Created in August 2026, the WHO Collaborating Centre for policy making and qualitative evidence (WHO CC quali4policy) at NTNU’s Department of Health Sciences in Ålesund supports WHO’s development of global guidelines and guides, focusing on the wider use of qualitative evidence in these products.

What we do

Building on longstanding collaborations with WHO, the Centre will work with the WHO Guidelines Review Committee Secretariat, other departments at WHO HQ and selected WHO regional offices in the Global South to support the use of qualitative evidence and to develop guidance and methods for presenting and using qualitative research in developing WHO guidelines and other normative products.

The new Centre will also work to strengthen the capacity of WHO staff and collaborators from the Global South to understand, interpret and apply qualitative evidence in decision making through training, mentoring and technical support. This will support the development of a robust network of professionals able to use qualitative research in WHO’s normative decision-making processes.

Our terms of reference are:

1. To provide support to WHO HQ and selected regional offices in packaging qualitative research for use in normative decision-making processes
2. To strengthen WHO’s capacity in the use of qualitative evidence to inform WHO normative decision-making processes
3. To develop methods that help ensure appropriate packaging and use of qualitative evidence for WHO normative decision-making
4. To strengthen and widen the partnership between WHO and the networks linked to the Collaborating Centre, with a focus on LMIC-based networks