The Bahamas Social Protection Management Information System – PROMIS Tatev Gyurjyan June 21, 2023

The Bahamas Social Protection Management Information System – PROMIS

About the Project

Country:

The Bahamas

Sector:

Social Protection

Solution:

Social Protection Management Information System (PROMIS) for Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development

PROMIS is the digital platform of the Government of The Bahamas that modernizes and unifies the management of 13 different social assistance programs, including for food, housing, burial, utilities, and school uniform.

In 2020, the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development awarded Synergy a contract to develop a social protection management information system (PROMIS). At the time, The Bahamas, still reeling from the devastating impact of the 2019 Hurricane Dorian, was grappling with the rapidly unfolding COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

The government needed a digital solution to strengthen the delivery of both regular social assistance and post-disaster emergency assistance. Paper-based ways of doing things were costly, inefficient, and unsustainable. In the face of sudden shocks, governments must be swift, nimble, and data-driven in adjusting the social protection system to protect those most in need. According to a Ministry official, the goal was “to take the paper-based process to the digital era.” 

Launched in May 2021, PROMIS enables the entire process of providing social assistance, from how individuals and households apply for benefits through the public portal of PROMIS to how the Ministry’s Department of Social Services targets, enrolls, and transfers funds to beneficiaries.

Today, PROMIS is a critical enabler of the social protection system in The Bahamas.

“The social protection management information system has truly been beneficial to the Department of Social Services. It has made us more efficient in our work.”

Kim Sawyer, Former Acting Director of Social Services, Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development Government of The Bahamas