Issued: 7 September 2026
Deadline for applications: 22 September 2026
The World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking experts to serve as members of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on Strengthening National Capacities in Evidence-Based Decision-Making for the Uptake and Impact of WHO Norms and Standards. This Call for Experts provides information about the Technical Advisory Group, the expert profiles being sought, the process to express interest, and the selection process.
Background
At its Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly, Member States adopted resolution WHA78.10, Strengthening national capacities in evidence-based decision-making for the uptake and impact of norms and standards.
The resolution requests WHO to develop a Global Framework and a Global Action Plan to support Member States in strengthening institutional, technical and operational capacities to promote the uptake, adaptation, implementation and impact of WHO norms and standards and other evidence-informed health interventions.
The development of the Global Framework and Global Action Plan requires multidisciplinary expertise spanning evidence-informed policymaking, implementation science, guideline development, health systems strengthening, knowledge translation, monitoring and evaluation, capacity strengthening, and country implementation experience.
To support this work, WHO is establishing a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to provide strategic and technical advice throughout the development and implementation of the Global Framework and Global Action Plan.
Functions of the Technical Advisory Group
The TAG will serve as an advisory body to WHO and will provide strategic guidance and technical advice on matters related to strengthening national capacities for evidence-based decision-making for the uptake and impact of WHO norms and standards.
The functions of the TAG will include:
- advising WHO on the development of the Global Framework and Global Action Plan under WHA78.10;
- reviewing and providing technical feedback on draft frameworks, tools, guidance documents and implementation resources;
- advising on approaches for strengthening the uptake, adaptation, implementation and impact of WHO norms and standards at national and subnational levels;
- providing guidance on strengthening national systems and institutions for evidence-based decision-making;
- advising on methods, indicators and approaches for monitoring and evaluating implementation and impact, and building feedback mechanisms from implementation back to the norms and standards development phase;
- providing technical input on stakeholder engagement, consultation processes and regional and country-level implementation considerations;
- identifying emerging evidence, good practices, innovations and lessons learned from national, regional and global experience;
- advocating for and building and investment case for strengthening national capacities in evidence-based decision-making; and
- supporting WHO in identifying opportunities for collaboration, including funding opportunities, as well as alignment with existing initiatives, networks and capacity-strengthening efforts.
Role and duration
Members of the TAG will serve in their personal capacities and not as representatives of any government, institution or organization.
The TAG is expected to meet virtually approximately three to four times per year, with additional consultations conducted electronically as required.
The initial term of appointment is expected to be one year, with the possibility of renewal depending on programmatic needs.
WHO shall determine the TAG's working methods and meeting arrangements. The working language of the group will be English.
Who can express interest?
WHO is seeking experts with recognised expertise and leadership experience and/or practical implementation experience in one or more of the following areas:
Technical areas
- evidence-informed health policy and decision-making, including knowledge translation and institutionalisation;
- guideline development, contextualisation, adaptation and implementation, including the ‘living approach’ and SMART guidelines;
- implementation research/science, complex systems, and contribution analysis;
- monitoring, evaluation, learning and impact assessment;
- health programme implementation;
- health policy, governance, health systems, priority setting, health economics and health technology assessment;
- digital, behavioural and social science approaches supporting evidence generation and uptake; and
- capacity strengthening for evidence-informed decision-making.
Practical experience
Particular consideration will be given to experts with experience in:
- supporting governments and national institutions to strengthen evidence-informed health policy and decision-making;
- contextualizing, adapting, implementing or assessing the uptake and impact of WHO or other evidence-based norms, standards and guidance at country level;
- applying digital approaches and technologies to support the implementation, adaptation or uptake of evidence-based norms, standards and guidance;
- establishing or strengthening institutional mechanisms for evidence-informed decision-making;
- supporting the implementation and scale-up of evidence-informed health policies, programmes or guidelines; and
- working across different country and health system contexts, including low- and middle-income countries and/or in regional or global health initiatives.
Member selection
WHO shall consider the following criteria in selecting members:
- Technical and professional expertise
Demonstrated technical expertise and substantial professional experience in one or more of the areas identified above.
- Diversity and balance
WHO aims to achieve an appropriate balance across: - geographic regions;
- gender
- areas of technical expertise
- professional backgrounds
- experience from different health system contexts.
- Ability to contribute
Availability and willingness to actively contribute to meetings, document reviews and consultations.
Submitting your Expression of Interest
To be considered for membership of the TAG, please complete and submit the online application form by 22 September 2026, 23:59 CEST.
The application form includes dedicated fields for uploading all required supporting documents. Please upload the documents directly through the form and do not send them separately by email.
Applicants are required to upload the following documents:
- Cover letter describing:
- motivation for applying
- relevant expertise and experience
- areas of contribution relevant to the TAG.
Please note that, if selected, membership will be in a personal capacity. Therefore, please do not use the letterhead or other identification of your employer.
- Current curriculum vitae (CV).
- Signed and completed Declaration of Interests (DOI) form for WHO Experts.
Please ensure that all three documents are uploaded through the online form before submitting your application. Documents sent separately by email will not be considered.
The selection of members will take into consideration the principles of equitable geographical representation, gender balance, a balance of experts from high-, middle-, and low-income countries, representation of different trends of thought, approaches and practical experience in various parts of the world, and an appropriate interdisciplinary balance. Please make sure that your submission provides the relevant information for this assessment.
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 a AG is, amongst 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 and 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. 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 to WHO the countersigned copy of these two documents.
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, disband an existing TAG or 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 WHA7810@who.int well before the applicable deadline.