Implementation
Who will implement the PH WDP?
Overarching implementation of the PH WDP is the responsibility of the Ministry of Health. However, the workforce development priorities are relevant to many levels of the public health, education and wider sectors.
The Public Health Workforce Development Implementation Plan, which will be released in 2007/2008, will provide rationale for the PH WDP objectives, links to other sector strategies and initiatives, and three- to five-year outputs for the actions. It will also indicate responsibilities and the key players, who will need to be involved in the various aspects of the work to ensure successful public health workforce development.
The Ministry of Health will align its purchasing policy with the overarching goals and actions of the PH WDP and will redirect workforce development funding accordingly. In particular, public health service providers will be required to develop workforce development plans for their workforce that set and achieve development goals, such as an increase in the proportion of the workforce who have appropriate public health training and qualifications.
How will we know if the PH WDP is working?
As part of the implementation plan, mechanisms will be developed to:
- over time monitor change to assess whether public health workforce issues are successfully being addressed
- provide early warning signs of the need to review, extend or develop new workforce
- development activities
- guide the investment in and prioritisation of the workforce development activites.
Click here to see a table that outlines the kind of evaluation mechanisms that may be used to assess the success and support the implementation, of the PH WDP. A mix of different evaluation methods may be employed. Further work to determine suitable methods will be carried out in conjunction with the development of the PH WDP Implementation Plan.