Vienna, Virginia, USA – 06 October, 2014 – The National Social Protection Agency (NSPA) of Maldives faces an ambitious mission: providing vital social assistance to persons in need across the country’s roughly 200 islands. The NSPA, supported by the World Bank, will soon manage these programs with the help of Synergy’s online Social Protection Information System (Auxilium) in order to improve service delivery for Maldivians while saving time and lowering costs.
The Maldives SPIS will encompass NSPA’s Social Health Insurance program for single parents, foster parents and persons with disabilities, as well as in-kind assistance for electricity access and ad-hoc welfare fund assistance for persons in need.
The web-based SPIS will automate workflows for beneficiary applications, data collection and verification, official approvals, as well as payment and tracking of financial assistance. It will also allow NSPA to set conditions for assistance and automatically calculate recommended amounts of cash transfer payments to applicants. SPIS’ built-in analytics package will enable government policy makers to analyze key trends in the provision of social protection alongside key socio-demographic attributes of beneficiaries.
The Maldives SPIS is also expected to feature English and Dhivehi language options, and an offline option for government offices on islands and atolls where internet connectivity may be limited. The SPIS will also help NSPA to verify the accuracy of data, in collaboration with institutions such as the National Centre for Information Technology (NCIT); Department for National Registration (DNR); Courts of Maldives; Maldives Pension Administration Office (MPAO); Bank of Maldives and Ministry of Transport.
“Our goal with deploying SPIS is to empower the NSPA to better plan and organize social protection programs, and hence maximize their benefit to the citizens of Maldives themselves. By improving communication with the citizens of Maldives, the system will yield greater transparency and accountability, enhancing the provision and effectiveness of these critical social services” said the Project Manager Diana Gurzadyan.
Synergy was awarded the project through a competitive international bidding overseen by the World Bank. Synergy has developed a similar national social protection management information system for the government of Timor-Leste.
