Objective  To evaluate the effectiveness of the fourth round of key public health discipline construction project in Shanghai.

  Methods  We conducted a survey using a self-designed questionnaire to collect data on the fourth round (2015 – 2018) capability construction of 10 key public health disciplines under the Three-Year Action Plan for Strengthening Public Health System in Shanghai. Onsite interviews and experts assessments were also carried out to rate the performance of capability construction of each of the key disciplines.

  Results  The chain of responsibility pattern was adopted in the management on the capability construction of all the 10 key disciplines and responsibilities for various project participants were well defined. The total project budget for the capability construction of all the 10 key disciplines was 153 million RMB yuan, with a total counterpart funds of 81 million yuan. There were 18 general managers engaged in the project and a higher proportion of the project participants were the professionals with intermediate or senior titles. During the period of project implementation, the number of studies, especially those of state-level research programs, undertaken by the participants of the project was increased markedly and the funds to the participants′ research programs were also increased greatly. The quantity and quality of published paper, monograph and intellectual property were all raised during the project implementation. Compared with those before the project implementation, the person times of participations both in state- or provincial-level academic organizations and international or domestic conferences rose up for the participants of the project during the implementation period. The ability to execute public health practice of the project′s participants was promoted obviously. The average score graded by the experts was 87.09, close to the level of excellent (≥ 90), for the performance of the capability construction of all the 10 key disciplines.

  Conclusion  The remarkable outcome has been achieved in the implementation of the fourth round of capability construction of key public health disciplines in Shanghai.