A. Foster collaborations between academia and practice within the field of public health and between public health and healthcare professionals and organizations.

• Strategy 1: Promote development of collaborations between academic institutions and practice organizations.
• Tactics:
  a. Increase membership and activities of the Academic Health Department Learning Community.
  b. Document and highlight collaboration and its impact through a Linkages Awards program.
• Strategy 2: Promote development of collaborations between public health and healthcare professionals and organizations.
• Tactics:
  a. Identify cross-cutting competencies for public health and primary care.
  b. Expand the Academic Health Department Learning Community to include primary care professionals and organizations.
  c. Document and highlight collaboration and its impact through a Linkages Awards program.
• Strategy 3: Document exemplary practices in collaboration.
• Tactics:
  a. Serve as a clearinghouse for evidence regarding successful linkages.
  b. Conduct a periodic review of practice-based content in public health education.

• Strategy 1: Develop and support the use of consensus-based competencies relevant to public health practice.
• Tactics:
  a. Review the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals every three years for possible revision.
  b. Develop and disseminate tools to assist public health professionals to implement and integrate the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals into practice.
  c. Explore with the Pan American Health Organization, the World Health Organization, and the World Bank ways to make the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals and supporting resources available to the international community.
  d. Serve as a data source for Healthy People 2020.
• Strategy 2: Encourage ongoing training of public health professionals and capture lessons learned and impact.
• Tactics:
  a. Explore methods for enhancing and measuring the impact of training.
• Strategy 3: Assess the value of public health practitioner certification for ensuring a competent public health workforce.
• Strategy 4: Explore uses of technology for facilitating education and training and enhancing collaboration among providers of education and training.
• Tactics:
  a. Develop an online competency-based training module/plan using existing courses.

• Strategy 1: Develop a comprehensive plan for ensuring an effective public health workforce.
• Tactics:
  a. Develop evidence-supported recruitment and retention strategies for the public health workforce.
  b. Use existing data to better understand the composition and competencies of the public health workforce.
  c. Use survey methods to gather additional data about public health workers.
  d. Join the Public Health Accreditation Board’s Public Health Workforce Think Tank to encourage the integration of competencies into accreditation processes.
  e. Participate in, facilitate, and/or convene efforts to develop a national strategic and operational plan for public health workforce development and monitor progress.
• Strategy 2: Define training and life-long learning needs of the public health workforce, identify gaps in training, and explore mechanisms to address these gaps.
• Strategy 3: Provide access to and assistance with using tools to enhance competence.
• Tactics:
  a. Assist public health professionals with using tools to implement and integrate the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals into practice.
• Strategy 4: Facilitate learning around effective public health practices.
• Tactics:
  a. Serve as an advisory body for the Guide to Community Preventive Services Public Health Works initiative.

• Strategy 1: Support efforts to refine the Public Health Systems and Services Research agenda.
• Tactics:
  a. Identify gaps in the development of research that is relevant to practice.
  b. Vet the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation workforce research agenda.
  c. Conduct an annual scan to determine progress on implementation of the workforce research agenda.
• Strategy 2: Support the translation of research into public health practice.
• Tactics:
  a. Identify means to solicit and disseminate evidence-based practices.
• Strategy 3: Encourage the engagement of practice partners in public health research.
• Strategy 4: Explore approaches to enhance capacity for public health research.

• Communication: Use communication tools effectively to increase access for diverse audiences to Council initiatives and products.
• Funding: Secure funding to support Council activities.
• Governance: Review governance structure of the Council.
• Membership: Explore desirability of and opportunities for Council membership expansion and diversification.
• Staffing: Maintain Council staffing and convening role of the Public Health Foundation.
• Technology: Explore uses of technology to facilitate Council activities.

Adopted June 9, 2011

Revised April 28, 2014

Download a PDF version of the Council on Linkages' Strategic Directions, 2011-2015.