Local and state public health agencies are increasingly being asked to design and participate in health emergency exercises.  Numerous guidelines and trainings exist to aid public health planners in the selection, design, and conduct of appropriate exercises.  While the importance of evaluation is acknowledged, less guidance has been provided to this process in the public health sector.  To better aid public health planners, the UCLA Center for Public Health and Disasters (CPHD) has developed a system for evaluating public health emergency exercises, based on federal standards and experiential evidence.  This system can be readily adapted to any exercise type and incorporates both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis.  Most importantly, the system creates a framework upon which critical exercise actions can be mapped to the Core Emergency Preparedness Competencies for All Public Health Workers.  The system comprises the following components:  

The above process remains true to the Department of Homeland Security's framework and thus requires minimal to no investment in the re-training of personnel.  Using CPHD's system, public health planners can more efficiently collect, analyze, and utilize exercise data for: a) improving the design and conduct of future exercises; b) identifying employee and agency training needs; c) revising current policies and procedures; and d) assessing employee and agency preparedness capacity.  This presentation will examine each of the evaluation components in detail, discuss linking exercise activities and evaluation outcomes to the Core Emergency Preparedness Competencies for All Public Health Workers, and present examples from actual exercise evaluations.