Penn launches ‘Impact Hub’ to train and support public health organizations, professionals
The Impact Hub is poised to share expertise with community organizations, non-profits, research groups, health professionals, and government entities.
Across Philadelphia and the surrounding region, countless public and non-profit organizations are working to address crucial public health problems. Whether bringing healthy food options to people who struggle to afford or access it, caring for people with substance-use disorders, or operating programs to address community violence, teams face challenges. Often, they need help navigating government oversight, working with legislators, writing grant applications to obtain more funding, and creating and measuring goals.
To address the need, a new team operating as the Public Health Impact Hub out of the Penn Center for Public Health is poised to share expertise with community organizations, non-profits, research groups, healthcare professionals, and government entities with the goal of strengthening the public health workforce at large. The Impact Hub expands and standardizes work the Center for Public Health (CPH) has already been doing, equipping individuals and organizations with practical skills, tailored technical assistance, staffing support, and flexible training opportunities.
“We created the Impact Hub to meet the needs of public health practitioners who are doing critical work every day but frequently don’t have access to the tools, resources, or training they want,” said Samantha Matlin, PhD, director of Workforce Education at Penn’s CPH and associate professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Penn Medicine. “This initiative is about offering real-world solutions.”
The Impact Hub, backed by funding from the Scattergood Foundation, will focus on three core aims: delivering customized support to teams to drive their unique community work and needs, building knowledge and skills for public health workers to engage in different types of community-based research and more effectively win grant funding, and reducing barriers to professional development by providing assistance at an affordable cost.
In addition to bolstering public health initiatives in the Philadelphia area, Impact Hub leaders will also work with organizations around the United States and the world. Training will be offered both and person or virtually.
Leaders also have an eye toward longevity and partnership so that rather than becoming dependent on the Hub’s experts, clients will be empowered to continue the work themselves following the Hub’s support, whether that is simply training for one day or weeks of ongoing collaboration.
“We see this as a meaningful investment in the field, one that reinforces Penn’s leadership in public health education and innovation, and merges community, accessibility, and practical application,” added Richard Wender, MD, executive director of the Penn Center for Public Health and chair of Family Medicine and Community Health at Penn.
Those interested in engaging the Impact Hub can find more information here or contact PennCPH@pennmedicine.upenn.edu