Setting up a Registry of Beneficiaries for SSN interventions Rogelio Gómez Hermosillo M WB Consultant December 8, 2011
Contents Uses of the Registry of Beneficiaries Steps and processes to create the Registry of Beneficiaries The Registry of Beneficiaries and the Operations Systems (MIS) in the Program operations
Uses of a Registry of Beneficiaries for To target the benefits to the designed population To guarantee proper identification (ID) of each HH and member To keep record of the location of the beneficiaries (full address) To keep useful data of every HH member (age, gender, school grade, special conditions) To support the verification of compliance with conditions To keep record of benefits delivered to each beneficiary To update status or socioeconomic conditions and recertify Accountability, transparency and audit Monitoring outputs and outcomes Evaluation SSN interventions
Creation of the Registry of Beneficiaries Targeting Design Who? How? How many? Where? Data Processing Reach potential beneficiaries Select those eligible Enrolment ID and location Trigger program benefits and processes
Targeting Design Who should be eligible? Target Methodology How to select? How many beneficiaries? Where to find them? How to reach them? Plan
Program Goal define Target population Most SSN interventions target Households (HH) living in poverty Many of them, add other conditions, e. g. HH) living in poverty with children (within an age group) to be eligible These definitions are part of the design and depend on the Program Goal E. g. Oportunidades in Mexico targets HH living below a Poverty Line Juntos in Peru targets HH living in poverty that have children under 12 and live in selected districts The CB CCT Pilot Programme in Tanzania targets HH living in poverty that have orphans, widows or persons with severe vulnerability like HIV, disabilities, etc. and have children under 14 or elderly over 60 in 3 pilot districts
Targeting Methodology Establishes how to select eligible HH and orients how to reach them Many programs in MIC and LIC use a statistical formula, a Proxy Means Test (PMT) to select beneficiaries. PMT requires data collection from HH. Programs may use active reach or on-demand request to collect information for targeting E. g. Red de Oportunidades in Panama (and many LAC programs) use a census sweep by district to apply a survey to be scored through a PMT PATH in Jamaica attends requests from potential beneficiaries in the Parish (local) offices and then applies a questionnaire at the HH to score with PMT Oportunidades in Mexico uses census sweep in small localities and combines special modules to attend demand with sweep in some zones for cities and larger localities The Community Based CCT in Tanzania requests a list of potential eligible from the Village Committee and then applies a questionnaire to the HH in the list to define the actual beneficiaries through a PMT
Targeting Plan The targeting plan is developed for every coverage growth cycle, starting from the 1 st round of coverage The Plan establishes the number of beneficiaries to be included as an objective, sets the geographical coverage to reach this objective and informs the ways and the procedures to search / select the beneficiaries Most Programs plan annual coverage growth based on available resources (budget) Programs that have a gradual increase of coverage start with geographical zones (districts, municipalities, villages) with the highest rates of poverty and other socioeconomic variables like low school attendance, chronic malnutrition prevalence. (Sometimes this is called geographical targeting )
Data Processing Field work requires detailed planning and logistics Deployment for data collection involves transportation, productivity estimates, training Data entry involves data centers, staff and functional systems Supervision of field work and of data entry is critical Lost information generates exclusion errors and/or cost increase In this stage, accuracy should be focused on the PMT /eligibility data E.g. Oportunidades in Mexico improved timing and decreased costs and information loss through the decentralized access to data entry in the system (next slide)
Acciones Operativas Acciones Operativas New operational model in Oportunidades Centralized process in the first years Start enrollment Aligned and decentralized process Efficiency in resource use Decrease operational timelines and errors Scoring methodology Enrollment Data processing in central office Data processing and scoring - SINCAR Survey Data Collection Survey Data collection Mar Abr May Jun Jul Ago Sep Oct Lu Ma Mi Ju Vi Sa Do Lu tfinal - tstart = 6 to 8 months 4 to 8 days 10
Enrolment At the end of the Targeting process the product is the List of Eligible HH. Enrolment creates the Registry of Beneficiaries and triggers the benefits and actions of the Program Two goals /products must be achieved through the enrolment process: Accurate ID (name) of every beneficiary HH and its members, location and necessary data (age, gender, sometimes grade and school) Practical link to Program actions and benefits (e.g. ATM card or other payment tool; health facility to attend) In this stage, accuracy and documentation is crucial to prevent duplications and to develop Program operations. e.g. deliver benefits to infants 0-2 years; students 10-18 years; fertile age women and mothers, elderly over 65 years, etc.
Procedures: Enrolment events Selected beneficiaries are invited Program information and next steps orientation should be presented
Enrolment Procedures: Forms Simple, clear, adequate forms are required to verify and correct data Forms should be aligned and designed for data entry (MIS)
Registry and Operations Systems In many Programs, the Registry is a part (functional module) of the Operations Systems. The Operations Systems (also called Management and Information System MIS) is a database manager functional to process transactions and to keep records: To keep record of benefits delivered To support the verification of compliance with Program s conditions The System also produces ad hoc reports for monitoring purposes
Logistics and systems in CCTs 1. System prints forms 2. Forms are delivered to schools and health units 7. Funds are deposited to payment institutions 6. Program process payment list 5. Data entry of forms 4. Forms are returned 3. Teachers and doctors verify compliance 8. Cash is transported for payment 9. Beneficiaries get cash transfers
The Program System (MIS) keeps records directly from operations Personal / HH records: Every benefit How much, when School attendance Grade advancement (in CCTs and scholarship programs) Health attendance For infants, for pregnant women, other interventions Aggregated records (statistics): Benefits by village, districts, province, nationwide Compliance on health and education by groups and geographically
Reports of MIS MIS creates reports for different purposes: Payment list is the main source for accounting and financial audit Report of Indicators for monitoring system every period (2 months, quarter or other) Claims processing Case management / links to other programs Data about benefits or other outcomes of the Program for evaluation and monitoring Source for sampling for evaluations and other studies
Final recommendations in Registry Creation and MIS development A Registry of Beneficiaries should be an asset for a country: Unique, reliable and updated Some countries separate the agencies in charge of Registry from those in charge of benefits (SSN Programs). The coordination of both requires careful planning and adjustment from practice (specially for updates) The creation of the Registry of beneficiaries should be attached to actual benefits MIS is specific to every intervention. Is the main operational tool: all transactions and procedures should run in the MIS