WHO/Europe: Technical Advisory Group on Behavioural and Cultural Insights
Call for experts
Technical Advisory Group on Behavioural and Cultural Insights
Deadline: 15 August 2021
The World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking experts to serve as members of the Technical Advisory Group on Behavioural and Cultural Insights (TAG-BCI). This Call for experts provides information about the advisory group in question, the expert profiles being sought, the process to express interest, and the process of selection.
Background
The TAG-BCI will act as an advisory body to the Behavioural and Cultural Insights (BCI) Unit at the WHO Regional Office for Europe (WHO/Europe) to further its efforts in promoting BCI-related work in countries, innovation, and translation into policy and interventions. The objectives of this work are to (1) strengthen experience, capacity, expertise and investment in Member States and WHO in order to identify barriers to and drivers of healthy practices and use these insights to strengthen health policies, structures, services and promotion; and (2) support a stronger, more coordinated effort in this field among international partners, experts, civil society, WHO health programmes and countries.
Functions of the TAG-BCI
In its capacity as an advisory body to WHO/Europe, the TAG-BCI shall have the following functions.
- Identify and describe current and future challenges where BCI can be leveraged to improve health and well-being in the Region.
- Advise WHO/Europe in the development of strategic documents and policy recommendations on BCI, particularly with regard to the state of the evidence and relevant policy innovations.
- Advise WHO/Europe on strategic directions for prioritization within BCI to accelerate action towards broader regional and global health goals and strategies.
- Propose other strategic interventions and activities for implementation by WHO/Europe to meet the objectives of the BCI Unit.
Members must be free of conflicts of interest. Membership is personal, and no members will represent their employer or an organization with which they are affiliated. See more information below.
Operations of the TAG-BCI
The TAG-BCI shall normally meet once each year. However, WHO/Europe is likely to convene additional meetings during the first years of the TAG’s existence. Meetings may be held in person (at the WHO Regional Office for Europe in Copenhagen or another location, as determined by WHO/Europe) or virtually, using online meeting options. In addition, the advice and feedback of the TAG-BCI members may be sought over email.
- Members will be appointed to service for a period of 2 years and shall be eligible for reappointment.
- TAG-BCI members are expected to attend meetings. If a member misses 2 consecutive meetings, WHO/Europe may end his/her appointment as a member of the TAG/BCI.
- Active participation is expected from all TAG/BCI members, including in online meetings and interaction over email. Members may be required to review strategic documents and meeting documentation in advance of meetings to provide their views for consideration by the TAG-BCI.
- WHO/Europe shall determine the modes of communication of the TAG/BCI.
Who can express interest?
The TAG-BCI will be multidisciplinary with members who have a range of technical knowledge, skills and experience relevant to the areas mentioned below. Up to 15 members may be selected.
WHO welcomes expressions of interest from researchers, public health experts, healthcare professionals, entrepreneurs, innovators, artists, journalists, and policy-makers representing a broad range of expertise relevant to BCI, including but not limited to cultural studies, literature and language, arts and health, history of medicine, behavioural economics, behavioural psychology, health literacy, anthropology, monitoring and evaluation, and other health-related social sciences and humanities. Experience in the following areas is particularly desirable:
- implementation and knowledge translation
- capacity-building
- research methods (both quantitative and qualitative).
Submitting your expression of interest
To register your interest in being considered for the TAG-BCI, please submit the following documents by 15 August 2021, 24:00 (CEST) to euinsights@who.int using the subject line “Expression of interest for the TAG-BCI”:
- a cover letter, indicating your motivation to apply and how you satisfy the selection criteria (please note that, if selected, membership will be in a personal capacity and therefore, do not use the letterhead or other identification of your employer);
- your curriculum vitae; and
- a signed and completed Declaration of Interests (DOI) for WHO Experts form, available at https://www.who.int/about/ethics/declarations-of-interest
After submission, your expression of interest will be reviewed by WHO. Due to an expected high volume of interest, only selected individuals will be informed.
Important information about the selection processes and conditions of appointment
Members of WHO advisory groups (AGs) must be free of any real, potential or apparent conflicts of interest. To this end, applicants are required to complete the WHO Declaration of Interests for WHO Experts, and the selection as a member of an AG is, among other things, dependent on WHO determining that there is no conflict of interest or that any identified conflicts could be appropriately managed (in addition to WHO’s evaluation of an applicant’s experience, expertise, motivation and other criteria).
All AG members will serve in their individual expert capacity and shall not represent any governments, any commercial industries or entities, any research, academic or civil society organizations, or any other bodies, entities, institutions or organizations. They are expected to fully comply with the Code of Conduct for WHO Experts (https://www.who.int/about/ethics/declarations-of-interest). AG members will be expected to sign and return a completed confidentiality undertaking prior to the beginning of the first meeting.
At any point during the selection process, telephone interviews may be scheduled between an applicant and the WHO secretariat to enable WHO to ask questions relating to the applicant’s experience and expertise and/or to assess whether the applicant meets the criteria for membership in the relevant AG.
The selection of members of the AGs will be made by WHO in its sole discretion, taking into account the following (non-exclusive) criteria:
- relevant technical expertise;
- experience in international and country policy work;
- communication skills; and
- ability to work constructively with people from different cultural backgrounds and orientations.
The selection of AG members will also take account of the need for diverse perspectives from different regions, especially from low- and middle-income countries, and for gender balance.
If selected by WHO, proposed members will be sent an invitation letter and a Memorandum of Agreement. Appointment as a member of an AG will be subject to the proposed member returning the countersigned copy of these 2 documents to WHO.
WHO reserves the right to accept or reject any expression of interest, to annul the open call process, and reject all expressions of interest at any time without incurring any liability to the affected applicant or applicants and without any obligation to inform the affected applicant or applicants of the grounds for WHO’s action. WHO may also decide, at any time, not to proceed with the establishment of the AG, to disband an existing TAG, or to modify the work of the AG.
WHO shall not in any way be obliged to reveal, or discuss with any applicant, how an expression of interest was assessed, or to provide any other information relating to the evaluation/selection process or to state the reasons for not choosing a member.
WHO may publish the names and a short biography of the selected individuals on the WHO internet.
AG members will not be remunerated for their services in relation to the AG or otherwise. Travel and accommodation expenses of AG members to participate in AG meetings will be covered by WHO in accordance with its applicable policies, rules and procedures.
The appointment will be limited in time as indicated in the letter of appointment.
If you have any questions about this Call for experts, please write to euinsights@who.int well before the applicable deadline.
