General principles
10 The responsibility for the management of the collaboration with a WHO collaborating centre (WHO CC) is with the responsible officer who initiated the procedure for designation and his or her technical unit or programme (see below). However WHO CCs may work with several relevant technical units or programmes.
20 Good cooperation and communication between technical units in regions and headquarters, and where applicable, the WHO country office, is essential to ensure that the centre is managed effectively and that its collaboration is available to the whole Organization.
The responsible officer
30 The WHO professional staff at headquarters or a regional office identified as the main focal point for coordinating the activities as well as all issues related to a WHO CC is the "responsible officer". The responsible officers are responsible for:
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considering informal interaction or alternative mechanisms of collaboration (e.g. collaboration agreement, MOUs, designation as a national institution recognized by WHO, etc) prior to initiating proposals for new designations; verifying whether the criteria for designation described in section XV.5.2.90 are fulfilled;
- developing with the prospective centre a proposed list of terms of reference and a workplan of activities to be implemented by the proposed institution, ensuring that: i. all proposed activities in the workplan have been specially planned with and tailored for WHO with the purpose of directly contributing to a WHO programme activity, ii. all proposed activities in the workplan have concrete deliverables, and iii. that WHO policies have been followed;
- taking timely action in eCC, and follow up with prospective WHO CCs if no action is taken by them;
- ensuring that the agreed activities of the WHO CC under his or her responsibility are linked to the relevant WHO strategies and Programme Budget - it is mandatory to indicate in WHO workplans the actual contribution of the centre, and classify relevant activities using the relevant "Involvement of WHO Collaborating Centres" classification tool in the GSM; this classification should be made before workplans are approved at the beginning of a biennium and updated as revisions and updates are made to the workplans during the biennium; monitoring of workplans should include information on the contribution of WHO CCs to the delivery of relevant activities; performance monitoring and assessment of the implementation of the Programme Budget should include an analysis of the contribution of WHO CCs to the achievement of the Organization-wide Expected Results;
- maintaining a close contact with the centre, which may involve inviting WHO CCs to attend key meetings and regional briefings;
- continuously monitoring the quality of the work being produced and how the agreed plan of work is being implemented by the WHO CC, which includes reviewing the annual reports submitted by the centres and providing feedback as appropriate.
40 If the responsible officer ceases to be responsible for the centre (due to retirement, a change in functions or any other reason), he or she must ensure that a new responsible officer is identified (and the name of that person is communicated to the Global Focal Point for WHO CCs) before the change in responsibility becomes effective. In case of failure to identify a new responsible officer in a timely manner, the director of the programme or department concerned will be considered as the new responsible officer de facto.
50 New responsible officers are encouraged to approach the Global Focal Point for WHO CCs or his/her regional counterparts for a briefing on WHO CCs. They should also consult the WHO eManual, the Intranet and other relevant documents issued by the Global Focal Point for WHO CCs and regional counterparts.
60 Developing and strengthening institutional capacity in countries and regions is part of the mission of the WHO CCs. To achieve that aim, responsible officers should consider the following practices:
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When developing a plan of work, the responsible officer should ensure, to the maximum possible extent, that the results of the activities of the workplan of the WHO CC will benefit developing countries and, in particular, that some of the activities specifically aim to develop institutional capacity in target countries. Regional advisers and existing WHO CCs may help to identify such local institutions which can participate in the activities (not as WHO CCs but in a more informal capacity).
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Responsible officers with several WHO CCs working as a network should encourage the network to involve in their activities some institutions (other than the centres themselves) which are located in target countries and where developing institutional capacity may be a great asset to achieve the goals of the WHO programme as a whole.
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The responsible officer should evaluate the possibility of promoting twinning arrangements between a WHO CC in a developed country and a WHO CC (or other institution) in a developing country to jointly develop and implement activities (as opposed to one-way knowledge transfer).
Director (or area manager in AMRO) of the department of the responsible officer
70 The director of the department of the responsible officer is responsible for:
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defining a departmental strategy towards WHO CCs;
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providing overall guidance to the responsible officers under his/her supervision in their work with WHO CCs;
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conducting a final technical assessment of the proposals, in particular in order to ensure the quality and added value to WHO programmes of all proposed activities put forward by the responsible officers within their departments;
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ensuring that the criteria for designation mentioned in section XV.5.2.90 are fully met and all activities agreed with the WHO CC are in line with relevant WHO policies;
- deciding on whether to recommend to proceed with the proposed designation subject to the outcomes of the due diligence and risk assessment conducted in accordance with FENSA and related policies;
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providing advice on, and bringing visibility to, alternative mechanisms of collaboration such as MOUs, designation as a national institution recognized by WHO, etc;
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encouraging the use of the classification tool of GSM to link tasks to concerned WHO CCs;
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clarifying and raising awareness within their departments about roles and responsibilities of working with WHO CCs in order to increasing compliance with existing policies;
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including "effective management of WHO CCs" as an objective in responsible officer's PMDS and ensure appropriate allocation of time for management of WHO CCs;
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encouraging to the extent possible regular contact (calls, site visits, etc.) with the WHO CCs by responsible officers as well as networks as a way of managing WHO CCs (as opposed to one-on-one relationships);
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raising awareness of other concerned departments of the activities of the WHO CCs under his/her responsibility in order to allow potential new synergies between them;
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at the beginning of each WHO planning cycle (biennial) and/or when a new strategy for a department or programme is adopted, it is essential to address systematically how existing WHO CCs will fit the strategic objectives and priorities of the Organization and to identify areas where new WHO CCs are needed and which centres are perhaps no longer required.
Assistant Director-General or Regional Director of programme management (or equivalent)
80 Within his/her division or regional office, the assistant director-general/director of programme management is responsible for:
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working with directors to define their cluster/regional strategy towards WHO CCs;
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reviewing and, if satisfied with all aspects of the proposal including the fulfillment of the criteria for designation, terms of reference and activities, clearing proposals coming from their division or regional office;
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bringing attention to any high-level technical, political or policy issue that may affect the work with a WHO CC;
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providing advice on and bringing visibility to alternative mechanisms of collaboration;
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promoting training on WHO CC's rules, regulations and best practices to both responsible officers for WHO CCs and budget managing staff;
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clarifying and raising awareness about roles and responsibilities of working with WHO CCs in order to increasing compliance with existing policies;
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encouraging to the extent possible networks as a way of managing WHO CCs (as opposed to one-on-one relationships).
90 In addition to the above, directors of programme management are responsible to ensure appropriate involvement of relevant heads of WHO offices (such as WHO Representatives, Heads of Country Office or Country Liaison Officers) during the designation and redesignation procedures as well as during the designation period.
Technical Counterpart
100 The technical counterpart is a WHO staff working in the same technical subject area as the responsible officer, but in a different geographic location. If the responsible officer is located in headquarters, the technical counterpart is normally based at a regional office, and vice versa. The technical counterparts are responsible for:
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reviewing proposals for designation or redesignation in which he/she is the technical counterpart, and providing technical input to improve the quality of the proposal;
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where relevant, informing the responsible officer of another WHO staff who would be the most suitable person for the role of technical counterpart;
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involving heads of country offices, as agreed with their respective directors of programme management, in proposals initiated by headquarters (this applies to technical counterparts located in regional offices).
Responsibilities of the heads of WHO offices
110 In coordination with the concerned director of programme management and as appropriate on a case-by-case basis, the heads of WHO offices advise during the designation procedure and/or are involved in the work of the WHO CCs after designation. Such involvement may include, inter alia, site visits, informing WHO CCs of new WHO priorities or activities, seeking support from the WHO CCs and fostering networking activities.
Responsibilities of the WHO CCs
120 Prior to designation, the proposed institution must disclose and provide all relevant information to WHO as appropriate. Upon designation the responsibilities of the WHO CCs include:
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implementing their agreed workplan in a timely manner and to the highest possible standards of quality;
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bringing to the attention of the responsible officer any issue that can delay or compromise the implementation of the workplan;
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following all applicable WHO regulations and policies, in particular those contained in the
Terms and conditions for WHO collaborating centres;
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discussing with their responsible officer the possibility of a redesignation when the current period of designation is coming to an end.
