CDC Moving Forward

CDC Moving Forward

CDC Moving Forward represents CDC's efforts to transform how the agency operates by refining and modernizing its structures, systems, and processes to address longstanding challenges and strengthen its ability to deliver on its core mission: to protect the health, safety, and security of Americans.

Over the past 20 years, the world has seen and dealt with the emergence of new diseases, such as H1N1, COVID-19, and MPox, all while working to address long standing public health challenges, such as diabetes, cancer, and maternal mortality. In April 2022, CDC leadership launched a review to identify how CDC can modernize systems and processes to better share science and data to better serve and protect the American public. Taking into account perspectives from leadership, staff, and partners, the review identified several improvement areas which CDC is committed to and actively working toward improving.

CDC Moving Forward Core Areas for Improvement

• Share Scientific Findings and Data Faster
• Translate Science into Practical, Easy to Understand Guidance
• Prioritize Public Health Communications
• Develop a Workforce Prepared for Future Emergencies – CDC and Nationwide
• Promote Results-based Partnerships
• Enhance Laboratory Science and Quality
• Integrate Health Equity
• Modernize Data

CDC is committed to the following:

• To provide timely and accurate data to the American public, CDC is working to share scientific findings and data faster by releasing information more quickly with the American public and partners about CDC's current level of understanding of the science and data.
• To make science and data easier for broad audiences to interpret, CDC is translating science into practical, easy to understand guidance by clarifying and presenting scientific language so that anyone can understand it and standardizing guideline development across the agency.
• To help CDC speak in one voice during and across public health emergencies, CDC is prioritizing public health communications by improving how the American public interacts with CDC, including a review of the entire CDC.gov website to assess content and functionality.
• To continuously monitor the public health landscape for risks to the health of communities and the nation, CDC is developing a workforce prepared for future emergencies by providing training, hiring additional staff, and creating tools to quickly and strategically deploy staff to respond in the event of an emergency.
• To improve the efficiency and accuracy of lab testing during and out of public health emergencies, CDC is enhancing laboratory quality and science by improving key laboratory processes and coordination between internal and external partners.
• To increase collaboration with partners to solve major health problems, CDC is promoting results-based partnerships agency-wide by increasing partner engagement through new management systems and communication and providing more avenues to receive partner feedback.
• To expand the agency's ability to provide effective public health services to all Americans, CDC is integrating health equity by developing and launching goals and guidelines to embed health equity considerations across all of CDC's programs, Centers, and Offices.
• To improve the timeliness and accuracy of its data reporting, CDC is modernizing data by adopting innovative data systems that get information to CDC and the public quickly and accurately.
• To identify public health threats to the United States through our work in CDC country and regional offices and partnerships with ministries of health and nongovernmental organizations.

Successes: Measures of Progress, Moving Forward in Action

• In May 2024, CDC relaunched CDC.gov after nearly two years of testing and feedback from 6000+ users. The new website features a 65%+ reduction in content, making it easier for users to find the information they need to make informed decisions about their health. Users report the new look & feel, layout, and approach to messaging improved the site's usability and effectiveness.
• Through the Scientific Clearance Transformation Initiative, CDC has reduced, streamlined, and expedited the development and review/approval process (i.e., "clearance") for scientific publications and data, including laboratory data, reducing median clearance times by 50% and increasing the percent of manuscripts that clear in 15 business days or less by more than 120%.
• CDC is enhancing its strategy for mobilizing responders to public health emergencies by implementing an expanded CDCReady Responder program comprised of all internal CDC staff and supported by updated policies, systems, training, and performance management practices. Since the January 2023 launch, 3,240+ staff have enrolled in 100+ roles across 15 cadres.
• In 2022, CDC increased laboratory capacity for responses by developing a formalized process with eight federal and private sector laboratory partners. The agreement defines a process for all labs to work together to provide laboratory testing capacity, coordination, and communication during a large-scale emergency. During the Mpox response, this new framework increased testing capacity from 6,000 tests per week to 60,000 tests per week.
• CDC launched electronic case reporting (eCR) nationwide, replacing manual reporting with a secure, electronic system that increases timeliness and completeness of data, reduces burdens for health care providers, and provides real-time reports for disease tracking, case management, and contact tracing. Over 30,000 health care facilities in all 50 states are using eCR.
• In October 2024, the Respiratory Illnesses Data Channel launched, which summarizes findings across respiratory illness types into a weekly snapshot of the most local data available for each condition, explaining what is important and why. Traffic to the website has continued to trend upward and nearly a quarter of visitors bookmark the page; in mid-December, page views were up by 40% over a seven-day period.
• Across CDC, teams enhanced communication by leveraging data visualizations to make complex public health data more accessible and actionable. Tools like the Heat and Health Index and National Wastewater Surveillance System foster transparency and empower people to make informed decisions.

Strengthening CDC’s Structure

In April 2022, CDC leadership began reviewing its processes, systems, and structures, seeking extensive feedback from staff and partners on how CDC could revise its structure to better respond to the public health challenges of the future.

After careful consideration, CDC made several structural changes in February 2023. Key elements of those changes were:

• Combining two centers to form the National Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Public Health Infrastructure and Workforce to improve collaboration with local health departments and public health partners.
• Taking steps to make sure CDC Core Capabilities are appropriately aligned and resourced by establishing corresponding offices in the Office of the Director, the offices are as follows: Office of Health Equity, Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology, Office of Laboratory Science and Safety, and Office of Readiness and Response.

The new structure will enable CDC to better respond to and tackle future public health threats, like COVID-19 and MPox, while continuing its important day-to-day work to address longstanding health challenges.

What's Next for CDC Moving Forward?

As of November 2024, CDC implemented all 160+ process improvement actions identified as part of CDC Moving Forward. Through these actions, CDC addressed numerous processes, training and development needs, systems, strategies, and frameworks. CDC will continue to monitor ongoing efforts and outcomes that resulted from CDC Moving Forward so we can understand the impact of changes made, associated metrics, and opportunities for continuous improvement. Across the agency, CDC is better positioned to respond to and tackle future public health threats, while continuing the important day-to-day work of disease control and prevention.