The World Health Organization (WHO) is committed to achieving its vision of a healthier, safer, fairer world in the 21st Century through transparency, accountability and delivering impact. IOD PARC worked with WHO to design a new approach to results measurement to uphold and strengthen these values.

To help strengthen accountability and learning within WHO’s business model, IOD PARC worked across the three levels of their organisational structure (global, regional and country) to develop a Balanced Scorecard approach to measure results in strategically important areas across all of the organisation’s work:

A. Effective leadership
B. Effective delivery of global goods
C. Effective technical support at country level
D. Effective mainstreaming of gender, equity, and rights
E. Delivery of results
F. Ensuring value for money

Measuring against these six dimensions would enable WHO to take a multidimensional approach to performance measurement across global, regional, and country levels, allowing for clearer linkages and better accountability and management.

The IOD PARC team supported WHO to define what they mean by each of the six dimensions – providing definitions and attributes against which performance can be measured. They designed and refined the methodology, conducting consultations, piloting, and preparation for implementation. They developed the tools and instruments for measurement and provided internal WHO training.

A series of workshops were held to support WHO teams to self-assess against each of the six dimensions, with results validated by WHO management. The self-assessment exercises allowed WHO staff to reflect, discuss, and unpack performance at output and outcome levels.

The Balanced Scorecard approach represents a major step forward for accountability within WHO and has helped the organisation identify opportunities for improvement in each dimension at multiple levels. The approach will be used in future assessments, with improvements based on Member State and country-level needs.

This work took place in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and allowed WHO to demonstrate their work on the pandemic response using the Balanced Scorecard.

Read the Mid-term Results Report here.