With funding from the National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO), NORC is examining the use of NACCHO’s Prototype Operational Definition Metrics as a tool for local health department (LHD) capacity assessment, and ultimately as a tool for agency accreditation.  The Prototype Operational Definition Metrics have been cited as the framework for the accreditation standards currently under development by the Public Health Accreditation Board, a group established by a planning committee of executive directors from the American Public Health Association (APHA), Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), and National Association of Local Boards of Health (NALBOH).   

The evaluation will examine the use of the Prototype Operational Definition Metrics to assess agency capacity through the use of an online survey of LHDs who have reviewed the Prototype Metrics, interviews with key personnel at the NACCHO demonstration site LHDs, and expert panel discussions with key informants.