Template Implementation Plan v2.0: February 2015 www.wicommunityhealth.org
Wisconsin Community Health Improvement Plans and Processes (CHIPP) Infrastructure Improvement Project 1
TEMPLATE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A tool to help your community’s efforts to be focused and effective
Public
Health
Education
Philanthropy
& Investors
Nonprofits
Community
Development
Government
Healthcare
Work Together
Assess Needs &
Resources
Focus on
What’s Important
Choose Effective
Policies & Programs
Act on
What’s Important
Evaluate Actions
Communicate
© 2014 County Health Rankings and Roadmaps
Community
Members
Business
Template Implementation Plan v2.0: February 2015 www.wicommunityhealth.org
Wisconsin Community Health Improvement Plans and Processes (CHIPP) Infrastructure Improvement Project 2
TEMPLATE
IMPLEMENTATION
PLAN
A tool to help your community’s efforts to be focused and effective
Introduction
When it comes time to take action on a community’s chosen health priorities, sometimes it is a challenge to move from a
broad goal to effective and strategic action. In the “Act on What’s Important” checklist of the Wisconsin Guidebook on
Improving the Health of Local Communities there are several steps outlined to help ensure effective implementation – be sure
to review those steps when using this tool.
This document addresses one specific part of action planning for impact: a well thought-out implementation plan. An
implementation plan can help assure the work gets done. You may have already created some of the critical parts of this
plan: priority areas and broad goals. This template moves into more specificity, including:
• Specific and measurable objectives
• Strategies that are known to be or have a high likelihood of being effective (i.e., evidence-based)
• Specific action steps with accountabilities, deadlines and resources needed
• Links to national goals and strategies
This template will help your community to create a plan that is focused and evidence-based and that will help you stay on
track. In addition, the tool will help hospitals and health departments to achieve some of their specific requirements related
to community health improvement. Some of the sections of the template are there to assure those key requirements are
included. (See the Attachment 1 for a more detailed description of the specific requirements.)
To enhance the effectiveness of your efforts, be sure you are fully engaging the community leaders and community members
concerned with each issue at every stage, including this planning phase. Their involvement at this stage will help to assure
chosen strategies fit the community and will leverage ongoing support of this work during implementation. (See the “Work
Together” checklist in the Wisconsin Guidebook on Improving the Health of Local Communities for more guidance on
engaging partners.)
Public
Health
Education
Philanthropy
& Investors
Nonprofits
Community
Development
Government
Healthcare
Work Together
Assess Needs &
Resources
Focus on
What’s Important
Choose Effective
Policies & Programs
Act on
What’s Important
Evaluate Actions
Communicate
© 2014 County Health Rankings and Roadmaps
Community
Members
Business
A
c
t
on
Wh
at
’
s
I
mportant
Template Implementation Plan v2.0: February 2015 www.wicommunityhealth.org
Wisconsin Community Health Improvement Plans and Processes (CHIPP) Infrastructure Improvement Project 3
How to Use this Tool
Your community will have already selected top priority areas to address and may have selected broad goals and some
strategies for addressing those priority areas. Many times those elements are included in a final report to the community on
the results of the community health assessment process. Now it is time to get more specific.
A few things to keep in mind:
• Consider forming small, focused teams to do this work. Many communities use “implementation teams” with
expertise and interest in the particular priority topics. Engaging those key partners in this planning process will help
in maintaining commitment and involvement over the long haul.
• An implementation plan should describe the logical sequence of events that will result in the change you desire. It
works like a logic model or strategy map, helping you to drill down from a broad goal to intermediate
accomplishments or outcomes and then to very concrete strategies and action steps. (See Attachment 2 for a
description of the link between the Template Implementation Plan and a logic model. For more information on logic
models, see the University of Wisconsin Extension resources.)
• The most detailed level of your Implementation Plan – the Action Plan – often becomes your implementations team’s
annual work plan. You may wish to cut and paste it into an annual work plan document and have your teams use
that to guide their work.
• When put into use, a work plan should be a dynamic tool. Target dates may need to be adapted. Actual
results may be different than anticipated.
• Use this tool to document your progress. (Note: Some organizations are required to track and report on their
progress in their community health improvement plan. Using this tool can achieve that end. See Attachment
1 for more information on those requirements.)
• Partner organizations can extract the appropriate sections of this Implementation Plan to insert into their
organization’s reports, strategic plan and/or performance management plan. Doing that will help to document their
commitment to the collaboration and to track their efforts internally.
• While this tool is primarily designed for writing an entire implementation plan for a community health improvement
initiative, it can also be used on a smaller, more specific scale. For example, a team or volunteer working on
strategies to improve healthy nutrition within one particular school might use just the “Action Plan” portion to
organize and guide their work.
Once your plan is complete, your community will move into actual implementation, when you will use this document as a
foundation for monitoring, evaluating, and communicating progress to community leaders and community members. For
more information on these steps, review the “Act on What’s Important” and “Evaluate Efforts” checklists in the Wisconsin
Guidebook on Improving the Health of Local Communities.
Template Implementation Plan v2.0: February 2015 www.wicommunityhealth.org
Wisconsin Community Health Improvement Plans and Processes (CHIPP) Infrastructure Improvement Project 4
Helpful Resources
As you complete this tool for your community, there are several resources that will be very helpful.
State and National Community Health
Improvement Plans:
• Healthy People 2020
• National Prevention Strategy
Sources for Evidence-Based
Strategies:
• What Works for Health
Additional Wisconsin Resources:
• Recommended Core Data Set for Community Health Improvement
• Compendium of Data Sources for Community Health Improvement
Processes
Instructions
Below are both a blank template for you to complete and a sample to help illustrate how it can be used. Editable versions of
the blank template and the sample are available at http://www.walhdab.org/?page=customsitetable.
Complete one template for each priority area; add sections for additional goals or objectives as needed. Adapt this tool as you
see fit for your community.
The following brief description of each section will help to guide your work. (Note: Planning terms are used in many different
ways. You may find other definitions of terms such as “objective” or “goal.” The list below is intended to explain how those
terms are used in this document. Adapt the terms as needed to fit your community.)
Priority Area:
Enter here one of the top issues your community selected as a priority to address at this time.
Goal:
Write a broad statement of what you hope to accomplish related to this priority area.
Performance
Measures:
Demonstrate in this section how you will know you are making progress. State specifically what you
will measure to determine whether changes have occurred. Select indicators of progress for both the
short term (1-2 years) and long term (3-5 years). Specify the data source you will use for those
indicators (or your plan to develop a measurement system if necessary).
Objectives:
Describe the specific measurable end-products of your intervention. Objectives should be SMART:
specific, measurable, appropriate, realistic, and time-framed.
(Note: When writing your objectives, consider using the “Objectives with Focus” tool.)
Background:
Document the type of strategy you are using. Cite any evidence-base for the strategy. (See Helpful
Resources above.) Cite if the strategy is a policy change (required for public health accreditation).
You may also choose to provide a link to any program sites as applicable.
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Wisconsin Community Health Improvement Plans and Processes (CHIPP) Infrastructure Improvement Project 5
Activity:
Outline the steps you will take to achieve each objective. The activities are the “how” portion of the
action plan. It is best to arrange activities chronologically by start dates. Place each activity in a
separate row and add as many rows as you need to the template.
Timeline:
State the projected start and end date for each activity.
Resources
Required:
Include all resources needed for this action step. (Examples: funding, staff time, space needs,
supplies, technology, equipment, and key partners.)
Lead Person/
Organization:
Identify by name the key person who will initiate the activity, provide direction for the work, and
monitor progress.
Anticipated
Result:
Describe the direct, tangible and measurable results of the activity. (Examples: a product or
document, an agreement or policy, number of participants.)
Progress Notes:
Track progress of completion of activities. Also note any unexpected outcomes, both positive and
negative.
Alignment:
Show the alignment between your community’s priority area and both state and national priorities.
Also show the alignment to tribal priorities when applicable. You can cite the specific objectives listed
by state and national health plans (listed above under Helpful Resources).
This resource was developed with funding from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health from the Wisconsin
Partnership Program. The resource is a result of a collaboration between the Wisconsin Association of Local Health Departments and
Boards, the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, and numerous additional partners. For more information, please go to
www.wicommunityhealth.org or www.walhdab.org.
Template Implementation Plan v2.0: February 2015 www.wicommunityhealth.org
Wisconsin Community Health Improvement Plans and Processes (CHIPP) Infrastructure Improvement Project 6
Example Template
Editable versions of the blank template and the example are available at http://www.walhdab.org/?page=customsitetable
ABC Community Health Improvement Process Implementation Plan
Date Created: Date Reviewed/Updated:
PRIORITY AREA: Nutrition & Physical Activity
GOAL:
ABC County will implement policies that support residents in achieving a healthy diet and increased physical activity.
PERFORMANCE MEASURES
How We Will Know We are Making a Difference
Short Term Indicators
Source
Frequency
By DATE, decrease the percentage of adults engaging in no physical activity from
x% to y%.
WI-Behavioral Risk
Factor Surveillance
System (BRFSS)
Annual
By DATE, decrease the percentage of adults eating less than five servings of fruits and
vegetables daily from x% to y%.
WI-BRFSS
Annual
By DATE, increase the percentage of WIC infants ever breastfed from x% to y%.
WI-Dept. of Health
Services, Pediatric
Nutrition
Surveillance
System (PedNSS)
Annual
Long Term Indicators
Source
Frequency
By DATE, decrease the percentage of overweight adults from x% to y%.
WI-BRFSS
Annual
By DATE, decrease the percentage of obese adults from x% to y%.
County Health
Rankings
Annual
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Wisconsin Community Health Improvement Plans and Processes (CHIPP) Infrastructure Improvement Project 7
OBJECTIVE #1:
By DATE, increase the number of ABC County municipalities that are working towards adopting local complete street
policies from # to #.
BACKGROUND ON STRATEGY
Source: Complete Streets Program http://www.completestreets.org/
Evidence Base: “Urban design and land use policies” recommended by The Guide to Community Preventive Services
Policy Change (Y/N): Yes
ACTION PLAN
Activity
Target
Date
Resources
Required
Lead Person/
Organization
Anticipated
Product or
Result
Progress
Notes
Attend training on WI’s complete
street legislation and assess expected
impact on ABC County by discussing
with Highway Dept.
12/31/15
Staff time
Travel
Amy Adams, ABC
Health Department
Increased
knowledge
Written resources
Assessment of
impact
Finish photovoice project, targeting the
communities of X, Y, and Z.
4/30/16
Staff time
Volunteer time
Travel
Cameras
Amy Adams and
Physical Activity Team
Volunteers
Photo display/
presentation for
each community
Find at least 1 street/road in each
community and graphically design a
complete street.
4/30/16
Staff time
Amy Adams
Graphic
presentation of
desired design
for each
community’s
selected street
Conduct walkability/ bikeability
checklists in those communities.
5/31/16
Staff time
Volunteer time
Travel
Amy Adams and
Physical Activity Team
Volunteers
Completed
assessment for
each community
Create a presentation for city councils
about the new state law, using
photovoice and complete street
pictures.
8/30/16
Staff time
Susie Smith, ABC
Health Officer
Terri Thomas, ABC
Hospital
PowerPoint
presentation and
packet of
materials
Present to city councils and invite to
go on a walk audit.
10/31/16
Staff time
Susie Smith
Terri Thomas
Presentation and
walk audit
completed
Follow up with city council chair after
meeting
11/30/16
Staff time
Susie Smith
Discussed next
steps
Announce approved policy to the
community collaboratively with the
city council (if approved)
12/31/16
Staff time
Terri Thomas
Press release
Press coverage
Template Implementation Plan v2.0: February 2015 www.wicommunityhealth.org
Wisconsin Community Health Improvement Plans and Processes (CHIPP) Infrastructure Improvement Project 8
OBJECTIVE #2:
By DATE, increase the number of schools participating in a comprehensive Farm to School Program from # to #.
BACKGROUND ON STRATEGY
Source: http://www.healthinpractice.org/a-healthy-community/farm-to-school
Evidence Base: Farm to School programs indicated to be effective based on “expert opinion” in “What Works for Health”
Policy Change (Y/N): Yes
ACTION PLAN
Activity
Target
Date
Resources
Required
Lead Person/
Organization
Anticipated
Product or
Result
Progress
Notes
OBJECTIVE #3:
By DATE, increase the number of early care and education providers who have adopted the Ten Steps to Breastfeeding-
Friendly Child Care Centers from # to #.
BACKGROUND ON STRATEGY
Source: 10 Steps Resource Kit
Evidence Base: Breastfeeding promotion programs indicated to be “scientifically supported” in “What Works for Health’”
Policy Change (Y/N): Yes
ACTION PLAN
Activity
Target
Date
Resources
Required
Lead Person/
Organization
Anticipated
Product or
Result
Progress
Notes
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Wisconsin Community Health Improvement Plans and Processes (CHIPP) Infrastructure Improvement Project 9
ALIGNMENT WITH STATE/NATIONAL PRIORITIES
Obj #
Healthiest Wisconsin 2020
Healthy People 2020
National Prevention Strategy
1
Design communities to
encourage activity
Increase legislative policies for the
built environment that enhance
access to and availability of
physical activity opportunities
(Physical Activity-15)
Encourage community design and
development that support
physical activity
2
Make healthy foods available for
all
Increase access to healthy foods
and support breastfeeding
Increase access to healthy and
affordable foods in communities
3
Increase access to healthy foods
and support breastfeeding
Increase the proportion of infants
who are breastfed (Maternal,
Infant and Child Health-21)
Support policies and programs
that promote breastfeeding
Template Implementation Plan v2.0: February 2015 www.wicommunityhealth.org
Wisconsin Community Health Improvement Plans and Processes (CHIPP) Infrastructure Improvement Project 10
Blank Template
Editable versions of the blank template and the example are available at http://www.walhdab.org/?page=customsitetable..
[Name of Community] Health Improvement Process Implementation Plan
Date Created: Date Reviewed/Updated:
PRIORITY AREA:
GOAL:
PERFORMANCE MEASURES
How We Will Know We are Making a Difference
Short Term Indicators
Source
Frequency
Long Term Indicators
Source
Frequency
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Wisconsin Community Health Improvement Plans and Processes (CHIPP) Infrastructure Improvement Project 11
OBJECTIVE #1:
BACKGROUND ON STRATEGY
Source:
Evidence Base:
Policy Change (Y/N):
ACTION PLAN
Activity
Target
Date
Resources
Required
Lead Person/
Organization
Anticipated
Product or
Result
Progress
Notes
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Wisconsin Community Health Improvement Plans and Processes (CHIPP) Infrastructure Improvement Project 12
OBJECTIVE #2:
BACKGROUND ON STRATEGY
Source:
Evidence Base:
Policy Change (Y/N):
ACTION PLAN
Activity
Target
Date
Resources
Required
Lead Person/
Organization
Anticipated
Product or
Result
Progress
Notes
OBJECTIVE #3:
BACKGROUND ON STRATEGY
Source:
Evidence Base:
Policy Change (Y/N):
ACTION PLAN
Activity
Target
Date
Resources
Required
Lead Person/
Organization
Anticipated
Product or
Result
Progress
Notes
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Wisconsin Community Health Improvement Plans and Processes (CHIPP) Infrastructure Improvement Project 13
ALIGNMENT WITH STATE/NATIONAL PRIORITIES
Obj #
Healthiest Wisconsin 2020
Healthy People 2020
National Prevention Strategy
1
2
3
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Wisconsin Community Health Improvement Plans and Processes (CHIPP) Infrastructure Improvement Project 14
Attachment 1:
Hospital and Public Health Department Requirements Related to Implementation Planning
Not-for-profit hospitals have particular requirements related to community health improvement. In terms of an
Implementation Strategy, those requirements include:
• Adopt a written Implementation Strategy to address the community health needs identified during the assessment.
• Describe how the hospital will address the needs including:
• The actions the hospital intends to take to address the needs (or indicates if the hospital does not intend to
address the need and explains why they will not be addressing the health need).
• The anticipated impact of these actions.
• The programs and resources the hospital plans to commit to address the health needs.
• Any planned collaboration between the hospital and other facilities or organizations in addressing the health
needs.
• If the hospital does not intend to address the need, describe why they will not be addressing the health need.
• Execute the implementation strategy.
Additionally, the hospital’s CHNA must include an evaluation of the impact of any actions that were taken to address the
significant health needs since the previous assessment.
[Note: While the IRS requirements for non-profit hospitals were reviewed and expertise was consulted, using this template
does not guarantee compliance with IRS requirements. Hospitals should consult with their community benefit (or other
appropriate) staff in order to determine whether or not a local plan meets the IRS requirements.]
Public health departments seeking national accreditation need to meet the specific requirements for an implementation plan
outlined in Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) Standard 5.2.2L and 5.2.3L. Those requirements include:
• Community health priorities, measurable objectives, improvement strategies and performance measures with
measurable and time-framed targets.
• Strategies should be evidence-based or promising practices (using sources such as the National Prevention
Strategy, Guide to Community Preventive Services, and Healthy People 2020).
• Strategies should consider the social determinants of health, causes of higher risks and worse health outcomes
in special populations, and health inequities.
• Policy changes needed to accomplish health objectives.
• Policy changes should address the causes of health inequities, including social and economic factors.
• Individuals and organizations who have accepted responsibility for implementing strategies.
• Measurable health outcomes or indicators to monitor progress.
• Alignment between the community health plan and the state and national priorities (and tribal where appropriate).
• Provide a report documenting the process of and progress toward implementing the community health improvement
plan. (See 5.2.3A)
[Note: While state and national experts familiar with the PHAB Standards reviewed and gave input on this tool, using this
template does not guarantee PHAB compliance. Only PHAB site reviewers during the accreditation review process can
determine whether or not a local plan meets the PHAB requirements.]
Template Implementation Plan v2.0: February 2015 www.wicommunityhealth.org
Wisconsin Community Health Improvement Plans and Processes (CHIPP) Infrastructure Improvement Project 15
All public health departments in Wisconsin are required under state statute and administrative rule to:
• Involve key policymakers and the general public in determining and developing a community health improvement plan
that includes actions to implement the services and functions specified under s. 250.03(1)(L). [251.05 (3)(c)]
• Develop and deliver services to reduce the incidence or prevalence of the chronic diseases or injuries that are the
leading causes of disability and premature death in the jurisdiction of the local health department, the chronic
diseases or injuries for which resources are available to the local health department from the department or the
chronic diseases or injuries identified through a community needs assessment under s. 251.04(6)(a), Stats., as priority
public health problems, or by the regular and systematic collection of information on the health of the community as
required under
s. 251.05(3)(a), Stats. [DHS 140.04(1)(c)]
• Provide an annual report on the activities of the local health department for the preceding calendar year, including a
narrative which describes the progress and performance toward achieving the objectives that the local health
department has identified as part of its community health assessment process. [DHS 140.04(3)(c)]
Sources
1. Affordable Care Act (ACA) – Title IX/Section 9007 http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-111publ148/pdf/PLAW-
111publ148.pdf
2. IRS Notice 2011-52 (7/25/11) http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-11-52.pdf
3. IRS Proposed Rule April 2013 http://www.irs.gov/PUP/newsroom/REG-106499-12.pdf
4. IRS Final Rule December 2014 http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-12-31/pdf/2014-30525.pdf
5. Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) http://www.phaboard.org/
6. Wisconsin State Statutes & Administrative Rules http://legis.wisconsin.gov/rsb/Statutes.html
7. http://legis.wisconsin.gov/rsb/code.htm
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Wisconsin Community Health Improvement Plans and Processes (CHIPP) Infrastructure Improvement Project 16
Attachment 2:
Link Between Template Implementation Plan and Logic Model
The template implementation plan provided here is intended to follow a typical logic model by providing a structure to move
from a broad goal to intermediate accomplishments or outcomes and then to very concrete strategies and action steps.
Because different models/tools use different language, this crosswalk is provided to illustrate the link between the language
used in this template implementation plan and that used in a logic model.
Template Implementation Plan Category
Goal …………………………………………………………………..
Long Term Indicators ………………………………………..
Short Term Indicators……………………………………….
Objectives ………………………………………………………..
Anticipated Product/Results …………………………….
Resources Needed …………………………………………..
Logic Model Category
Long Term Outcome
Medium-Term Outcomes
Medium-Term Outcomes
Short-Term Outcomes
Outputs
Inputs
Source: http://www.uwex.edu/ces/pdande/evaluation/evallogicmodel.html
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Wisconsin Community Health Improvement Plans and Processes (CHIPP) Infrastructure Improvement Project 17
Acknowledgements
This template draws heavily on the work of the Healthy Wisconsin Leadership Institute’s Action Plan Template. The Healthy
Wisconsin Leadership Institute is a continuing education and training resource supported jointly by the University of Wisconsin
School of Medicine and Public Health and the Medical College of Wisconsin.
The sample implementation plan borrows from actual examples created by Polk County Health Department (WI) and Oneida
County Health Department (WI).
Consultation on this tool was provided by members of the CHIPP Infrastructure Improvement Project Operations Group and
Lauren Shirey, Senior Program Manager, Assessment and Planning for Accreditation Preparation, National Association of
County and City Health Officials (NACCHO).
This resource was developed with funding from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health from the Wisconsin
Partnership Program. The resource is a result of a collaboration between the Wisconsin Association of Local Health Departments and
Boards, the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, and numerous additional partners. For more information, please go to
www.wicommunityhealth.org or www.walhdab.org.