Serial number: 2025/June/210
Issued on: 3-July-2025
Deadline: 24-July-2025
The World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking experts to serve as members of the Collaboratory Technical Advisory Group. 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
Collaboratory is a World Health Organization (WHO) Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence initiative that provides the common space for global analytical communities to convene, coordinate, collaborate and participate in collaborative analytics. Collaboratory envisions a world where interconnected pandemic and epidemic intelligence communities collaboratively and rapidly respond with shared knowledge and experience, enhanced data and improved analysis for public health action. To facilitate this, Collaboratory has established a digital environment for a global analytics community to collaboratively address critical public health challenges.
Collaboratory is a growing global network that connects analytical communities and individuals from around the world in one online space and through practical face-to-face workshops. Since launching in early 2024, Collaboratory has gained momentum with the pandemic and epidemic intelligence community and now hosts over 17 communities of practice and more than 1000 members. Members are made up of epidemiologists, data scientists, modelers, decision makers and more, coming from more than 50 countries or territories and are based at more than 100 institutions or agencies. The focus of the communities of practice includes (but is not limited to) the development of public health goods that are accessible and easily adapted for different contexts, or the generation of collaborative analytics that leads to actionable insights.
The Collaboratory Technical Advisory Group (CTAG) provides technical and policy input and advice to the Collaboratory Secretariat and to support Collaboratory activities and policies. The CTAG will propose solutions to challenges and drive the way forward, notably on aspects related to evolution of the digital architecture and analytics as well as the establishment and modes of engagement of existing and new communities of practice. The work of the CTAG will support delivery of robust and relevant outcomes of the Collaboratory by ensuring that the latest global technological and policy developments, projects, and collaborative networks in the PEI landscape, including perspectives from other disciplines, such as the social sciences and economics, are considered. The CTAG will foster connections across the PEI communities, partners, and networks globally while also leveraging vertical and horizontal collaboration across WHO.
Functions of the Collaboratory Technical Advisory Group
The CTAG members shall have the following functions and responsibilities and will carry out the following activities:
- Attend and participate in regularly scheduled virtual and periodic face-to-face meetings of the CTAG.
- Provide advice on Collaboratory technical and policy activities and direction.
- Provide feedback on documents and other materials distributed prior to CTAG meetings and on an ad hoc basis.
- Provide technical input, guidance, and advice about specific Collaboratory-related topics or challenges that arise.
- Undertake any focused tasks related to Collaboratory areas of work as agreed with the Collaboratory Secretariat.
- Bring new ideas and act as a sounding board for ideas raised by others.
- Link with other partners and networks globally and ensure alignment of the Collaboratory with other PEI-related communities.
- Identify and link to potential funding opportunities.
- Produce regular annual reports and ad hoc interim reports.
Operations of the Collaboratory Technical Advisory Group
The CTAG will meet once a month virtually via video or teleconference and at least once a year in person at the WHO Hub in Berlin, Germany. The Collaboratory Secretariat may convene additional meetings. The mode of the meetings will be at the discretion of the Collaboratory Secretariat.
CTWG members are expected to attend and actively participate in meetings including in working groups, teleconferences, and interaction via email. CTAG members may, in advance of CTAG meetings, be requested to review meeting documentation and to provide their views for consideration by the CTAG.
The working language of the CTAG will be English
Further details are available in the CTAG Terms of Reference.
Who can express interest?
The CTAG will be multidisciplinary, with members who have a range of technical knowledge, skills, and experience relevant to pandemic and epidemic intelligence. Approximately 15 members may be selected.
WHO welcomes expressions of interest from scientists and public health professionals working in topics relevant to PEI and the work of the Collaboratory, such as:
- Infectious disease epidemics and pandemics
- IT / Systems architecture
- Data science and analytics
- Surveillance and surveillance systems
- Knowledge management and integration
- Working across sectors and disciplines
Specifically, we are looking for individuals that have expertise and experience in infectious disease analytics related to PEI and in translating results and insights for public health action, and who are interested in building a culture of collaboration across PEI communities building these analytic systems. Individuals should have strong links with existing PEI networks and partners, including from other disciplines such as the social sciences and economics. Members are expected to have had 10 years or more experience in their field.
The selection of members of the CTAG will be made by the Collaboratory Secretariat in its sole discretion, also taking into account the following criteria in addition to the above 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 CTAG members will also take into account the need for diverse perspectives from different regions, especially from low and middle-income countries, and for gender balance.
Submitting your expression of interest
To register your interest in being considered for membership in the CTAG, please submit the following documents by 24:00h (midnight) Geneva time on 24 July 2025 to the Collaboratory at Collaboratory@who.int with “Expression of interest for the CTAG Open Call” in the subject line:
- 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. Therefore, do not use the letterhead or other identification of your employer;
- Your curriculum vitae
- A signed and completed Declaration of Interests (DOI) form for WHO Experts, available at https://www.who.int/about/ethics/declaration-of-interests.
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 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 (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 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 Collaboratory@who.int well before the applicable deadline/