Strategic Plan

Pastoral Scene with Horses by Mikki Johnson-Maczka, clinical instructor at the East Tennessee State University College of Public Health, is a photograph taken at her parents' home in Roan Mountain, Tennessee located in the Appalachian Mountains along the North Carolina border.

Vision Statement

TNIPH will be a lead statewide convener of organizations, agencies and groups to build and foster the collaborations necessary to improve the publics health. 

TNIPH Mission

The mission of the TNIPH, as a free-standing independent entity, is to foster measurable improvements in the health and wellness of all Tennesseans through conducting and promoting statewide multi-sector initiatives, including data driven planning, health education and public awareness, and research and advocacy for effective health-related policy.

Goal 1: As a neutral convener, the Institute will facilitate new and strengthen existing relationships among stakeholders interested in the health of Tennesseans. It will do so in order to create a model for effective collaborative response to health issues in Tennessee.  

Strategies:

• Convene expert topic meetings in which players from disparate agencies (such as education, health and employment) assemble to discuss comprehensive responses to specific state-wide health issues.
  
    
• Serve as a conduit of health information among universities, government departments, independent researchers, non profits and private sector business.  

Goal 2: The Institute will be a self-supporting sustainable organization. 

Strategies: 

• Define the internal structures, processes and relationships which need to be put in place in order for the success of the long term plan of sustainability.
• Explore opportunities for independent funding support as well as alternative funding initiatives, which might include being a membership organization.
• Actively engage in creative solutions to increase possibility of attaining long term funding support
• Clearly define Board and staff roles, including decision making processes. 

Goal 3: The Institute will provide leadership in strategic thinking and analysis of issues impacting the health and wellness of Tennesseans; it will provide guidance for statewide approaches for improvement. 

Strategies: 

• Conduct an initial opportunity/threat analysis with multiple stakeholders; use multiple assessment methods to explore, describe, document and describe issues
• Conduct public meeting(s) for testimony to identify issues, generate goals for change and discuss acceptable interventions and policy initiatives.  
• Provide annual legislative updates of health of the public and meet with governmental stakeholders (Governor, legislature, state departments, county government representatives, etc.) to discuss successes and barriers
• Prepare recommendations for action that span appropriate range of strategies (financing, legislation, services, education and workforce)
• Establish and monitor improvement measurements for 3-5 years with annual media reports. 
• Identify several major statewide health issues which might be amenable to improvement, policy assessment, and focus attention on one issue on an annual basis
• Issue policy briefs

Goal 4: The Institute will highlight improvements in health outcomes and exemplary programs in order to share information about successful models. 

Strategies: 

• Through local community health groups, the Institute will actively engage in communication with localities.
   
• Through media and press releases, the Institute will highlight effective programs and promote statewide knowledge of successful local initiatives. 
• The Institute will present Health of the Public Award(s) to programs, persons or organizations which have conducted successful initiatives to improve the health of the public in Tennessee. 
• Continue to promote quality improvement by disseminating health data about counties and the state and maintain a research inventory