Implementing citizen engagement within evidence-informed policy-making: An overview of purpose and methods

To improve global health and facilitate achievement of the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Triple Billion targets, we need to ensure that decisions are made on the basis of the best available evidence. As we advance the systematic integration of research evidence, health data and the experience and expertise of policy-makers within these efforts, we must not forget the innate knowledge of the public in contributing to this evidence base. This is as much a matter of enhancing the effectiveness of policymaking as it is a foundation of democracy in ensuring that the people affected by decision-making are involved in policy formation. This area of work gets to the heart of the type of society we want to live in. The importance of evidence-informed policy-making has long been recognized by WHO and its Member States. Through WHO’s Thirteenth General Programme of Work (GPW13) and the creation of the Science Division, WHO has sought to integrate such approaches to policy formation and implementation throughout the Organization. Public engagement in this area has long been a priority, with the WHO Internal Working Group on Community Engagement and its external expert group having previously developed a handbook on social participation. This document complements and builds upon such guidance, while highlighting how such participation can be best integrated into existing approaches to evidence-informed health policy-making.