Alliances for Social Protection – Digital Convergence Initiative - Expert Pool for Technical Advisory Services on Digital Transformation for Social Protection
Project Abstract
The overall goal of this project is to strengthen and modernise social protection systems globally by fostering digital transformation, enhancing interoperability, and establishing global standards. By leveraging collaboration between key actors—such as GIZ, the European Union, the World Bank, International Labour Office (ILO), and other global and in-country partners—the project aims to develop scalable, inclusive, and efficient digital solutions that address the needs of vulnerable populations. Through a combination of knowledge sharing, capacity building, and technical support, the project seeks to create a cohesive framework that integrates cutting-edge digital tools and standards into social protection systems, enabling them to enhance the coverage, efficiency, effectiveness and resilience to shocks of social protection programmes. Ultimately, this project contributes to the long-term goal of achieving USP2030 in line with global Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 1.3 and 10.4 and digital transformation (SDG 9).
In line with the overall goal, the consortium composed of The Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), as lead partner, Oxford Policy Management (OPM) Europe, and Kwantu, with SolDevelo engaged as a subcontractor under Swiss TPH, will support the Digital Convergence Initiative (DCI) in achieving the following five work packages.
The knowledge products on digital transformation and interoperability work package aims to develop knowledge products and facilitate dialogue on digital transformation and enhancing interoperability in social protection systems, with a focus on ensuring digital inclusion and access for all using a human centred design approach. The objective is to provide comprehensive insights and practical guidance for stakeholders, such as governments and scheme operators, to effectively adopt digital tools that improve the scalability, the inclusivity, effectiveness and efficiency of social protection programmes. These knowledge products will analyse the current use of digital technologies in social protection, identify gaps in system interoperability, gaps related to access for system users, and offer actionable recommendations for aligning with global best practices. By distilling lessons from case studies and technical innovations, the consortium will equip stakeholders with the knowledge necessary to implement risk-informed and future-proofed interoperable digital solutions that address local challenges and improve service delivery in social protection systems.
The country assessments and implementation support work package focuses on conducting detailed country assessments and providing targeted implementation support to enhance digital transformation and interoperability in social protection systems, in line with global digital standards and global best practices. The objective is to evaluate the current state of digital social protection systems, assess digital readiness, and map gaps and opportunities in each country's system. Following the assessments, the consortium will offer tailored technical guidance, capacity building, and system customisation to ensure digital tools like openIMIS are effectively deployed and aligned with local contexts. Interoperability solutions will also be implemented to facilitate data exchange between platforms, while a monitoring and evaluation framework will ensure progress is tracked and lessons learned are applied. This integrated approach ensures that partner countries can efficiently adopt and sustain digital solutions to enhance social protection service delivery.
The support for progress and impact monitoring work package focuses on providing comprehensive support for progress and impact monitoring of DCI’s activities and products generated as part of this project. The objective is to assess the impact, effectiveness, and satisfaction of stakeholders benefiting from DCI’s support, providing insights for ongoing improvement and adaptation of DCI strategies. This includes creating tailored indicators, data collection methodologies, and reporting mechanisms to assess how well the systems improve service delivery, interoperability, and efficiency. The consortium will work closely with local partners to build capacity in monitoring and evaluation (M&E) practices, ensuring that insights gained from this process inform ongoing adjustments and contribute to the sustainability, efficiency and scalability of social protection programmes across partner countries.
The enhancement of standards and support for implementation work package is dedicated to enhancing the standards repository, developing and improving standards, and providing implementation support for solution providers within the social protection sector. The objective is to ensure that digital solutions used in social protection systems adhere to globally recognised standards, facilitating interoperability, data exchange, and integration across platforms. This involves updating and expanding the existing standards repository, ensuring that it remains relevant, responsive to needs and, is aligned with emerging technological and policy developments. The consortium will work to develop new standards where gaps exist and enhance existing ones to meet the evolving needs of social protection programmes. Additionally, tailored support will be provided to solution providers to help them adopt and implement these standards effectively, fostering a more cohesive and interoperable digital ecosystem across partner countries.
The support for global programme activities work package focuses on providing support for global programme activities (i.e. Global Accelerator, the Team Europe Initiative or GASP) related to digital transformation and interoperability. The objective is to contribute to the broader goals of global initiatives by offering technical expertise, in-person engagement, strategic guidance, and coordination across different international efforts aimed at improving social protection frameworks. This includes participating in global knowledge-sharing events, contributing to capacity-building initiatives, and aligning national-level implementations with international best practices and standards. The consortium will actively engage with global stakeholders, such as international organisations and development agencies, to ensure that the digital solutions and approaches developed are scalable, inclusive, gender balanced, sustainable, and beneficial to the wider social protection community. By fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange, this work package helps drive the global agenda for digital innovation in social protection.
