UNC Gillings logo

practice strategic plan 2022-2028

Progress Tracker

The Gillings School six-year practice strategic plan, approved in July 2022, provides a roadmap for action. Gillings elevates practice as equal with research and teaching to help make North Carolina the healthiest state in the nation and to advance health globally.

The practice vision, goals and strategies were developed by the Gillings Practice Task Force after interacting with over 175 people across faculty, staff, students, alumni, friends, and stakeholders. The interactive progress tracker provides periodic updates about the steps we have taken to make a meaningful difference in health equity and outcomes.

plan pdf
1

Improve the structure and align roles of practice.

GOAL:
Clearly identified and sufficiently resourced entity responsible for catalyzing faculty, student, and staff engagement at the intersection of research, academics and practice.
PROGRESS
Strategy 1A
Establish clear leadership for practice.
Updated 12/5/2023

Progress summary

This effort is in the startup and progressing as planned.

Project details

  • September 2022: John Wiesman, DrPH, MPH, was appointed as the new associate dean for practice.
  • ‍March 2023: Search for a director of the NC Institute of Public Health (NCIPH) has begun.
  • June 2023: Candidates for the director position at NCIPH participated in on campus interviews.
  • August 2023: Dr. Amy Lanou was announced as the new NCIPH director and will start the role November 15th.
Strategy 1B
Expand NCIPH’s role to be the key platform for organized practice efforts at Gillings.
Updated 12/5/2023

Progress summary

This effort is in the startup and progressing as planned.

Project details

  • April 2023: Conversations about restructuring of NCIPH are ongoing.
  • July 2023: NCIPH is hiring multiple positions that will continue and expand current projects.
  • October 2023: A new department has been created at the Gillings School to combine the Public Health Leadership Program (PHLP) and the NCIPH. This will elevate PHLP to a department status and allow NCIPH to connect with the school on a deeper level which will lead to more sustainable funding opportunities. The department will be named Public Health Leadership and Practice.
2

Prioritize and implement key recommended practice initiatives.

GOAL:
Implement innovative, defined practice initiatives to help Gillings actualize our vision for practice and make a measurable difference in improving health equity and health outcomes.
PROGRESS
Strategy 2A
Create/sustain public health partnership hub(s) with defined communities in N.C.
Updated 12/5/2023

Progress summary

This effort is in the startup and progressing as planned.

Project details

  • March 2023: Key stakeholder interviews have been completed. Based on advice from the internal Practice Coordinating Committee (PCC), the Practice Unit is working with the ten public health regions to form a rapid steering committee to co-design the community process of designing the hub model.
  • May 2023: Meetings with a community advisory committee have begun to provide advice on upcoming co-design workshops with potential hub locations.
  • July 2023: The Practice Unit presented potential hub locations to internal and external stakeholders and collected feedback to assist with the decision-making process.
  • August 2023: The Gillings School has reached out to four local health department directors in Cumberland, Durham, Halifax and Jackson counties to explore initial interest in forming a public health partnership hub relationship with Gillings. The Hub is a Gillings’ proposed initiative to provide high intensity support and resources for five to ten years with a limited number of well-defined communities with critical equity opportunities. Initial interest from the leadership teams at each health department is high.
  • September 2023: The Practice Unit met with the health department staff at the four pilot hub locations to further discuss the opportunity and invite them to co-design the initiative with Gillings.
  • October 2023: The Practice Unit conducted “site visits” to three out of the four (Cumberland, Durham and Jackson) pilot hub locations. We will move forward in November and early December with co-designing what a Hub would look like in their community and identify the high priority areas for health improvement.  
Strategy 2B
Develop/sustain coordinated resilience/response capacity to PH emergencies.
Updated 12/5/2023

Progress summary

This effort is in the startup.

Project details

  • September 2023: The UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health has been selected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop a five-year work plan for a Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (PHEPR) coordinating center, to be established in 2024 through a competitive CDC Notice of Funding Opportunity. The associate dean for practice will lead the planning efforts along with a group of Gillings School experts in the North Carolina Institute for Public Health (NCIPH) and the Collaborative Studies Coordinating Center (CSCC).
Strategy 2C
Advocate for academic health departments across N.C.
Updated 12/5/2023

Progress summary

This effort is in the startup and progressing as planned.

Project details

  • April 2023: A convocation of public health programs at colleges and universities across NC was hosted by the Gillings practice team. The NC Public Health Academic Practice Network will continue to meet regularly and work together to improve practice opportunities for students and faculty including implementation of more academic health departments.
  • June 2023: The NC Public Health Academic Practice Network met again with intention to formalize this group. The network will convene at the NCPHA Fall Educational Leadership conference in September.
  • August 2023: The Practice Unit is currently formalizing an academic health department agreement with the NC Division of Public Health.
  • September 2023: Dr. John Wiesman, along with other UNC Gillings Faculty, will present about academic health departments at the NCPHA conference.
Strategy 2D
Create a public health collaborative to address complex problems.
Updated 12/5/2023

Progress summary

This effort is in the startup and progressing as planned.

Project details

  • April 2023: Conversations with key groups regarding the structure of a public health collaborative have begun.
  • October 2023: A faculty member from the Health Policy and Management Department at the Gillings School has been identified to take the lead of behavioral health work where we pull together various pieces of work across Gillings. Working with the NC Department of Health and Human Services to identify the needs and create an ecosystem mapping of the behavioral health system.
3

Fund practice from a variety of sources.

GOAL:
Strategic plan for practice will be fully funded with a diversified mix of federal, state, local governmental investments, private support and grants and contracts.
PROGRESS
Strategy 3A
Coordinate a Resource Development Workgroup to develop a phased funding strategy to implement the strategic plan.
Updated 07/11/2023

Progress summary

This effort has not yet started.

Strategy 3B
Diversify funding.
Updated 07/11/2023

Progress summary

This effort has not yet started.

Strategy 3C
Assess feasibility of systematically tracking practice expenditures.
Updated 07/11/2023

Progress summary

This effort has not yet started.

4

Incentivize practice to enable more faculty, staff and students to engage.

GOAL:
Expanded and improved set of incentives will be fully operational in supporting faculty and staff engagement with public health practice partners.
PROGRESS
Strategy 4A
Expand and sustain all forms of incentives.
Updated 07/11/2023

Progress summary

This effort is in the startup and progressing as planned.

Project details

  • March 2023: Appointment, tenure, and promotion guidelines are being reviewed to encourage practice.
Strategy 4B
Reduce barriers.
Updated 07/11/2023

Progress summary

This effort is in the startup and progressing as planned.

Project details

  • April 2023: Conversations have begun with the internal Gillings Practice Coordinating Committee to identify barriers to practice-based research and engagement.
5

Measure contributions and communicate our story.

GOAL:
Develop infrastructure to systematically collect, analyze, review, report, communicate and use data on practice activities and impact on improving the public’s health.
PROGRESS
Strategy 5A
Clearly define measures to track practice activities and impact.
Updated 07/11/2023

Progress summary

This effort is in the startup and progressing as planned.

Project details

  • May 2023: Current measures are being reviewed by the practice unit and the Institutional Data Chief Office.
Strategy 5B
Develop a process for collecting, analyzing and reviewing measures and data on practice.
Updated 07/11/2023

Progress summary

This effort has not yet started.

Strategy 5C
Create a dynamic reporting platform and communication plan.
Updated 07/11/2023

Progress summary

This effort has not yet started.

WEB DESIGN BY
ADRIALDESIGNS