Operational Issues in Implementing Safety NetsPresentation by Qaiser Khan, Lead Economist,

AFTHDThursday March 10,2011

What are the key operational issues in Social Safety Nets in general Identification of Appropriate Program to suit country conditions

and problems to be addressed criteria (in case of CCTs assessing the supply side of co-responsibilities).

Definition of target group and eligibility. Level of benefits and activation – graduation issues to make sure

people can graduate to work. Defining payment systems and modalities. Appeals process and case management. Linkage to other programs to allow complementarities and

prevent double dipping. Controlling Fraud, Error and Corruption plus other leakages. Monitoring and evaluating the program. For those in the World Bank, appropriate instruments to support

a program and implementation modalities.

Diagnostic and Program Objectives Explore the extent of the problem to addressed. e.g. are you

trying to address consumption poverty or lack of access to basic health services or poor school attainment or perhaps a combination.

Assess logistic issues such as location of target population and possible payment modalities.

Supply side of co-responsibilities for CCTs (are there enough school places or access to health or nutrition services).

Assess the country’s institutional capacity and programs-capacity of ministries agencies and whether alternate institutions are needed.

Definition of target group and eligibility

Would you target all households in an area or just poor households.

If you target poor households, what targeting approach will you use whether it is geographic targeting, means testing, proxy means test, categorical targeting, or community targeting or perhaps a combination.

The following six slides are taken from Francisco Ayala’s presentation to the long SSN course and illustrate targeting and conditionalities very well.

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Eligibility Criteria for Households

All members

Vulnerable members

HIV Orphans

Disabled

Chronically ill

Children and youth between 0 to 18 years of age

Who should be targeted?

POORHOUSEHOLDS

Some examples of CATEGORICAL Eligibility Criteria

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Poor households with children going to school between 5 to 12 years

In all cases members who belong to poor or extremely poor households

Laos

Pakistán

Nigeria

Perú

Poor households with pregnant or lactating women and children under 3years of age.

Households classified as extremely poor, which are located within areasof influence of supply of education and / or health, that have at least onemember goal.

• Health: children between 0 to 5 years

•Education: children between 5 to 14 years

All girls between 9 and 17 years of age living in rural areas and attendingin the eligible schools ready to be admitted in 5th, 6th or 7th grade.

Targeting and Selection System: Instruments

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Geographic TargetingPoverty maps, HIV prevalence maps,disaster zones, areas of influencearound schools and health facilities,and others

Household SelectionProxy Means Test (PMT), localcommunity identification, localcommunity improved system (HHincome estimated by proxies)

Validation of lists by committees,government agencies, NGOs, etc(inclusion & exclusion errors)

ValidationSelection of special eligiblehouseholds: Vulnerable members(OVC, orphans, children, etc) andranking (using scores, special HHcharacteristics)

Ranking

Type of targeting system applied

Perú Tanzania Nepal

GeographicTargeting

+Individual Targeting(SISFOH)

+Continuous

Targeting

Community Based Targeting

+Verification with

PMT and categorical variables

Community based targeting already

done+

Verification with PMT

Nigeria

Survey –Verification with

PMT+

CommunityValidation

+Ranking

Deciding Co-responsibilities / Incentives

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Attendance Enrollment

Checkups

Awareness Sessions

Outcome related (Incentives)

Education

Health

Training

PerformancePassing grade

Growth performanceNutritional & anemia

Performance levels

Courses: Passing

Attendance (Conditions)

Frequency for Conditionalities

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• To achieve short / long term results• High frequency to achieve quick results• For technical/operational reasons• Most conditions should be verified at the same time• According to payment cycle (bimonthly in most countries)• For health reasons• Pregnant women and infants follow recommended frequency• Tradition• According to school terms

Frequency: Monthly, Bi-Monthly, Other

Aspects to consider in the decision:

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NO CONDITIONS, INCENTIVESAttend antenatal clinic

Deliver with assistance of professionals

Growth Performance

Four timesOnce off

Once per year

Pregnant Women and children under two

years

Level of benefits and activation – graduation issues to make sure people can graduate to work. Level of benefits depend on the program objectives and

sometimes can be quite low. Evidence in most developing countries is that programs do

not cause work disincentives but one way to assure this is to set the level of benefit low enough. The disincentives findings come from OECD countries where there is a “double whammy” caused by benefit withdrawal and marginal taxes on earned income. These can be addressed at the margin by gradually withdrawing benefits or using negative marginal taxes.

Activation and graduation policies can be built in by requiring job search activities and providing incentives for this.

Designing Payment Systems (pictures courtesy Francisco)

Post Offices Pos Machines

SavingsAccountsChecksMagnetic Cards

Cell Phone Cash Deliveredat home

Identification and Enrolment Process Once the targeting system is decided on, identification of

beneficiaries can be done by census, selected canvassing, advertising and requesting self-enrolment or a combination. An effective appeals process enables exclusion errors to be reduced and program management needs to be used to reduce inclusion errors.

The next two slides illustrate the appeals process and program management.

Once selection is done verification, biometric data collection and issuance of program cards need to be done at the same time. This prevents ineligible people receiving program cards using other peoples identification.

Appeals Process can reduce exclusion Errors

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APPEALS: Create a mechanism by which non-beneficiaries can appeal the eligibility status (Appeals Form)

CLAIMS: Design a mechanism of claims concerning payments(Claims

Form)

Information submitted by

the Beneficiary is entered

into the MIS

UPDATES: A tool for updating information of the beneficiaries

(Updates Form)

COMPLAINT: Allow beneficiaries to file complaints concerning quality of

service provision, and other aspects of the Programme (Complaint Form)

HOUSEHOLD/COMMUNITY COMMITTEE

Find Solution (data analysis,

verification with school, home

visit, verification with payment agency,

etc..)»Response

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TARGETING INCONSISTENCY: Inconsistency between MIS PMT

Result and Community Validation

NON PAYMENT COLLECTION: Family failed to collect the payment

PROGRAMCCT-MIS

WILL GENERATE

ALERTS

Solution(data

analysis, home visits,

referrals, schoolvisit,

visit topaymentagency,

etc..)

NON COMPLIANCE: Family failed to comply with co-responsibility

NON REMITTANCE OF FORMS BY SCHOOL: School does not provide

information on time

Good System Management can reduce inclusion errors

NON REMITTANCE OF RECONCILIATION REPORT BY

PAYMENT AGENCY: Payment Agency does not provide

reconciliation report on time

Linkage to other programs SSN programs can be linked to other programs such as

active labor market programs. Use of a common register or a common targeting

system can be used for all programs in the country to assure consistency.

Double dipping can also be prevented by using common targeting and case management systems.

Fraud, error, Emil went over this in his presentation which draws on

OECD examples. The good news for low income countries is that new

ICT can help reduce this a lot by use of biometrics registration and payment systems.

India example NREGA in Andhra Pradesh which combines biometric IDs, with smart portable ATMs which can read biometrics for payments.

Basically, ICT offers the opportunity for SSN programs to reduce fraud and error.

Monitoring and Evaluation Monitoring is a key element in success. Evaluation is also needed to assure best use of scarce

resources. Best practices include setting up a baseline very early

and also taking advantage of panel surveys (where they exist to isolate country wide trends from program effects.

Evaluations also help to buy political support for a program.

World Bank Operational Issues The new results based financing (P4R) will make it

easier for us to support safety nets. A key prerequisite for this will be to build in systems

that can use ICT to reduce error and fraud. It is generally preferable that we finance government

based programs. In the past this was only possible with DPLs now the new instrument will also allow us to do this.