Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice Back to Meetings    January 24, 2006 Meeting Summary The Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice (Council) discussed ongoing and future activities related to competencies, worker recruitment and retention, and public health systems research (PHSR) during its January 24, 2006 meeting. Competencies The Council will be convening a competencies working group comprised of Council Representatives and other experts. The group's first task will be to develop a brief guide explaining the similarities and distinctions between the Council's Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals and the Association of Schools of Public Health's (ASPH) MPH competencies. PHSR Following a productive closed-door meeting of PHSR funders that the Council convened in September 2005, the Council is interested in pursuing several related activities. The Council has already compiled existing research questions and presented them as brief research agendas related to organization and structure; finance; workforce; and technology, data, and methods. These lists could serve as a starting point for an effort through which the Council, if it received adequate funding, would seek input from a broad array of researchers, public health practitioners, and other users of PHSR on which research questions are of highest priority. This could be a valuable tool to help focus researchers and funders on exploring infrastructure issues that are of the greatest value to the practice community. In addition, it is conceivable that this could serve as a framework for tracking what research is being conducted in the field and what remains to be done. A second activity for which the Council is interested in seeking funding is the creation of a toolkit to help researchers seek funding for PHSR. In December 2005, as part of the Fifth Annual National PHSR Leadership Forum, the Council convened a panel of funders to give advice on how researchers might approach their organizations. This proposed project would build upon that effort and compile additional tools such as examples, checklists, and interviews with funders. As the Council pursues these potential activities, it will continue to work with its members to strive to raise awareness of and understanding about the need for PHSR among funders. Recruitment and Retention The Council has been working to help build the evidence base for effective strategies to improve public health worker recruitment and retention, by drawing on lessons learned from the public health and other fields. Related to this effort, the Council convened a national forum in January 2005; drafted a list or research questions related to recruitment and retention; recognized exemplary academic/practice linkages through its annual Linkages Awards; developed a list of strategies and related examples and research, to improve worker recruitment and retention; and disseminated these resources through several presentations. Council members have expressed a strong interest in seeing the Council continue to pursue efforts in this field. The Council has been sensitive to past concerns that it not duplicate the efforts of other organizations, and has therefore focused its efforts on building, translating, and disseminating the evidence base. The Council is seeking affirmation from its 17 member organizations about whether it should expand beyond this niche to take on a greater leadership role related to worker recruitment and retention, and to determine which activities to pursue in this area. One activity that the Council is considering is the development of a web-based toolkit to help public health agencies, organizations, and academic institutions recruit and retain workers, students, and faculty members. Other activities that have been discussed at past Council meetings include: convening a national meeting on workforce issues, recommending ways to quickly gear up new public health workers for positions in the practice community, and developing specific resources to help raise awareness about the public health field. Council on Linkages Home Page This page last updated: 01-26-06