In Georgia, access to social programmes is integrated via an on-demand registration process, enabling potential beneficiaries to apply at any time (when in need) for a wide variety of social protection programmes as well as social worker support, including social and labour services. Continuous access is facilitated by the extensive network of local and regional “Single Window” Offices (functioning as so called ‘one stop shops’) operated by the Social Services Agency (SSA) throughout the country, on behalf of the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Assistance (MoLHSA).
The on-demand registration system was initially linked to the development of the Social Registry created in 2006 to support the Targeted Social Assistance (TSA) programme, and was subsequently extended to serve as an integrated gateway for numerous other benefits and services, including subsidies and higher coverage under the Universal Health Care system, social energy tariffs, scholarships, special benefits for poor people with disabilities, transport subsidies, free legal services and so forth.
In practice, the on-demand approach to registration entails the following phases. First, citizens can apply any time at the SSA offices using a common initial application form. Second, Data Operators enter the information into the Social Registry using a front-office software application. The Registry complements this data by pulling information from other administrative systems using the unique national ID and interoperability capabilities for data exchange. Third, all applicant households subsequently receive a home visit by the local Social Agent, where further data is collected and validated within a home visit questionnaire (the ‘Family Declaration’). Fourth, two Data Operators enter all of the information from the Family Declaration using a double-entry method to catch and remedy any errors in the process. Fifth, the Registry applies business rules programmed into the back-office software to calculate eligibility scores combining information from the Family Declaration and information curated from other administrative systems. This process determines if the household is eligible for the TSA or any other programme. If this is the case, the SSA then formalizes the enrolment decision and notifies the household. Service standards require that this entire process be completed from start to finish within 30 days or less.
To date, 1.2 million people (or over 35% of the population) have been registered within this system since 2006. Of these, some 11% of the population were enrolled in the TSA Program (2018 data). Georgia – as other countries – has faced significant take-up challenges linked with the on-demand registration system: not everyone who is potentially eligible applies because of barriers to access. For example, recent data shows that 33 percent of households below the general poverty line did not apply for assistance: primarily due to lack of trust in a positive outcome, but also due to troubles submitting required documentation. The challenge ahead will be to address these barriers. Nevertheless, the benefits of an on-demand system in terms of inclusiveness still heavily outweigh one-off census-survey approaches to registration.
To see how this example facilitated national social protection responses to the COVID pandemic, please click here
Further reading links:
- Lindert (2017). Georgia’s Social Registry Information Systems Overview and Strategic Directions” Unpublished and cited in Lindert et al (forthcoming) Sourcebook on Social Protection Delivery Systems
- UNICEF (2019) A detailed analysis of targeted social assistance and child poverty – Georgia https://www.unicef.org/georgia/media/2486/file/TSA&CHILDPOVERTY_eng.pdf