A collaborative approach in workforce assessment: South Carolina's strategies for high response rates

The South Carolina Public Health Training Center and South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control conducted a state public health workforce assessment using a collaborative methodology. A joint workforce assessment team used the 2010 Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals--developed by the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice--as the basis for the assessment and resulting continuing education programs. A 91% response rate (n = 1,375) was achieved among full-time regional employees, while an 81% response rate (n = 1,598) was achieved among all regional employee types. This unusually high response rate in a voluntary assessment was accomplished by involving key stakeholders in the planning, development, and implementation process and by communicating directly with leaders in South Carolina's eight health regions. In addition to boosting the response rate, the collaborative approach strengthened the partnership between the academic and practice partners. In this article, we discuss the workforce assessment methodology, strategies, results, and lessons learned.