Call for Session Proposals
The PHIG National Partners are pleased to invite you to showcase your agency's remarkable contributions at the 2025  PHIG Annual Recipient Convening (ARC): Gateway to Growth happening from Aug. 18-21 in St. Louis, MO. Your dedication to building public health infrastructure deserves recognition, and we encourage you to submit a proposal for a poster or presentation.

The ARC is an important opportunity to spotlight innovative approaches, share promising practices, and impart the valuable lessons learned from public health infrastructure initiatives in your organization or community. We highly encourage submissions that feature collaborations across multiple organizations (health departments, TA providers, PHIG National Partners, CDC, and other key partners). Your insights will inspire hope and provide essential guidance to others facing similar challenges. Together, let's leverage our collective experiences to strengthen public health and uplift our communities during these challenging times. 

Please review the important information below and contact PHIG@astho.org with any questions about the ARC or proposal process.

We offer three options for proposal submissions that include posters, workshops, and breakout sessions. Below are descriptions of the three options. 

• Posters: Posters will be displayed from Tuesday, Aug. 19 to Thursday, Aug.21. One poster session held during the convening to allow presenters to showcase their work to other ARC participants. 
• Workshops: Multiple concurrent 75-minute workshops will run during the ARC. Workshop sessions should include highly interactive presentations and audience participation. 
• Breakout Sessions: Multiple concurrent 75-minute breakout sessions will run during the ARC. Breakout sessions should include presentation(s) and ample discussion time. 

PHIG ARC Objectives

We have suggested some focus areas, but submissions are not limited to themes below. 

• Explore Public Health Infrastructure Foundations and Community Impact- Participants will examine stories of real-world progress and success, with a focus on understanding and demonstrating the impact of infrastructure activities upon the communities that they serve.
• Foster Collaboration and Leverage Partners- Participants will develop strategies to enhance collaboration across teams, organizations, and communities to accelerate impact and meet the evolving needs of state, local, and territorial/freely associated state jurisdictions.
• Advance Innovation and Sustainability in Infrastructure Efforts-Participants will apply innovation and change management principles when planning for scalable, long-term, flexible initiatives, and building support for ongoing investment in public health infrastructure.

Abstract Themes

We have suggested some focus areas, but submissions are limited to the themes below. 

• Theme 1: Building Momentum and Scaling Up at the State and Local Level
  • Examples: Local pipelines for leadership and expertise; Best practices in moving from plans to implementation; Infrastructure project management; Accreditation readiness and implementation efforts. 
  • Preference may be given to the following: Developing agency wide job classification and taxonomy systems; Approaches and data sources for developing a workforce analysis; Planning for the future of the public health workforce. 
• Theme 2: Innovations in Strengthening Foundational Capabilities (inclusive of WF and DMI)
  • Examples: Assessment and surveillance; Accountability and Performance Management, Emergency preparedness and response; Internal and external communications; Community partnerships for state and local empowerment; Information Technology Services; Policy development and support; Organizational competencies including leadership and governance, financial management, legal services, and more. 
  • Preference may be given to the following: Approaches to meeting the PHAB accreditation Foundational Capability Measures; Approaches to accountability and other foundational capabilities through accreditation processes. 
• Theme 3: Accountability and Demonstrating Impact (Evaluation)
  • Examples: Planning and performance management for accountability; Success stories and Promising Practices; Communication tips and tools; Targeted evaluation plans. 
  • Preference may be given to the following: Improving hiring timeliness; Demonstrating process efficiencies. 
• Theme 4: Addressing Sustainability
  • Examples: State/local/ and community partnerships; Braiding and layering funding; Strategies for legislative support to enhance infrastructure initiatives; Change management practices and strategies; Promising Practices. 

Who Should Submit: PHIG Health Department Recipients, National Partners, TA Providers, CDC Leaders, and other partners. Please note that all posters and sessions must have a proposal. 

Submission Requirements and Deadline

The proposal submission process will ask you to provide the following information: 

• Presenter Information (name, credentials, contact information, title, organization)
• Co-presenter Name (There will be future opportunities to provide additional information)
• Submission Title (250-character limit)
• Session Description (2,500-character limit) including learning objectives 

Proposals may be submitted from Wednesday, April 9 to Friday, May 9. To submit a proposal, you must create an account using your email address. After you create an account, you can submit and edit your proposal until the deadline, Friday, May 9 at 11:59 PM ET. 

Submitters will be notified if their proposal is accepted by Wednesday, May 28. Presenters of accepted proposals are expected to register for the ARC by the registration deadline provided. 

For questions about the ARC or proposal submission process, please contact PHIG@astho.org. The PHIG National Partners look forward to connecting with you in St. Louis!