Strong administrative and organizational capacity is vital for efficiently-deployed public health funds to support infrastructure and critical population health needs. ASTHO supports State and Territorial public health agency Administrative Readiness (STAR) and operational excellence by connecting members to high quality resources, tools, and model practices that modernize and strengthen administrative and organizational capacity.
ASTHO STAR technical assistance to members currently focuses on improving business processes, accelerating administrative processes for timely public health response, and assessing current organizational capacity for opportunities to strengthen systems.
If you would like more information about the STAR Center, please reach out to ASTHO's team of experts.
Success Stories
Alabama’s Positive Transformation Through Cross-Cutting PHIG Workplans
The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) is an example of an agency that has successfully worked with a cross-cutting team to implement its PHIG workplan. This article highlights the successes and challenges that ADPH shared during an ASTHO-hosted webinar on implementing PHIG workplans. ADPH focused on effective agency systems and communication for advancing PHIG workplan goals.
US Virgin Island's Business Process Improvement
This video highlights key takeaways and lessons learned from US Virgin Island's Interagency Business Process Improvement initiative. Participants discuss their experience collaborating across agencies toward improving grants management.Indiana's Approach to Quickly Onboarding Personnel During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Indiana Department of Health (ISDH) was proactive in taking steps to secure needed personnel during the COVID 19 pandemic. This video highlights strategies ISDH took to be administratively ready to recruit, hire, and onboard personnel. It also shares how the department addressed challenges and monitored impact. In sharing their experience, ISDH offers states and island areas the opportunity to explore methods to improve administrative readiness in their own jurisdiction.Timely Spending: North Carolina's Approach to Efficiently Utilizing Federal Funds
This video highlights the North Carolina Division of Public Health’s (NCDPH) administrative readiness strategies, partnerships, and metrics to support an efficient use of federal funding. By learning about NCDPH’s experiences, states and island jurisdictions can explore methods that can help build capacity to strengthen their public health readiness.Featured
U.S. Virgin Island’s Federal Grant Planning and Set Up Process Improvement
This infographic details strategies for improving the speed and quality of the U.S. Virgin Islands’s Federal Grant Management “Plan and Set Up” process.
ASTHO's Process Improvement Readiness Assessment Tool
This tool is designed to assess an organization or teams’ readiness for undertaking an effective process improvement initiative.
General Guidance to Support a Quality Improvement Council
General guidance, recommendations, and resources to guide health departments as they develop a Quality Improvement Council.
Performance Management Leadership Guide
This resource includes guidance from current and previous state health officials who have implemented various performance management systems within their agency.
Services and Technical Assistance
The center uses a 5-phase process to strengthen agency culture, systems, and operations in line with principles of change management and leadership engagement.
ASTHO STAR Center Overview
Learn more about this support hub created to enhance administrative and organizational readiness at state and territorial health agencies.