The institution develops a long-term social security coverage extension plan subject to the guidance and support of the relevant authority. The inclusion of relevant stakeholders in the development of the plan helps to identify issues early but also helps in securing external support in the implementation phase.
Guideline code
EXT_00500
Mechanism
Mechanism
- Establishing an effective partnership with stakeholders is a key success factor to the development of a robust plan. Such stakeholders may include, but are not confined to, other government departments and agencies (including tax authorities), other levels of government, workers’ and employers’ organizations, and non-profit organizations, as well as professional organizations whose members are in contact with informal workers and hard-to-reach formal workers.
- The plan may contain, among other things, the following:
- Clearly defined target populations to be brought under coverage in line with the institution’s mandate; specific features of the targeted groups in terms of income, mobility, geographical location, socio-cultural characteristics and language/literacy constraints, need for social protection, willingness to contribute and service expectations, as well as administrative (and policy, if appropriate) solutions to address these issues;
- Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART) coverage extension goals, targets, milestones and deliverables in terms of the number of additional covered persons and of the new benefits to be introduced to the groups. These goals and targets should be incorporated as shared objectives into the plans of the various stakeholders, be they national, regional or municipal as the case may be, with specified accountabilities and responsibilities;
- Practical policy support and adapted administrative solutions to reach and incentivize difficult-to-cover groups; this includes developing cost-effective services through appropriate use of ICT and a network of front-line centres – which may not necessarily be part of the institution – to handle administrative procedures such as registration, contribution collection and benefit provision, etc.;
- Medium- and long-term strategies on training and recruitment of staff, partnership with various government institutions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), operational standards, ICT application and communication with the members and the public, etc.;
- Gradual improvement of coordination and linkage between programmes covering difficult-to-cover groups, informal economy and formal economy programmes, as well as national and foreign programmes that are covered by bilateral and multilateral agreements (if applicable);
- Other supportive measures and mechanisms that will contribute to the realization of the plan, such as information campaigns and a strategic implementation plan (on public awareness-raising, enhanced enforcement campaigns, human resources development (HRD) initiatives and international development assistance, etc.).
- Consideration should be given to leveraging the knowledge and experience of existing schemes, particularly in the area of identity management and payment of benefits. The institution may consider making administrative arrangements concerning the coverage and collection of contributions from certain types of workers (especially migrants and their families) through bilateral or multilateral social security agreements, which are often concluded between government departments or ministries responsible for social security issues.
- Where the institutional plan is part of a broader national dialogue aimed at establishing social protection floor programmes, all stakeholders, including workers’ and employers’ organizations, civil society representatives and relevant United Nations specialized agencies and other development partners, should be engaged actively to make a meaningful contribution. The management may, for example, consider engaging professional experts and practitioners to help map out the coverage extension strategy and road map.
Structure
Structure
- The management should develop a long-term coverage extension plan stating the goals and milestones for social security coverage.
- The plan should identify key performance indicators and variables and a baseline should be established using available administrative data and forecasts. Realistic objectives should be set, taking account of the state of the enabling environment. Gaps should be identified and action plans addressing these should be developed. The plan should be fully costed. Risk should be evaluated and mitigation measures should be developed.
- The plan should be reviewed regularly to assess progress on the implementation and to allow for course correction and corrective measures.
Title HTML
Guideline 3. Formulating a strategic coverage extension plan
Type
Guideline_1
Weight
7