CEPH Strategic Planning Framework

Vision

CEPH envisions a world where everyone has fair and just opportunities for health.

Mission

To improve the health of the public and advance health equity by engaging UNE faculty, professional staff, students, and community partners to generate new knowledge, contribute to best practice, grow local capacity, and create opportunities for learning.

Priority Populations include rural and underserved Maine and Northern New England populations 

Goals, Objectives, Strategies

Goal A: Build and Maintain a Strong and Sustainable Organization

Objective A1

Develop and maintain ongoing strategic planning, oversight, and assessment function within CEPH

Potential Measures
  • Finalized strategic plan
  • Adoption of ongoing assessment/update schedule
  • Draft plan disseminated
  • Advisors convened
  • Number of strengths and interests
  • Reduced number of weaknesses and gaps
  • Increased number of requests for partnership with CEPH over time
Strategies
  1. Inventory CEPH strengths and interest area 1, by staff person; inventory weaknesses and gaps, overall
  2. Build a system to conduct, compile, and maintain an ongoing CEPH inventory process and database
  3. Identify priority areas of focus 1 for implementation strategies and activities
  4. Disseminate final plan internally and among key stakeholders
  5. Establish an external advisory committee that meets regularly to inform work
  6. Raise profile of CEPH among policymakers, stakeholders, and communities

Objective A2

Promote a healthy work environment

Potential Measures

• Number/kind of health policies
• Number/kind of staff development opportunities
• Number/kind of career opportunities
• Change in staff satisfaction
• Change in staff participation in decision-making
• Money available for professional development
• Number of professional development opportunities taken
• Number of (zero) vacation days remaining at year end
• Number of participants in social events

Strategies
  1. Conduct regular staff surveys and make regular recommendations for a healthy work environment
  2. Adopt a wellness policy that supports healthy food and exercise, and time for writing/thinking with no/fewer interruptions
  3. Adopt a green policy (e.g. plastics)
  4. Adopt best practice and group agreements for meetings and communications
  5. Advocate for ADA compliance
  6. Provide staff opportunities for professional development
  7. Promote work/life balance for professional staff
  8. Advocate for healthy workplace infrastructure

Objective 3a

Create a program funding mix that brings in adequate indirect funding to maintain and grow Center capacity

Potential Measures
  • Number of capacity-building grants written/funded
  • Monetary value of grants
  • Percent/ratio of success
  • Number of FTEs in finance/administration
  • Number of FTEs that are permanent (hard dollar)
  • Percent of budget in Rainy Day Fund
  • IDC funding mix
Strategies
  1. Establish a target IDC percentage in budget
  2. Establish a budget stabilization fund
  3. Explore the endowment process (for individuals and organizations/businesses)

Objective 4a

Identify and resolve barriers to collaboration and resource-sharing among faculty and professional staff

Potential Measures
  • Number/kind of collaborations
  • Number of recommendations adopted
  • Change in the evaluation of CEPH by others at UNE
Strategies
  1. Convene a work group to identify barriers and make recommendations
  2. Conduct 360 review of CEPH

Goal B: Generate new knowledge that distinguishes CEPH as a research leader

Objective B1

Lead the development of research grants in priority areas of interest

Potential Measures
  • Number of research grants written/funded
  • Monetary value of grants
  • Percent/ratio of success
  • Percent IDC funding mix
Strategies
  1. Identify grant-writing team(s) based on priority areas of focus
  2. Hold regular development meetings — with representatives from each program area
  3. Inventory opportunities for funded research collaborations in priority content areas and emerging areas of interest1
  4. Recruit doctoral-level professional staff
  5. Build CEPH capacity for grant submission partnering with UNE OSP to streamline process

Objective B2

Develop new research collaborations with community partners and faculty members

Potential Measures
  • Number of partners
  • Number of collaborations
  • Number/kind of collaborations in key/multi sectors
  • Number/kind of faculty
  • IDC policy revision to promote research collaborations
Strategies
  1. Map current internal funded projects with dates and times for resubmission and future funding needs
  2. Map collaborations (internal and external) and partner skills, strengths, and weaknesses and relevance to health equity
  3. Establish criteria for partner engagement and prioritization
  4. Create opportunities for non-CEPH staff to contribute

Objective B3

Disseminate research-actively seeking linkages between research and practice communities

Potential Measures
  • Number of peer-reviewed publications
  • Number of conference abstracts
  • Number of conference presentations
  • Number of dissemination products aimed at practice linkages
  • Number of research-related communications from UNE Office of Communications
Strategies
  1. Identify the most productive dissemination mechanisms and targets previously or currently utilized
  2. Inventory dissemination opportunities in peer-reviewed journals, oral and poster presentations at conferences, and through media
  3. Develop dissemination products

Goal C: Contribute to the development of public health best practice

Objective C1

Lead the development, implementation, and evaluation of public health programming and provide technical assistance to build local capacity that contributes meaningfully to best practice in priority areas of interest

Potential Measures
  • Number of program grants written/funded
  • Monetary value of grants
  • Number of leadership roles
  • Number of new approaches/evidence-based guidelines
  • Number of students involved
  • Change in the institutionalization of program implementation
  • Percent of programs with clear process and outcome performance measures
Strategies
  1. Convene regular team discussions and sharing of best practice
  2. Build new collaborations to fund pilots
  3. Convene CEPH advisory committee bi-yearly to discuss opportunities
  4. Obtain funding for pilots
  5. Partner with UNE and others to evaluate current initiatives

Objective C2

Engage local, regional, and national partners to implement and evaluate public health programming

Potential Measures
  • Number of collaborations
  • Number of evaluation partnerships
  • Number of national workgroups
  • Change in value-added to community
  • ADD/MIX: measures for programs and measures for Center
Strategies
  1. Join local and national networks to contribute to local, regional, and national agenda-setting
  2. Partner with UNE’s Center to Advance Interprofessional Education and Practice (CAIEP) to implement and evaluate innovative interprofessional training for health professions students
  3. Work with key UNE partners to develop opportunities
  4. Partner with national organizations that advocate for and create best practice and policy guidelines
  5. Consider becoming a public health institute to join the national network of public health institutes

Objective C3

Disseminate best practice and lessons learned to impact local, regional, and national public health practice

Potential Measures
  • Number of papers/presentations/other dissemination activities
  • Number of ECHOs
  • Number of community communications from UNE Office of Communications
Strategies
  1. Provide TA to other UNE colleges, universities, and organizations
  2. Bring accomplishments to CEPH advisory group and stakeholders
  3. Identify and target dissemination to program-specific networks
  4. Promote the work of CEPH through UNE community/external communications platforms

Goal D: Create opportunities for faculty, professional staff, and student learning

Objective D1

Lead the development of problem-based public health curricula that utilize CEPH programs for learning applications

Potential Measures
  • Number/kind of curricula developed
  • Number/kind of programs
  • Number/kind of courses
Strategies
  1. Meet with all UNE programs to develop inventory of student teaching/learning opportunities
  2. Conduct regular student surveys (for CECE, others)
  3. Create public health learning-lab for UNE students (Macy, other grants)

Objective D2

Partner with academic, state, and/or local public health programs to provide research and practice opportunities for students

Potential Measures
  • Number/kind of partnerships
  • Number/kind of department collaborations
  • Number/kind of research/practice opportunities
  • Number of program collaborations that bring additional resources
  • Money from program collaborations
  • Number of students
  • Number of thesis work/dissertations
  • Change in student satisfaction
Strategies
  1. Meet with all UNE programs to develop inventory of opportunities
  2. Survey community organizations for student opportunities/organizational needs collaborating with other UNE programs (CGPS, UGPH, Service Learning)
  3. Develop and fund an internal position to coordinate research and practice opportunities
  4. Recruit and engage students to work within CEPH

Objective D3

Provide faculty and professional staff opportunities for learning and to be mentored in health research and practice

Potential Measures
  • Number/kind of professional staff
  • Change in beliefs and attitudes — in general and in priority topics
  • Change in behavior
  • Number of badges
  • Number of gaps identified
Strategies
  1. Survey CEPH staff and engage CETL to help fill identified needs/gaps
  2. Identify UNE faculty mentors and match them to CEPH staff needs
  3. Identify potential funding sources/mechanisms for educational advancement of staff
  4. Explore terminal degree programs and explore sources of support (e.g. study days policy)

Objective D4

Increase the visibility and understanding of CEPH among students and faculty

Potential Measures
  • Number of campus presentations
  • Change in awareness
  • Number of collaborations proposed by other academic programs
  • Number of campus communications from UNE Office of Communications
Strategies
  1. Host reception on campus to showcase CEPH work
  2. Host series of “lunch and learn” events to share experiences, mentoring
  3. Promote work of CEPH through UNE Office of Communications’ platforms