Legislation, policy or decree establishes the legal liability of the management.

Participation refers to the effective involvement of stakeholders in the institution’s decision-making process to protect their interests and to support the social security programme. It is a way of building partnership between the board and the institution’s stakeholders, allowing better policy-making, improvement of trust among stakeholders and the enhancement of transparency.

There is clarity in the line of authority and decision-making, and staff roles and responsibilities to ensure coordinated, appropriate and timely responses to the incidence of risk. There is clear understanding of the risk to be contained and the corrective measures to be implemented.

The board and management have the technical expertise to determine whether investment proposals have undergone due diligence, and act upon their determination.

People – and the talent, experience and capacities that they have – are key to an organization’s performance, resilience and dynamism. The board and management must continually ensure that the institution’s human resources policies are able to attract, develop and retain competent staff, and inspire staff loyalty to the institution. Effectively managing the institution’s human resources – hiring, compensating, retaining, training, mentoring and developing – is key to the successful governance of any organization.

The following guidelines are organized in three parts:

Part A, ICT Governance and Management, incorporates five sections:

A.1. ICT Governance

A.2. ICT Management

A.3. ICT Investment and Value Management

A.4. ICT Service Delivery

A.5. Data and Information Management

Part B, Key Technologies, incorporates three sections:

B.1. Interoperability

The institution implements electronic-based services (e-services) to improve service delivery by enabling users to interact with the institution remotely, and eventually autonomously.

Such e-services are multi-channelled, being based on different mechanisms (e.g. the Internet, mobile phones, call centres, kiosks).

The institution implements a strategy on developing information resources that fosters semantic interoperability and mainly consists of metadata systems.

Semantic interoperability concerns the non-ambiguous definition of core concepts used in the institution. It has a key impact on the success and quality of system interconnections as well as on the shared use of common information systems.

The institution evaluates the use of mobile devices for the collection of contributions and payment of benefits, taking account of the various methods of payment and technological options available.

The institution implements effective and quality-preserving interoperability mechanisms not only with other systems within the institution but also with external systems.

In addition to providing the means of interaction with other systems, interoperability mechanisms should keep track of the provenance of data obtained from other institutions.

The institution, in coordination with other participants in the agreement, implements interoperable services in accordance with the institutional model of interoperability for the implementation of international agreements.

The implementation of international agreements involves the development of a service-oriented architecture and includes the development and implementation of a set of services. These services must be properly orchestrated within a business processes model adequate to carry out the processes described in international agreements.

For these guidelines, the definition of investment governance begins with describing the key elements of a system of decision-making and oversight used to invest the assets of a fund. Thereafter, the definition extends to define investment governance as this relates specifically to the management of reserve funds of social security institutions.

Risk budget analysis is conducted to better understand the level of investment risk being taken and how it could be managed, and to determine an appropriate strategic asset allocation considering the risk budget established (as covered in Guideline 7).

Spending the risk budget enables the investing institution to determine an appropriate strategic asset allocation considering the available risk budget, investment assumptions, restrictions on investments and liabilities, and funding policy.

The investment strategy set out by the board or management is efficiently implemented.

This part of the Guidelines is concerned with establishing the national and institutional frameworks for the prevention programme to be conducted by a social security institution.

The institution encourages enterprises to participate in prevention programmes by offering non-financial incentives.

The institution has a system in place that facilitates an efficient and timely recognition of occupational diseases. It ensures that a process is set up to assess the causality between a professional activity and a disease.

Collaboration and networking offer opportunities for knowledge sharing, the exchange of good practice, increased impact and enhanced outreach. They also make effective use of human and financial resources and help identify a common approach among all stakeholders.

The institution has the legal mandate and policy framework to engage in prevention and return-to-work activities. Where legislation does not support effective return-to-work and sustainable employability outcomes, statutory changes are advocated that will mandate the institution to do so.

The competent institutions clearly and proactively inform jobseekers and workers of their rights and obligations.

The institution recommends and adopts innovative approaches to balance the need for adequate income security for the individual and the ability of the employer to adapt to a changing business environment.

The board, management, policy-makers and return-to-work professional play crucial roles in the setting up and operation of a return-to-work system.

The guidelines should be followed using a “top-down” approach which encourages ownership of their inherent values so that they are simultaneously accepted throughout the organization. The remaining guidelines are based on the following seven principles of return-to-work policy and programmes:

The person concerned is the key stakeholder of a social security institution. As such, they must be encouraged to participate fully in decisions which impact upon them. A person’s “active participation” refers to the process of facilitating their ability to engage constructively in their return-to-work plans on an equal basis with other actors. They should be encouraged and enabled to provide their input, protect their interests and lend their support to the process.

There is evidence that the return-to-work programme has the right structure, processes, information and technology, and involves the appropriate professionals and partners, to enable it to respond to changing individual and environmental factors.

Monitoring and evaluation enables the institution to capitalize on opportunities to intervene, reduce risks, increase efficiencies and ensure the person’s return to work.

To improve service quality, the institution invests in the skills and capability of the staff who deliver its services.