ABSTRACT
Public Health departments have been encouraged by accreditation standards, funding initiatives and funding accountability efforts to develop several agency plans that represent their capacity to meet the essential public health services through workforce structure, program performance and outcomes, plans for improvement, and their priority areas of focus for the near future. This introductory chapter provides the rationale and foundations for PM System development and implementation. Actionable first steps were outlined for assessing the current situation, conducting a formal self-assessment, and beginning plans for agency staff training to support the work. As Dr. Les Beitsch noted in the forward, performance management “is for leaders who genuinely are attracted to leadership roles, who seek to maximize the health impact of the scarce resources the public has entrusted with our agencies.” The resources provided throughout this book aim to strengthen capacity to lead this work.
