CDC's Virtual Events Program Created By The Public Sector, For The Public Sector

Declines in budgets across the public health community were just one reason the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began looking at innovative approaches for employees and partners to collaborate online.

With the agency’s health informatics partners stretching to state and local public health departments, academics, educational institutions, standards organizations, as well as other countries, CDC in 2009 began examining how it could develop a more cost-effective and efficient way for these key stakeholders to meet, collaborate and advance new ideas.

The result was the Virtual Platform Initiative – the first-ever public sector-developed virtual events program. Under project lead and creator Adam Arthur, the agency in 2011 launched the Public Health Informatics Conference, which opened up an on-site conference in Atlanta to nearly 2,000 virtual registrants.