Meetings, meetings, meetings: Can they be better? yes

The session will outline several cost-effective methods of meeting design and facilitation to support a well-run meeting and work product which can be used by public health staff. There will be four sections: meeting design, meeting facilitation, follow-up post meeting tools and resources for public health staff. Utilizing effective meeting design, the most important aspect of a productive meeting happens before anyone gets to the meeting space. Several critical questions are essential for designing a meeting which meets the needs of the manager or meeting organizer. The second section will cover options for the structure of the agenda and activities. The options which will be presented are: consensus workshop. action planning, historical scan and world café. The appropriate application, factors for selection and benefits of each will be discussed. All of these options have been used with public health staff and their community partners. Examples and experiences will augment the descriptions. The merits of the resulting work product from each of the meeting frameworks will be outlined. These methods have been effective and tested in numerous meetings in our public health environment. There is evidence to support the author's belief that meetings in public health departments can and should be better and there are several ways to accomplish this. A list of resources and bibliography will be provided to all session attendees.