Conference Breakout Sessions
Topic Tracks | What We're Looking For | Submission and Selection Process | Key Dates | Anticipated Audience
The Association for Community Health Improvement is reviewing proposals for Concurrent Breakout Sessions for its March 11-13, 2009 national conference. Drawing more than 450 professionals from hospitals, health systems, foundations, public health, and community health organizations, the ACHI meeting has become the premier gathering that stimulates real change and improvement in how community health programs are planned, run, and evaluated.
Submission Period is Now Closed - thank you 
Topic Tracks
All submissions must address one of the conference's four topic tracks below. In addition, the overall conference will reflect the cross-cutting theme of working to achieve health status equity, and proposals are encouraged to address equity and disparities issues.
Leading Community Health Assessments to Set Priorities, Programs, and Policies
Community health assessment strategies and methods, including planning an assessment, collecting data with large or small budgets, setting priorities, communicating key messages, and mobilizing partners. The value of an assessment for guiding strategic allocation of limited resources, and in identifying roles for community partners. Achieving Community Benefit Excellence
Leading practices in hospital community benefit planning and management, including engaging governance and executive leadership, creating community benefit departments and position descriptions, aligning with hospitals' strategic plans and priorities, managing for and measuring results, connecting with community, and telling the story. Improving Health by Addressing Our Social and Built Environments
This three-pronged track will examine strategies for understanding and improving the conditions in our social (economy, education, race/ethnicity, faith, etc.) and built (neighborhoods, transportation, zoning, etc.) environments that affect health. Topics will include: (1) The impacts of our social, built, and natural environments on health status. (2) The use of geographic information systems (GIS) as an analytic and persuasive tool. (3) Environmental stewardship and sustainability practices by health organizations. Building the Skills of Community Health Leaders (for Today and the Future)
What skills are needed by community health directors, community benefit managers, health promotion specialists, and public health and health foundation leadership? How can we create clear career paths in a varied profession? What are the continuing education needs of today's leaders, and how can we ensure new professionals have the skills needed for tomorrow's challenges?
What We're Looking For
We are seeking session leaders who have successful experiences, tools, and approaches that reflect their work in community health or community benefit. The conference has a strong bias toward presenting and discussing practical solutions and tools, and an emphasis on sharing work that has demonstrated results.
We also particularly invite speakers who are willing both to present and to engage in dialogue with the audience.
Submitters will be asked to categorize their session proposals to help staff and review committee create a diverse and balanced program:
Interactive or Presentation Style:
Interactive sessions feature relatively little formal presentation (approx. 20-25 minutes of an 80 minute session) a lot of facilitated dialogue, group exercises, and/or exploration of new ideas. Presentation sessions are more traditional breakouts with 50-60 minutes of presentation followed by audience discussion and Q&A.
ACHI's conference participants have told us they value interactive learning, and the program will include some of each session type.
ACHI's conferences attract veteran community health leaders, newer professionals, and experienced professionals who are new to the field. Please indicate whether your session is best suited to those with five or fewer years of experience (introductory concepts, how-to steps, and case examples) or more than five years of experience (advanced concepts, techniques based on practice, management issues).
Conference attendees have asked us to ensure a balance of sessions for both urban and rural settings, so the submission form asks submitters to indicate whether their proposal emphasizes one type of community or another. Some sessions (particularly those focused on tools or methods) may be equally applicable to communities of any size.
Submission and Selection Process
- Complete and submit your session proposal online, using the link at the top of this page. Proposals require a title, description of approximately 400 words, and learning objectives. All proposals are due by Friday, August 15.
- You will receive an e-mail confirmation when your submission is complete.
- A volunteer panel of community health professionals and ACHI staff will review all proposals. As in past years, we anticipate receiving a greater number of high-quality proposals than we will be able to accept.
- Interactive session proposals will be assessed in part on the strength and specificity of their interactive design, including a role for facilitation, discussion questions, and/or group exercises.
- Membership in the Association for Community Health Improvement is not required to submit a proposal or to present at the conference.
- Authors of accepted proposals, and any co-presenters, will be asked to sign a Presenter Agreement to confirm participation.
- Breakout session presenters are invited to register for the conference at a steeply discounted $175 rate (approx. 50% less than the member rate and 66% less than the non-member rate). All presenters are responsible for their own travel and accommodations expenses.
Key Dates
Proposals due: Friday, August 15, 2008
Notification of acceptance: Friday, September 12, 2008
Presenter Agreement due: Friday, September 26, 2008
Presentation materials due: Friday, January 9, 2009
Conference dates: March 11 - 13, 2009
Anticipated Audience
The conference community will include a rich array of more than 450 committed health leaders from across the U.S. and Canada. This boundary-crossing conference's attendees will include:
Community health and community benefit vice presidents, directors, and staff in hospitals and health systems
Public health department directors and health promotion managers
Healthy communities directors and community advocates
Leaders of access to care and disease prevention coalitions
Executives of national and state health associations
Foundation leaders and social entrepreneurs
40 percent in senior or executive management
30 percent in middle management
20 percent in program staff roles
10 percent in non-staff roles (e.g. consultant, trustee, academic)
