The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the need for data infrastructure modernization at health departments. In collaboration with the CDC, PHII is providing guidance and support to public health jurisdictions on developing data modernization plans, as well as improving informatics infrastructure and workforce capacity. Activities include facilitating a data modernization learning community, providing planning resources and coordinating a workshop for data modernization leads.
Data Modernization Learning Community
The Data Modernization Learning Community is a space for staff working in data modernization across state, tribal, local and territorial agencies to network, collaborate and learn from their peers. PHII offers community members a chance to connect through webinars, small group discussions and an online collaboration workspace. The workspace houses meeting materials, recordings and curated resources, and facilitates interactive conversations through the use of message boards and forums.
Data Governance for Public Health
This guide provides an interactive learning opportunity to address the challenges faced by data modernization teams in implementing data governance. While initially developed through the lens of data modernization, the principles and tools in this guide can be applied more broadly to data governance projects throughout public health.
Data Modernization Planning Toolkit
The toolkit supports Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases (ELC) in planning data modernization ventures at health departments. It is not an implementation plan, as each jurisdiction’s data modernization projects will differ. Instead, it is a guide to build leadership and partner buy-in for data modernization work and to assist health departments in developing plans that prioritize data modernization activities.
DMI Stories from the Field
Data Modernization Workshop
For the third year, PHII, in coordination with CDC, hosted a virtual workshop for DMI directors, their teams and designated public health partners in September 2023. This three-day virtual event built upon the workshops held in 2021 and 2022, and strove to enhance jurisdictions’ technical skills and ability to form connections that progress modernization ideas and aspirations among people and across systems.
Data for Action Initiative
As an extension of their Data Modernization Initiative, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) partnered with the Public Health Informatics Institute (PHII) to convene a group of public health partners across the public health landscape and start a discussion surrounding “Data for Action” and what it might entail.