Strategic Planning in the Pacific Islands: Working Together to Ensure a Brighter Future

Undertaking a strategic planning process can help state and territorial health agencies (S/THA) identify, prioritize, and address public health challenges and needs. Creating a performance management system linked to strategic priorities provides metrics through which agencies can track progress and measure performance. S/THAs seeking accreditation must develop and adopt a strategic plan as part of the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) pre-requisites. As part of its services to members, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) promotes and supports strategic planning in S/THAs by providing technical assistance, tools, and resources.  This includes a planning guide outlining a seven step strategic planning process with examples from the field.  Emphasis is placed on rapid cycle strategic planning and performance management through a process that is hands-on, interactive and engaging. 

ASTHO, with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), facilitated two four-day on-site strategic planning workshops with two Pacific Island jurisdictions - Guam Department of Public Health and Social Services (DPHSS) and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Division of Public Health Services (DPHS). Pre-work began in preceding months.  Emphasis was placed on building buy-in and identifying and analyzing resources for the environmental scan.  The Guam on-site workshop included all five divisions within the larger umbrella agency.  In CNMI, strategic planning focused specifically on public health. 

For both, a participatory approach was used to ensure identified challenges, opportunities, and strategic priorities were representative of the entire agency. Participants presented information from each of their unique perspectives, educated each other, discussed common themes and challenges, identified facilitating factors, and engaged in both small and large group work to reach consensus on priorities.  Through this process, areas that emerged included addressing gaps in workforce, improving information management systems, and streamlining recruitment and procurement organizational processes.