Stephen Orton ^1*, Karl Umble ², Sue Zelt ¹, Janet Porter ³, Jim Johnson ⁴

¹ UNC Chapel Hill
² University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
³ Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
⁴ Kenan Institute, Kenan-Flagler Business School

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: sorton{at}email.unc.edu.

	Abstract

The Management Academy for Public Health develops public health managers’ management skills. Ultimately, the program aims to develop civic entrepreneurs who can improve the efficiency and the effectiveness of their organizations. With help from a coach, teams write public health business plans to meet needs in their communities.

An external evaluation found that 119 teams trained during the first 3 years of the program generated more than $6 million in enhanced revenue--including grants, contracts, and fees through their business plans--from $2 million in program funding. Approximately 38% of the teams expected to generate revenue from an academy business plan or a spin-off plan.

Action-learning methods can help midcareer managers transfer their training to the workplace and build entrepreneurial skills.

Key Words: Government, Public Health Practice, Public Health Workers, Statistics/Evaluation/Research