History

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The genesis of the National Network of Public Health Institutes was a 1999 study conducted by the Michigan Public Health Institute entitled The Potential of Americas Public Health Institutes. The study reviewed the nine state public health institutes (PHIs) in existence and argued that their emergence amounted to a national movement for innovation and efficiency in the US public health system.

As such, the study recommended the development of a more formal network of public health institutes to foster collaboration, facilitate mutual support and to articulate and advocate for the public health institute concept.

At the October 2000 Robert Wood Johnson/Kellogg Turning Point meeting, representatives from several PHIs, foundations, and federal agencies discussed the benefits of forming a National Network of state-based Public Health Institutes.

In December 2000, the National Turning Point Program Office, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, awarded the Louisiana Public Health Institute a planning grant to host a series of meetings to advance this discussion.

On April 18th and 19th of 2001, representatives from 11 state-based Public Health Institutes, the CDC and the National Turning Point Program Office convened in New Orleans. The outcome of the convening assembly in New Orleans was the formal establishment of the National Network of Public Health Institutes.

In June 2001, the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI) was incorporated as an independent, 501©3 non-profit. Subsequently, NNPHI has entered into a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to foster the development of Public Health Institutes and strengthen the public health infrastructure in the United States. Additional support for NNPHI comes from contributions from its member organizations.

In the spring of 2003, NNPHI received a three-year grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for the Fostering Emerging Institutes Project (FEIP), designed to help emerging public health institutes operate with heightened efficiency and direction. Through this program emerging institutes receive technical assistance and mentoring from more established PHIs.

In 2004, NNPHI received funding in its Cooperative Agreement from CDC to collaborate with six national partner organizations to promote the National Public Health Performance Standards Program.

In 2005, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation awarded NNPHI two one-year grants to conduct collaborative projects on Bioterrorism and Accreditation. The Bioterrorism Collaborative was an internal collaborative through which three institutes conducted research on bioterrorism assessment data that their organizations had collected in their states. The Accreditation Collaborative convened five states conducting systematic performance or capacity assessment and accreditation programs. The states exchanged lessons learned and informed the development of a model for a national voluntary accreditation program.

In 2006, NNPHI expanded its work with CDC to conduct a formal exploration of the roles that public health institutes play in the public health system.

In early 2007, the NNPHI Board and staff will embark on a strategic planning initiative that will chart the course for future directions of the organization.