More than ten years ago, the Public Health Foundation (PHF) was part of the Turning Point Performance Management National Excellence Collaborative (PMC), which developed a package of resource materials to help public health systems manage performance.

Acknowledging advancements in the public health field, changing priorities, and the breadth of examples that have been developed in recent years, PHF went through a two year process to refresh the Turning Point Performance Management Framework, the Performance Management Self-Assessment Tool, and From Silos to Systems: Using Performance Management to Improve the Public’s Health. The refresh addressed current challenges and innovative pratices, improved usability, and linked to materials relevant to public health accreditation. This activity was funded through the Affordable Care Act Capacity Building Assistance to Improve Public Health Infrastructure Investments through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Recently Gathered Input

To inform the refresh, PHF identified examples of current performance management frameworks used in public health settings by conducting a background literature review and interviewing a subset of PHF’s Performance Management and QI Experts. PHF also sought input from Performance Improvement Managers (PIMs) in the CDC National Public Health Improvement Initiative (NPHII) through phone interviews and collected their electronic responses to a series of questions posted on the PIM Network phConnect community. In March 2012, PHF convened a Performance Management Think Tank Meeting to discuss updates to this framework and related publications. Participants included representatives from the original Turning Point PMC, the PIM Network, QI experts, public health accreditation leaders, and other public health visionaries. As a result of the input collected, PHF has developed and distributed a summary document to gather additional feedback:

Turning Point Performance Management Framework Refresh - Initial Recommendations (2012)

Refreshed Materials 

• Performance Management Toolkit includes resources and tools, including case stories, white papers, to help people understand performance management and how to develop successful performance management systems.
• Talking Points - Achieving Healthy Communities through Performance Management Systems – A performance management communications document that can be used for leadership, employee, and community buy-in
• One-page overviews of performance management applications in public health
• The updated 2013 Performance Management Self-Assessment can help your team determine if it has the structure in place to achieve results and continually improve performance

While many updates have already been completed, PHF will continue to update its offerings of performance management resources to ensure that the most current materials are available to consituents.

Other Performance Management Resources

• A Short History of Performance Management in Public Health 1988-2010 report
• Introductory slide presentation about the fundamental practices of the Framework and how they contribute to performance management
• Performance Management: Improving Systems Systematically archived webinar
• PHF's Turning Point: Performance Management Project and Publications resource page
• MLC Topical Brief on Improving the Public's Health Systematically: Public Health and Performance Management Systems - Examples from Florida, Oklahoma, and South Carolina
• CDC's Performance Management and Quality Improvement resource page
• NACCHO's Performance Improvement Technical Assistance webinar explaining the basics of a performance management system from the perspective of the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department. Watch the free archived recording, read the notes, and download the slide presentation.
• The Quest for Exceptional Performance tool was developed to illustrate the connections between the Public Health Accreditation Board's (PHAB) accreditation program and the Malcolm Baldrige Award for Excellence program. Use of the Baldrige criteria as an organizational self-assessment tool can facilitate a health department’s pursuit of PHAB accreditation by serving as the foundation of the required performance management system and by informing aspects of strategic planning, customer satisfaction, quality improvement and workforce development.