Academic-practice summit: Facilitating partnerships for better public health in Michigan

The Office of Public Health Practice at the University of Michigan School of Public Health (SPH) created the academic-practice summit as a forum for bringing together governmental public health and academia to forge new partnerships and a shared sense of the state and future of public health practice in Michigan. Invitees to the SPH summit primarily included health officers and medical directors in each of Michigan's forty-five local health departments and designated officials from the Michigan Department of Community Health. SPH faculty invitees were identified by each of the five department chairs, based on their involvement and interest in public health practice.

The summit was held in conjunction with the September 2006 board meeting of the Michigan Association for Local Public Health. Summit sessions focused on developing a strategy for building advocacy for public health, demonstrating collaborative practice-based research projects in Michigan, and highlighting the work of SPH and the Office of Public Health Practice, including training programs for both the current and future public health workforces.

The summit provided a unique forum for academics and practitioners to gather to discuss new ideas and potential collaborative projects. Discussions at the summit included suggestions on how to focus the activities of the Office of Public Health Practice and how to develop stronger linkages between SPH and the public health practice community. Participants felt strongly that this event should occur on an annual basis as new opportunities for collaboration arise and pertinent public health issues evolve.