Coordinating social programmes: Analysis of scenarios and implementation approaches based on the ISSA Guidelines on ICT

The development of social security policies and programmes raises the need for their coordination to enhance effectiveness as well as to prevent the fragmentation of social policies, programmes and services. Although there are expected benefits, implementing coordinated programmes poses significant technical challenges, which increase the complexities and costs of projects and hinder the achievement of such initiatives. Some of the main difficulties are related to system and information integration (Interoperability) as well as the ability to enforce data security and privacy regulations. To help meet such challenges, the International Social Security Association (ISSA) has developed Guidelines on Information and Communication Technology to support the integrated ICT-based implementation of social programmes. This article reviews existing scenarios, discusses the benefits and challenges of coordinated approaches, and offers models to show how to implement such types of systems while applying the ISSA Guidelines.