Tribal Epidemiology Centers staff from across Indian Country gather in Anchorage to learn essential grant management skills
September 3, 2019This summer, 25 Tribal Epidemiology Centers staff, representing 10 different organizations from across the nation, gathered to participate in the Management Concept’s Cost Principles for Federal Grants training in Anchorage, Alaska.
Sponsored by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium Tribal Epidemiology Center’s Public Health Infrastructure Network Coordinating Center and the ANTHC Alaska Native Epidemiology Center (EpiCenter), the training provided participants with knowledge and experience in federal cost principles and how they affect awards including: oversight; budget development and review; spending decisions; site visits; and audits. The instructor, Patrick Smith, provided many examples of cost principles and led exercises applying them to on-the-job scenarios.
In addition to the training, the creative team from the Southern Plains Tribal Health Board, Alex Smith and Chris Reed, were on-site gathering footage for the “What is a Tribal Epidemiology Center?” video project. Smith and Reed interviewed Tribal Epidemiology Centers staff, toured the ANTHC EpiCenter and the Alaska Native Health Campus, and did an exceptional job of making the interviewees feel at ease.
The finished video will highlight the importance of Tribal Epidemiology Centers in serving Alaska Native and American Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations and urban Indian organizations to improve health and well-being. The information will be shared with a variety of stakeholders including funders, decision makers and community members through the Tribal Epidemiology Centers website (TribalEpiCenters.org), individual Tribal Epidemiology Centers websites, the CDC website and Tribal Epidemiology Centers social media accounts.