A team charter provides the initial direction a team needs to be successful in tackling the task it has been assigned. Too often a team spends valuable resources figuring out what it is supposed to do. A well-developed team charter can save time and reduce confusion by defining clear goals, expressed duties, and desired outcomes. This article by John W. Moran and Grace L. Duffy was originally published as a chapter in the Public Health Foundation (PHF) 2011 online book Applications and Tools for Creating and Sustaining Healthy Teams. It explains the guidelines for producing an effective team charter and provides a Team Charter Template for teams to use.

Download the Team Charter now.

Related Resources

• The Teams Toolbox
• PHF Pulse Blog by Senior Quality Advisor John W. Moran, Top 10 Problems Encountered By Quality Improvement Teams
• Public Health Quality Improvement Encyclopedia and new tools to supplement it
• More team resources in the Public Health Improvement Resource Center
• Customized technical assistance to assist your organization develop high-performing teams