MN SSLC UPDATE: MARCH 2013
Let’s get started!
BACKGROUND
Minnesota is one of 16 recipients of a two-year grant (January 2013- January 2015), from the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation, designed to help health departments explore how cross jurisdictional sharing might better equip them to fulfill
their mission of protecting and promoting the health of communities served. There are two funded projects from Minnesota
– Horizon’s “Integrating local health departments in west central Minnesota” project, and our project the “Minnesota
System-wide Shared Services Learning Collaborative”.
OUR PROJECT
The Minnesota Shared Services Learning Collaborative (MN SSLC) will provide a regular venue to bring together public health
leaders in our state to learn from each other about CJS; to disseminate information from the national collaborative broadly
throughout our state; to provide support and assistance for local CJS activities that are already in process; and to develop
tools (like MN guidelines for CJS and a self-assessment or CJS readiness tool) to promote and support future CJS activities in
Minnesota. The MN mini-collaborative will meet quarterly.
Our project will pursue three objectives:
1.
2.
3.
To support and assist grant partners in achieving two-year goals for Cross Jurisdictional Sharing (CJS);
Implement a systematic, statewide approach to CJS; and
Foster a two-way exchange of information on CJS between the national community and Minnesota’s local public
health system.
There are two levels of participation in our project:
Level 1: Four local partner teams who are currently implementing CJS in the jurisdictions, and who have identified an elected
official “champion”. Level 1 teams have set individual two-year CJS related project goals, and will report on their progress in
MN and as a part of the national learning community. They will participate in national meetings and site visits, and will also
participate in the MN mini-collaborative.
1.
2.
3.
4.
PartnerSHIP4health: Becker, Clay, Wilkin and Otter Tail counties
BER: the cities of Bloomington, Edina and Richfield
Kandiyohi-Renville CHB
Polk-Norman-Mahnomen CHB
Level 2: Eight local partner teams, who are in an exploratory phase of CJS, will participate in the MN mini-collaborative. They
will develop a two year aim statements for advancing their CJS efforts and will report on their progress within MN.
Additionally, Horizon has agreed to participate as a partner in the MN SSLC mini collaborative.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Brown-Nicollet CHB
Carlton-Cook-Lake-St. Louis CHB
Fillmore-Houston CHB
Hennepin CHB
5.
6.
7.
8.
Isanti-Mille Lacs CHB
North Country CHB
Olmsted CHB
Scott CHB
03.25.13
MDH, Office of Performance Improvement
Minnesota System-wide Shared Services Learning Collaborative (ID: 70612)
UPDATES
th
th
The national kickoff meeting was held in Kansas City, MO on March 13 and 14 . The grant paid for the MN SSLC to send 10
people to this meeting, including the team leads and a policy maker from each of the four Level 1 teams, plus two MDH-OPI
staff. The goal of the meeting was to create a “vibrant, synergistic environment that enhances the potential for all [grant
participants] to create and share knowledge”. It was a “getting to know you meeting”, which encouraged attendees to
network with other public health professionals and policymakers from around the country. The meeting content was
presented through a series of panel discussions, followed by small group sessions. The panelists challenged attendees to
consider the range of different motivations for CJS and the challenges and opportunities of working cross jurisdictionally.
An “a ha” moment from this meeting for the MN SSLC team was recognizing that “change management” is as critical as
“project management” when it comes to making cross jurisdictional service sharing work.
The quote of the month comes from Kandiyohi County Commissioner Harlan Madsen who, after attending the national
meeting said, “I have never been so proud to be from Minnesota.” While there is always room for improvement, it was clear
that Minnesota has a big head start on CJS thanks to the LPH Act and the strength of the state-local partnership. We have a
legal framework for and a long history of working in multi-jurisdictional arrangements. The strength of our state-local
partnership in our state is unparalleled in the U.S.
CALENDAR


st
Mini Collaborative Kickoff Video Conference, April 1 , 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. {All grant partners}
th
Level 1 Team Leads Conference Call, April 9 , 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. {Level 1 partners only}
RESOURCES
Each month we will feature two CJS related resources. Let us know if your local project has resources to share!
Report: “Success Factors for Implementing Shared Services in Government”. This report was published in 2008 by the IBM
Center for the Business of Government. It presents research findings and identifies five key success factors for a successful
shared services project. http://www.phsharing.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Shared-Services-in-Government.pdf
Video: “A conversation with the co-directors” from Center for Sharing Public Health Services. This video gives a brief
introduction to the Center. The co-directors leading the national grant share their thoughts on CJS (run time 8:20).
http://www.phsharing.org/
QUESTIONS?
Please contact Allison Thrash at 651-201-3964 or [email protected].
03.25.13
MDH, Office of Performance Improvement
Minnesota System-wide Shared Services Learning Collaborative (ID: 70612)