Creating the Management Academy for Public Health: relationships are primary.

True collaboration among large federal agencies is rare, as is that among large and influential national foundations. The collaboration between two major government health agencies (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Health Resources and Services Administration) and three major health foundations (the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the CDC Foundation) to create the Management Academy for Public Health is unprecedented in public health over the past quarter century. We attribute this success to the unique combination of a strong foundation of relationships between the partners and a commitment to generative dialogue throughout the design and implementation of the program. The success and sustainability of the Academy derive directly from these critical success factors, serving as an exemplary model for future collaborative endeavors.