DRAFT Concept Note and Terms of Reference for World Bank-Civil Society Consultative Group On Health, Nutrition, and Population (Updated as of 15 November 2010) Background The World Bank recognizes the critically important role that civil society plays in public policy dialogue, service delivery, and wider development efforts. During the past three decades, the Bank has been engaging civil society organizations (CSOs) in its work at the global, regional, and country levels. The Bank regularly consults or collaborates with CSOs on a broad range of activities including the development and review of Bank policies, Country Assistance Strategies, sector strategies and reports, and Bank-financed development projects. By engaging with CSOs, the Bank seeks to ensure that it is listening to, and learning from, the voices of the poor and marginalized populations and organizations that deliver healthcare to the most underserved communities in developing countries; improving the effectiveness of its health and development efforts; and promoting transparency and accountability in the countries where it works. In the areas of Health, Nutrition, and Population (HNP), the Bank s engagement with CSOs includes a wide range of health issues. Numerous CSOs have partnered with the Bank and its member countries as service providers in Multi-Country AIDS Programs (MAPs) and other Bank-supported health projects. During the past few years, the Bank has been involved in extensive policy dialogue with CSOs around the world as part of the International Health Partnership (IHP+) process and the High Level Taskforce on Innovative International Financing for Health Systems, including a major workshop held in London in October 2009 to discuss follow-up to the Taskforce report. Other recent or ongoing areas of Bank-CSO engagement in HNP include the development of a joint Global Action Plan on Nutrition; a South Asia regional Development Marketplace competition on nutrition; consultations on the Bank s Reproductive Health Action Plan for 2010-2015; joint advocacy through the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health; and consultations on the Health Systems Platform with the Bank, GAVI and the Global Fund. Context for the HNP Consultative Group The UN Secretary-General has designated 2010 The Year of Development, signaling the beginning of the five-year countdown to the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Bank is working with all partners at the global and country levels to help developing countries achieve the better health results called for in the health MDGs. In this context, the Bank aims to expand and deepen its engagement with CSOs working on HNP, with the objective of improving health outcomes at the local, national, regional, and global levels. On March 5, 2010, senior Bank officials met with about two dozen U.S. CSO representatives in Washington, D.C., to share perspectives on the challenges that developing countries face in achieving the health MDGs, and to solicit ideas for how the Bank and CSOs can work together more effectively on this shared agenda. Then on April 8, 2010, the Bank co-organized a roundtable discussion, Continuing 1
the Dialogue on Health toward 2015, with the European CSO network Action for Global Health (AfGH) in Brussels, Belgium. Senior managers from the Bank s HNP sector met with more than 30 participants from Northern and Southern CSOs. More information is available at www.worldbank.org/hnp/cso. At the conclusion of the Brussels meeting, in response to the call from the participating CSOs for a more structured mechanism for Bank-CSO engagement, a proposal was made to establish a Bank-CSO Consultative Group on Health, Nutrition, and Population. Meeting participants endorsed the proposal, and a sub-group of participants subsequently consulted with the Bank on next steps. On October 16, 2010, in Nairobi, Kenya, a third roundtable was co-organized by the Bank and the Centre for Health Sciences Training, Research and Development (CHESTRAD) with the objective of providing an opportunity for Southern CSO representatives from Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe, and Central Asia to discuss possibilities for improving Bank-civil Society dialogue and collaboration in the future, including consideration of the proposed Consultative Group and these draft Terms of Reference. This November 15 version of the Terms of Reference incorporates extensive comments contributed by CSOs over the past 5 months. Objectives of HNP Consultative Group The overall objective of the Bank-CSO Consultative Group on HNP is to provide a structured and transparent mechanism for CSOs to contribute to; influence; and share information, lessons learned, and advice on the development and impact of Bank plans and policies and programs in HNP in low- and middle-income countries. More specifically, the objectives of this group are as follows: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) Facilitate a meaningful dialogue between CSOs and the Bank s HNP Director and staff on issues affecting the Bank s work in HNP at the global, regional and country levels; Ensure that civil society views on the Bank s work in HNP are shared with the Bank s senior management, regional and country teams and Executive Directors, facilitating linkages with these and other relevant Bank stakeholders and consultative processes as needed; Exchange feedback on lessons learned from the Bank, CSOs, partner countries and organizations on promising approaches to assist developing countries in achieving better results in HNP; and Identify and facilitate opportunities to enhance Bank-CSO collaboration to improve HNP results in developing countries. HNP Consultative Group Structure and Guiding Principles for Membership The Bank-CSO Consultative Group on HNP will comprise 12-15 members of national and international CSOs working in HNP, guided by the experience from the IHP+ and other similar consultative processes. The Bank, in consultation with a small group of CSO focal points, will conduct an open and transparent selection process, inviting nominations from around the globe. A committee comprised of CSO focal points from the Brussels and Nairobi meetings and Bank staff will review the list of nominations and develop a short-list of possible members of the Consultative Group. This group will work with the World Bank HNP team to select the members from the short-list. 2
Consultative Group membership will be based on the following principles: Consultative Group membership should reflect gender and geographic diversity. CSO members should be drawn from a broad range of countries from Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Europe, and North America. Consultative Group members should be grounded in the work of CSOs in HNP at global, regional or country levels, ideally with experience working in one or more developing countries. Consultative Group members should demonstrate substantial depth of experience (a minimum of 10-15 years) working in the HNP sector in low- and middle-income countries and should hold senior positions in their respective organizations. Consultative Group membership should reflect expertise in a range of thematic areas covered by the Bank s work in HNP, for example maternal, neonatal and child health, health policy and planning, health financing, health systems strengthening, HIV/AIDS, nutrition, population and reproductive health, and gender. Consultative Group members should be drawn from as broad a spectrum of CSOs as possible, including non-traditional NGOs such as patient groups, health workers/unions, faith-based organizations, marginalized or vulnerable groups, and groups with experience in public-private partnerships. Consultative Group members will have official consent of their organization to participate in the Consultative Group. Consultative Group members should demonstrate their capacity and commitment to reach out to and consult with other CSOs and networks working in HNP at the global, regional, and/or country levels, and demonstrate how they will bring others views to the table. CSO membership in the Consultative Group will rotate after two years to promote diversity of participation. To ensure some continuity, the rotation will be staggered in a manner to be agreed on by the first CSO members of the Consultative Group and in consultation with the Bank s HNP Consultative Group focal points. Two CSO CG members and two HNP Bank staff will be asked to serve as focal points, in order to facilitate coordination and communication among the group members and with broader civil society. Terms of Reference CSO members of the HNP Consultative Group will be expected to assume the following responsibilities: 1. Participate in face-to-face meetings with Bank management at least once a year, as well as in regular (frequency to be determined by the Consultative Group) meetings by video or teleconference or other appropriate means. 2. Provide strategic input into selected and prioritized HNP policies, strategies, reports, projects, evaluations and other Bank activities in the HNP sector, to be determined by the group. 3. Where possible, analyze Bank policies and strategies relevant to HNP. 4. Where possible, identify and facilitate opportunities to promote Bank-CSO dialogue and operational collaboration in the HNP sector at global, regional and country levels. 5. Proactively disseminate information about the Consultative Group s agenda and deliberations with their respective CSOs and networks around the globe. Concrete and detailed proposals on this process will be decided on by the group and shared rapidly. 3
6. Facilitate dialogue and consultation with global and national CSOs working in HNP on the issues discussed by the Consultative Group; solicit a diverse range of inputs and recommendations and report these findings to the Consultative Group. Bank staff focal points for the HNP Consultative Group will be expected to assume the following responsibilities: 1. Facilitate CSO collaboration and discussion with Bank staff working on HNP at the global, regional, and country levels. 2. Advise and support CSOs to ensure that their views are heard by relevant HNP Bank managers and staff. 3. Report back to CSOs on the follow up and impact of specific CSO recommendations on the Bank s work in HNP. Proposed Deliverables At its first meeting, the Consultative Group will finalize these Terms of Reference and agree on the Group s deliverables, as well as on other specific modalities of operation as the group deems necessary. Progress on deliverables will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, and additional deliverables may be phased in whenever appropriate. For example, proposed deliverables of the HNP Consultative Group for consideration could include: 1. Document and share lessons learned and best practices of CSO participation in Bank-supported programs in HNP, e.g. in needs assessments, development and implementation of national health strategies, monitoring and evaluation, and innovative approaches to integration of health issues in other sector/development strategies and programs. 2. Identify opportunities (e.g. policies/programs/countries/reports) and processes to facilitate or enhance CSO engagement with the Bank HNP team and member governments on Banksupported programs in HNP and strengthening health systems in developing countries. 3. Set up a tracking mechanism to help demonstrate the impact that the Consultative Group s recommendations on the Bank s work in HNP. 4. Conduct a joint review of the work of the Consultative Group with a view toward assessing the quality of civil society engagement in the Bank s work in HNP, and identifying challenges, successes, and opportunities for improved ways of working in the future. Evaluation After 18-24 months, the Consultative Group will conduct an open and transparent review of its process and activities, in consultation with broader civil society and other stakeholders at the global, regional, and country levels. The scope and specific terms of reference for the evaluation will be determined by the group at a later date. Funding and Communications Travel and meeting expenses for the annual face-to-face meeting of the Consultative Group will be funded by the World Bank. The World Bank also will host and organize the videoconference or audio links for regularly scheduled virtual meetings of the Consultative Group. Broader consultations with CSOs will be conducted where possible by piggybacking on other HNP-related events with large CSO 4
presence. All information about the Consultative Group and its activities will be shared in a transparent and timely manner on the World Bank s HNP CSO website (www.worldbank.org/hnp/cso). Timeline April 2010 Establishment of Bank-CSO Consultative Group on HNP proposed at meeting hosted by Action for Global Health in Brussels, Belgium. CSO focal points identified to work with Bank staff to develop draft concept note/tor for the Consultative Group. May-September 2010 Bank and CSO focal points jointly developed draft concept note/tor through a series of conference calls and virtual exchanges; draft concept note/tor circulated widely for comments through civil society listservs and posted on Bank website for comments. October 2010 Third Bank-CSO Roundtable on HNP held in Nairobi, Kenya, with the participation of CSOs from Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Eastern/Central Europe, and Central Asia. Finalize the draft concept note/tor and selection process for the Consultative Group. November 2010 Issue global call for nominations for the Consultative Group; information will be posted on the Bank s website and circulated widely around the globe. December 2010 Close call for Consultative Group nominations (DEADLINE: December 15). World Bank and CSO focal points on selection committee simultaneously review nominations and develop short list of candidates. January 2011 World Bank and CSO focal points hold conference call to discuss shortlisted candidates and finalize selection of Consultative Group members. World Bank announces first members of Consultative Group. World Bank sends out letters of invitation for Consultative Group nominees with information on first meeting and logistics requirements. February-March 2011 First meeting of the Consultative Group at World Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C. All information related to the Consultative Group is posted at www.worldbank.org/hnp/cso Please send questions or comments to hnpcso@worldbank.org 5