Report writing for “The new future for the Western Pacific Region” from a diverse community perspective

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Agreement of Performance of Work Report writing for “The new future for the Western Pacific Region” from a diverse community perspective

Terms of Reference

Purpose: To support in the development of various special projects reports.

Background The Data, Strategy and Innovation (DSI) unit was set up in 2019 in WPRO in response to “For the Future” and focuses on innovation, data and strategic engagement with countries on health systems transformation. DSI leads the Health Futures Strategic Dialogue process for WHO Regional Office in the Western Pacific. At the turn of the decade, foresight and strategic planning were high on the agenda of WHO in the Western Pacific Region. The WHO Regional Committee endorsed in 2019 the For the Future: Towards the Healthiest and Safest Region – a collective vision for WHO's work in the Western Pacific. By endorsing this vision, the 37 countries and areas in the Region committed to putting the future up front and centre and to equipping their health systems to face it. Then the COVID-19 crisis hit. Health systems in the Western Pacific and across the world struggled to cope with the unprecedented levels of infection, as staff, facilities and supplies ran short. At the same time economies buckled under the weight of enforced travel restrictions, business closures and a vast range of sociocultural impacts. Against this backdrop, foresight and strategic planning are more important than ever. Leaders across the Region are looking to the future and thinking of ways to secure their nation's health systems against the next big shock. Against this backdrop, supporting countries to imbed futures-oriented approaches are more important than ever. Leaders across the Region (and beyond) are looking to the future and thinking of ways to secure their nation's health systems against the next challenges.

Living with COVID-19: A New Future for the Western Pacific Region (PREVIOUS REPORT) Across the Western Pacific Region, the pandemic has strained health systems, brought entire sectors to a standstill and intruded on every aspect of our daily lives. Governments want to know: How long will these disruptions last? What impacts will they have on my people and country? Will our health services and systems be able to cope with the challenges ahead? What will the future look like in the near future and beyond?

To help answer these questions, WHO WPRO convened five thematic think tanks, tapping on experts across a wide range of fields, using a structured framework and proven methodology to capture and imagine the possibilities of a future world in which COVID-19 is part of our reality. Living with COVID-19: A New Future for the Western Pacific Region identifies the trends and tendencies that will shape the future providing Member States and other key stakeholders with a platform for preparation and strategic planning that can ensure that their health systems are prepared and equipped to meet the challenges of the future.

Special projects During the implementation of the Health Futures Strategic Dialogue process and the creation of the thematic Think Tanks, it was observed that the development of the vision of the future came from a single perspective - i.e. of subject-matter experts. The think tank on the history of pandemics demonstrated the depth and importance of community engagement during pandemics. Community-driven narratives were shown to be a powerful source to understand existing social constructs and how these contribute to the development of social contracts, shaping levels of trust in and support for government actions and health systems and structures. Three Special Projects were created to incorporate diverse perspectives into our futures work for the Western Pacific region. The Special Projects are an opportunity to help ensure that the description of the future will be more inclusive and representative of these community discussions, maintaining health as a central part of these dialogues. That communities’ understanding of health as a critical driver of overall social, mental and physical well-being as well as economic development is honed, using COVID-19 as a window of opportunity to build a more inclusive future of health. We aim to engage, stimulate and inspire communities in their discussions about health and support greater understanding of community points of view in government and the WHO, that can help shape government policy and the work of WHO in the years to come. The Special Projects are not isolated projects; instead, they are part of a strategic approach to incorporate the voices of groups that we don't often hear from, so we can ensure that we are building a comprehensive picture of the future. Social change cannot occur without acknowledging power dynamics, and today’s accelerated disruptions oblige us to rethink equitable health outcomes - the first step of which would be to incorporate lesser reached voices. These three projects are: 1. SenseMaker: Using the SenseMaker platform, youth from the Western Pacific Region were invited to share their thoughts on: (1) the future world, (2) the future of health, (3) how the future might emerge and (4) how to create a more positive future. The storytelling and journaling exercises coupled with questionnaire “triads” resulted in a rich repository of micro-narratives revealing more qualitative nuances of young peoples’ insights, thoughts and feelings on the future. 2. Crowdsourcing for social health innovations: This project taps into the vision and imagination of the youth in the Philippines and Malaysia to crowdsource ideas on social health innovations for the future (year 2050) of health in the Region, identify challenges and issues, and develop innovative solutions and ideas. 3. The “WHO FUTURES ART EXHIBITION: Envisioning the future of Health in 2050”: this project will explore and stimulate dialogues on what the futures of health and well-being might look like. It will show how artists use metaphors, symbols and visuals to transmit an understanding of how the future of health well-being and health systems could be shaped.

Description of activities to be carried out The following will be undertaken: 1. Analyse the outputs of the three special projects: SenseMaker: A slide deck capturing key insights; additional data and visuals will be provided for further analysis. Crowdsourcing: An executive summary, PowerPoint presentation and illustrations of the process and the digital hackathon comprising an overview of the submissions from youth the possible futures and the problems and challenges they will face and the selected solutions will be provided.

Art exhibition: The information form the Art Exhibition will be the visual artworks submitted by artists and their written statement. The consultant will have to review the corpus formed by the outputs of the art exhibition. The paper should fulfill the following objectives: • Collate and analyse artists’ perspectives on the future of health, to feed into ongoing work on emerging health trends and priorities for more inclusive health futures. • Incorporate connections, reflections, and insights regarding the future of health and well-being in the Western Pacific Region from an expert futurist’s perspective. In this sense, the inputs of the futurist will be crucial to complementing the material generated by the artists. 2. After completing the analysis of the three special projects we need to connect the outputs and conclusions of the three projects to provide a consolidated synthesis of representations of the futures of health in the Region, aligning the connections with the “Living with COVID-19: A New Future for the Western Pacific Region” report.

Planned timelines Start date: 15 June 2021 End date: 31 December 2021

Work to be performed Method(s) to carry out the activity The successful candidate will carry out all activities in their own time, with their own software and equipment. Regular emails and virtual meetings will be required with the Strategic Dialogue team, and/or publications team (if needed). A validation process on the piece will be required, including several rounds of iteration. Please include adequate resources towards this process in your financial offer.

Deliverable(s) to be submitted The person will need to generate: 1. The full report of approximately 20-40 pages, comprising of an analysis of the outputs of the three projects and an account of the vision of the future that can be extrapolated from these outputs, aligned with the “New Future report”. Note: Each part needs to work separately to be used if needed as independent reports. 2. One abbreviated executive summary of 4-6 pages in English, in Word format.

The full report should include: 1. Executive summary 2. An introduction section (about the units, the work previous work done and the 3 special projects) 3. Three sections, each providing an in-depth analysis of the outputs of the three Special Projects. 4. A collective vision of the future of health, health systems and well-being for the Region stemming from these communities’ perspectives (new dimensions of change).

Technical Supervision The selected contractor will work under the supervision of: DIA and INR Coordinator and acting DSI

Specific requirements - Qualifications required: University degree in Journalism, AB or in social or natural sciences. Desirable: Master's degree or above in management, business administration and/or public health - Experience required: At least 5 years’ experience in writing, editing and proofreading reports and publications materials. Experience working with health researchers for report writing including within an international context. - Skills / Technical skills and knowledge: Excellent in report writing and story development. Expertise in editing/proofreading and familiarity with WHO style is a plus. - Language requirements: Excellent speaking, reading and writing knowledge of the English language

Competencies Able to complete the task in the given time frame Producing results

Place of assignment Remotely

Medical clearance The selected contractor will not be expected to provide a medical certificate of fitness for work.

Travel The contractor is not expected to travel during his/her consultancy period.