About the MCP

A consolidated approach is needed to harmonise European health indicators and their proximal and distal determinants across surveillance systems (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. Conceptual framework of the roadmap towards a harmonised NCD surveillance (Hebestreit A. et al. Int J Public Health. 2019)

To coordinate and sustain the required steps, BIPS, as WHO Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention, Nutrition and Physical Activity, together with the WHO European Office for the Prevention and Control of NCDs established an overarching structure: This Methodological Competence Platform (MCP) strives for a stepwise harmonisation process that builds on and actively involves existing surveillance and monitoring systems. The ultimate aim is to improve and sustain comparability of data across surveys, age groups, and countries.

The MCP is an expert group that pools the expertise and resources from the WHO and its Collaborating Centers, representatives of national and European surveillance (COSI, HBSC, STEPS, Nordic Monitoring) and monitoring systems (OECD) as well as Public Health researchers.
Members of the MCP will meet at regular intervals to

  • agree on the priorities for the harmonisation process and common quality standards;
  • coordinate the necessary action;
  • propose harmonised surveillance modules for integration into existing systems; and
  • foster methodological advancements.

The platform may establish thematic working groups involving additional experts to develop and propose surveillance modules on specific topics of interest.