Public health is credited with achieving a 25-year increase in life expectancy during the 20th century.1 Beyond this success, evidence-based public health practice holds the promise for more efficient and effective public health interventions and practice and even greater gains.2-4 The benefits of an increased focus on evidence can include better programs and policies and increased workforce productivity and efficiency.2,5,6 However, the perception of research and evidence by practitioners and the disconnect between researchers and decision makers and others are barriers to the creation and use of evidence in public health practice.7 For evidence to have impact, it must be translated for and readily available to the practice community. For decision makers to support evidence based public health, they, too, must have greater awareness of developments in the field.

For the past 20 years, the Journal of Public Health Management & Practice (JPMPH) has sought to improve the quality of public health practice by targeting the needs of public health decision makers and highlighting key messages from research. With more than a third of all articles led by authors directly involved in public health practice, the Journal has not only provided information to practitioners but also created a platform for practitioners to share their best practices and interventions. In addition to its 6 annual issues, the Journal has addressed some of the most pressing issues in the field through supplements focusing on issues such as public health leadership, workforce development, and public health accreditation. These supplements have been supported by the nation's leading public health philanthropies and federal public health agencies.

The de Beaumont Foundation's mission is to transform the US public health system by improving the effectiveness and capacity of local and state health departments. Part of achieving this mission is ensuring the availability of high-quality information to support the implementation of better programs and policies, and improved workforce productivity, and supporting the "boots on the ground" public health workforce. This is where the synergy between the Journal and the Foundation is greatest.

For the Foundation to achieve its mission and the public health system to maximize its impact, it is important to ensure that practitioners have an opportunity to share their perspective and voice. Practitioners have unique perspectives and experiences that are powerful when shared. It is equally important to have evidence that specifically addresses health department organization, financing, and function. A search of the Journal's Web site demonstrates the depth and variety of scientific information and evidence available to health department leaders. The Foundation's new partnership with the Journal seeks to support this continued excellence, while also increasing its visibility and impact.

The Foundation's support will focus on promoting the Journal's findings to expanded audiences, translating the impact of the evidence and information to those not already in the public health practice community, expanding the availability of articles for those who do not currently have access, and recruiting the best contributions to generate the most interest and increase readership.

In partnership with Drs Lloyd Novick and Justin Moore; Wolters Kluwer, the Journal's publisher; and the dedicated editorial board that includes leading practitioners and scientists, this new partnership seeks to achieve the following goals:

* Increased visibility and readership of the JPMPH within the public health community.

* Increased impact, as measured through standard journal metrics.

* Improved and expanded pool of interested contributors, given the elevated profile of the Journal.

* Expanded impact on policy, and support for public health, by targeted outreach to audiences that wouldn't otherwise be drawn to a scientific journal.

Those of us who have contributed to the Journal or are regular readers of its content already know what the Journal has to offer and its impact on practice. If we can achieve these expanded goals, we have the potential to not only publish evidence and ideas but also truly change the field and demonstrate how an "academic journal" can be a key contributor to improving population health.

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