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Improving Performance. For the public health system to fulfill its important role in ensuring the safety and health of the public, we must drive fundamental improvements in the quality, performance and impact of public health agencies. We are advancing efforts to help public health agencies improve the services they provide and increase accountability to the communities they serve. We support efforts to establish a national accreditation system for state and local public health agencies. Accreditation will establish agency standards and benchmarks that promote excellence, continuous quality improvement and accountability for the public’s health.

Quality improvement efforts are not limited to public health agencies. We seek to improve the performance within and across the public health system. To that end, we foster collaboration among federal, state and local public health agencies and others integral to the public health system, such as businesses, health care providers, educational institutions, and faith- and community-based organizations. Recognizing the importance of strong leaders to strengthen the system, we are supporting a nationwide leadership program designed to improve cooperation among federal, state and local leaders from the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors to work collaboratively to increase preparedness for the challenges of both manmade and natural disasters.

Building the Evidence. Our efforts to drive change in public health practice and policy include our  investments in Public Health Systems and Services Research (PHSSR). PHSSR, a developing field of research that focuses on the organization, staffing, financing and management of public health systems, will help build the evidence for effective public health policies and practice. We (1) support research to evaluate the value and impact of accreditation and other quality improvement efforts; (2) seek to engage and expand the field of public health researchers and funding partners; (3) support integrated surveys on state, county and local public health activities; (4) expand the public repository of datasets and enhance their utility; and (5) assess how community policies can improve people’s health. And our work to build the evidence extends beyond just understanding public health agencies, as the Public Health team is supporting research to understand the influence of various public health laws and policies on health outcomes.

Increasing the use of Public Health Policies that Improve Health. Achieving our vision requires both strengthening of the practice of public health and the implementation of policies and laws that result in better health for all Americans. We are working with a broad range of public health, health care, business, and community groups to increase support among public policy-makers and other key influencers for improving the structure and funding of public health at the federal level. We support and work in partnership with health advocacy groups to produce research reports, policy briefs and state report cards on important public health issues, such as preparedness and tobacco use and exposure. These materials inform opinion leaders, policy-makers, the media and the public, and enhance the understanding of priority public health needs, responsibilities and recommended actions.

At the state and community level, we support advocacy for proven tobacco control measures, such as smoke-free air laws, funding of prevention and cessation programs and increases in tobacco taxes, with an emphasis on tax revenue dedicated to health and health care priorities. We will continue to use our experience in tobacco control to foster advocacy among public health agencies and health advocates in support of other public policies that improve people’s health. The Public Health team is also working with local public health leaders and community advocates to advance knowledge of how tools such as health impact assessments, community health scorecards and public health laws might improve community health outcomes.

Communications. An integrated and comprehensive communications strategy, internally managed by the Foundation and implemented by various grantees and communications firms under contract, ensures quality, consistent, timely products and messages that help increase impact. A variety of strategies, tools and activities are deployed including media advocacy, public education advertising and direct mail, polling and message research, message development, news and information services, and communications and advocacy training.

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What We Don't Fund

• We do not accept unsolicited proposals for work related to public health. 
• We follow Foundation-wide guidelines for what we don't fund.

• Learn about Our Approach

For more information on the issues RWJF seeks to address, download our complete overview.