I N D I V I D U A L   /   T E A M     P R O J E C T S   -   R E G I O N A L

Mid-America Regional Public Health Leadership Institute
IPHLI emphasizes the case study method for promoting the core functions and the ten public health practices. The case study protocol was developed by the staff of the Institute. The Institute's booklet, "Case Study Development: Guidelines and Protocol with Cases" is used by the Institute's Fellows when writing the case study which is the first team assignment. A publication with 1997-1998 Case Studies is available.

Mid-Atlantic Health Leadership Institute
The curriculum includes work in a small group to plan and implement a community project. These teams will be multi-disciplinary/multi-sectorial in representation and include representation from some of the following areas: business (not limited to benefits managers or medical officers), faith, academia, elected officials, community based organizations, education, law enforcement, health care delivery organizations, and public health. Applicants will be asked to identify a geographical team preference when applying.
Delaware/Eastern Shore
District of Columbia Metropolitan Area
Maryland - Western, Central, Southern

Regional Institute for Health and Environmental Leadership
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the project is to envision, create, and bring to fruition something of genuine value that enhances health or the environment. It leads from a creative vision through hard work with others, adaptation of the vision and plan, testing of the idea against the realities of the world, and eventually to a specific outcome. The project allows the opportunity to experiment with and examine exemplary leadership practices within the safe environment of the Leadership Institute.

VALUE: The project is to provide some positive effects upon health or the environment. There should be an impact and a community benefit beyond those immediately involved in the project itself.

CREATIVITY: It is generally better to envision a new project rather than to seek leadership of an ongoing one, or to lead an effort to revitalize an existing project. The key is that one must define and execute a leadership role.

COLLABORATION: One cannot demonstrate leadership in an organizational context without developing relationships with collaborators. A fellow can do a project with or without other fellows. Project groups can range from 2-7 people.

SUSTAINABILITY: A project should be identified that has a reasonable chance of achieving results, or a significant benchmark, before graduation. The project should have the probability of continuance beyond then, however.

MENTORING: The Leadership Program provides support, as needed, by linking projects to a mentor. This might be one of the Institute faculty, one of the alumni, or others.

Southeast Public Health Leadership Institute
As part of the curriculum, TriState PHLI scholars are required to participate in two team activities: learning team assignments and a community- based leadership project. The purpose of these activities is to apply the knowledge and skills discussed in the readings and instructional portions of the curriculum to real life situations.

This years scholar class has been broken up into 5 small groups called Learning Teams. There 5-6 individuals on each team. During the year, each scholar is sent four small assignments that are to be completed by working with the other members of his/her Learning Team. The first assignment was to find a list of items related to public health n the internet. This list included political information, personal biographical information, advocacy tactics and health related data. The second assignment will be on the topic of Public Health and Ethics. Scholars may communicate with each other in the way that is most convenient for them. However, password protected discussion groups have been established through the TriState HLI webpage for each team as one option for communication.

Scholars are also responsible for participating in a community based public health project which helps them build skills in at least one of the Institutes core competency areas (Political and Social Change, Communication, Vision/Futuring, Personal Awareness, Systems Thinking, Information Management, Customer Service, and Partnerships/Collaborative Efforts). The selected project must address a community or an organizational need. The scholar must work with either a diverse community group or a multidisciplinary agency team to implement the project. The scholar must also take a leadership role in the project (e.g., leading the team working on the project) and must select a mentor that is willing to provide ongoing guidance and feedback during the implementation of the project. The mentor must be an expert in the competency area that the scholar is trying to build skill. He/she may or may not be a public health practitioner. Scholars are expected to interact with their mentor by phone or in person at least four times during the year. Scholars should reflect on their learning through a final project report. This report should include personal reflections on how and why the project helped them to build leadership skills.

Learning team assignments and a community project are two experiential learning activities of the TriState HLI. While scholars can use these activities to put new skills to the test, they also provide another opportunity for growth. That is, they allow the scholar an opportunity to broaden his/her professional network. The learning team assignments allow scholars to develop relationships with each other, while the project allows them to expand their networks within their own community and possibly with members of other professional disciplines.