1. Social Card
Integrated Social Welfare Information System (SWIS) Montenegro ICT for reform of Social Protection Systems
Aleksandra Višnjić, Programme Manager, UNDP
Dragan Raketić, General Director at Ministry of Labor and Social Protection
Dragan Đukanović, Advisor to Minister, Ministry of Labor and Social Protection
March 2, 2017.

2. SOCIAL CARD – what is it? Discussion TRIGGERING QUESTIONS: What is it?
What do we achieve?
How does it work in practice/in Soc. welfare center - when a beneficiary apply for soc. benefits/transfers?
Is this IS only for benefits or do we have services, too?

3. Social Card - SWIS is capital project of the Gov. of Montenegro
The Government of Montenegro manages the project while, implementation is trusted to UNDP.
Phase I completed in 2.5 years ( ) – euro.
Phase II ongoing:
Funding:
Total in euro
The Government of Montenegro
Faza I: 1,151,981.00
Faza II: 810,000
UNDP
Faza I: ,998  
Faza II: 90,000 
Total:
2,179,979
This is NOT a TENDER for software & hardware – but a very complex, long term PROJECT for SOCIAL WELFARE REFORM IMPEMENTATION.
And it is a true capacity development project for modernization, reform of:
Legislation and institutional setting,
Human resources (IT, professional skills, management) upgrading,
Technical infrastructure & equipment and

4. SOCIAL CARD – SWIS what is it?
is far more than a computerised system that is ,connected’ with other systems and can determine if a person/family is eligible or not to social transfers.
Social card is NOT a date base where a ‚computer operator’ enters data.
Social card is ,computerization‘ of all work processes, procedures at social welfare centers and social institutions, whereas, all staff does his/her job in through SWIS.
Implemented at 32 locations all over the country.
Are all citizens in the System?
Technically speaking, Yes. Actually, No due to personal data privacy law.
Only social welfare beneficiaries and those who applied/will apply for.
Greske uklucenosti I iskljucenosti. Registracija svih koji se obracaju za pomoc
Moci cete da radite sve vrste pregleda, izvjestavanja po korisnicima, po davanjima, opstini, polu, starosti ALI i preglede onih koji ostvaruju prava po vise osnova tkz. visestruka davanja i kulmulativno. Tako npr. imacete info. koliko su jedan pojedinac ili porodica dobio po osnovu materijalnih davanja za god dana I sl.. Ovaj IS ’odgovoran’ je za preko 100 mil eura (bez administrativnih troskova) koliko se izdvaja za prava iz soc. zastite

5. Social Card - SWIS is an electronic system for:
Social transfers (13) processing, approval, calculation and payments and monitoring and audit of social benefits/transfers; reporting and record-keeping. Responsible for approx. around 100 million euro annually, 20% population coverage.
War veteran transfers (11)
Case management (30 procedures) social, family protection services (fostering, custodianship, domestic violence, placement into institution, juvenile delinquency, counseling, etc.)
Social Institutions (homes for elderly, home for children without parental care, etc.): modules for social and health protection, pharmacy, etc..
i.e. IS covers almost all business processes in social welfare sector.
Registries of beneficiaries, of professional service providers, prof. staff, etc.
Evidence-based DATA and reporting is automatic.
INTEROPERABILITY MODULE
Social Welfare Center is one-stop shop where eligibility for means-tested social transfers could be determined at the same day as application.
Data are by-product of business process as staff are even not aware that they are producing data… and there should be data demand

6. Veterinary Directorate
Pension Fund
Health Insurance Fund
Veterinary Directorate
Ministry of Agriculture
Central Registry of Population
Public Revenue Office
Min. of Interior (Motor Vehicles Registry)
Based o inter-institutional Agreements on automatic data exchange
Poorly managed social transfers
Access to transfers - on average social transfers processing took over 3 months - poor and vulnerable are exposed to expanses associated with collection of paperwork and complicated, long procedures.
High admin. costs; staff overburdened with paperwork, administration.
High inclusion and exclusion error.
Poor quality of social services – case management not introduced. No services standards, audit & quality assurance mechanisms.
Limited data available and poor data quality.
Employment Office
Ministry of Education
Real Estate Directorate

7. Key Results
Proved to be the backbone of social protection system reform as what is written, envisaged in the Law, by-laws is IMPLEMENTED:
Project supported development of legislation (law, by-laws, decisions templates, etc.) and organisational changes, modernisation of social welfare system.
Initial revision of all social transfers, around cases - the transfers terminated for ~30% beneficiaries (inclusion error), making significant budget savings. So far the IS processed ~ of individual decisions for transfers and services.
Periodic revisions if a beneficiary is still eligible. Inclusion error and space for misuse and fraud reduced to minimum. Each file, case is accurate and ‘by law’;
Modernization, efficient and quality administration of social transfers and social services.
SWC is now “one-stop-shop” automatic data exchange with ten ISs.
Introduction of case management.
Accuracy, every single SWC work is unified. Daily monitoring, evaluation, audit.
BI module i.e. analytical data base for reporting and evidence based policy making.
And the most important improvement of targeting and of quality of services for those in need.
Challenges 1. Social welfare system NOT reformed
How does system look like? - Ministry of Labour and Soc. Welfare at national level and Social Welfare Centers at local.
Social Welfare Centers (SWC) - the key social benefits and services providers with huge scope of work. SWC are weak and they operate by outdated, inadequate, operation manuals/by-laws, esp. in terms of:
- organizational/institutional structure- territorial coverage i.e. network of SWC (coverage), internal organization within SWC / management structure, procedural rules, no case management, week oversight and supervision etc.
- human capacities - job placement structure, no clear ToRs, staff structure is inadequate in favor of administrative over expert staff (60% vs 40%), no supervision, low level of expertise and IT skills,
- Poor technical infrastructure, facilities.
Resulting in low credibility - social services rated the lowest in public opinion surveys

8. DO NOT:
Do NOT go for quick win (chapter, faster IT solutions) and do data base/registry instead of complex, credible IS.
Do NOT do it if there is no STRONG high level commitment
Do NOT do it if the legal framework is not reformed
Expect staff resistance.

9. Design-wise: Compare this with data collection architecture
Registry
Domain Process Modules (Core)
General System Requirements
Application
Reporting
Eligibility
Monitoring
Archive and Storage
Benefit Level
Case Management
Data Integrity and Security
Payments
Complaints
Spatial Distribution (Central and Remote)
General Business Modules
User & Rights Management
Document Management …
Financial Management
Evidence Capture and Storage (Scan, Pictures, Data)
Workflow Management
Semi-Automated
Automated
… with other registries / systems for …
… identification
… and verification of income and assets
Population Registry
Tax
Pensions / Health
Employment
Vehicles / Vessels
Land and Agricultural Assets …