Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant Funds Empower Recipients to Take Risks and Test Innovative Approaches A Click-Through Story
—PHHS Block Grant Coordinator, 2022
Due to its inherent flexibility, Colorado’s Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE) identified the PHHS Block Grant as a viable funding source for programmatic innovations that otherwise do not have traditional funding sources or may be considered less certain investments.
CDPHE developed a structured innovation mini-grant program and launched the pilot program in 2018.
Through a “Shark Tank”-style competitive process, CDPHE staff are invited to submit innovative program proposals for review, and staff pitch their programs and compete to receive funding that would otherwise not be available.
Each competing entry must align with a Healthy People objective, and the health department uses the Public Health National Center for Innovation (PHNCI) definition of innovation when selecting programs to fund.
The panel later decides which innovative projects to fund based on specific criteria including:
level of innovation
impact to the department
inclusiveness and equity
project feasibility
overall strength of proposal
PHNCI Definition of Public Health Innovation: the development of a new process, policy, product or program that increase quality, impact and efficiency.1
This use of funds allows adapting untested practices so that evidence can be collected regarding their effectiveness, increasing likelihood of finding future funding to expand or replicate a successful innovative program.
Colorado’s innovation mini-grant program has funded 27 innovation projects since its inception and is held in high regard by public health leaders and staff alike.
CDPHE Staff Feedback on the Program:
“This is the first time we’ve ever seen innovation funded and highlighted as much at the department. It’s a real shot in the arm and has energized my team.”
—Personnel Responsible for PHHS Block Grant-Funded Program, 2022
“It makes me proud to work for an organization that is willing to challenge their employees to think creatively about how to apply our resources and then actually reward them with the ability to execute those innovative dreams.”
—Personnel Responsible for PHHS Block Grant-Funded Program, 2022
—PHHS Block Grant Coordinator, 2022
Get Healthy Idaho is an initiative born out of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare’s statewide health improvement plan, focused on “investing in place-based community-led collaboratives with the goal of advancing equity within communities.” 2
This initiative allows for the communities to decide how to best create innovative solutions for their needs.
—PHHS Block Grant Coordinator, 2022
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare utilized the flexibility of the PHHS Block Grant to support these communities, allowing them to maintain fidelity to health equity by advancing solutions that are led by the communities they aim to help.
Thanks for reading!
PHCNI. “Innovation in Governmental Public Health: Building a Roadmap”. https://phaboard.org/wp-content/uploads/Innovation-in-Governmental-Public-Health-Building-a-Roadmap.pdf
Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Get Healthy Idaho. https://www.gethealthy.dhw.idaho.gov/