SPFMSP Quarterly Report April-June 2016

THIRD SPFMSP QUARTERLY REPORT: 1ST APRIL – 30TH JUNE 2016

Prepared for Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) Project

July 2016

Third SPFMSP Quarterly Report: 1 st April – 30th June 2016

Table of Contents Executive Summary ...........................................................................................................................................................................i 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................................. 1 2. Activities and Achievements.................................................................................................................................................... 2 3. Challenges, Risks and Lessons Learnt ................................................................................................................................... 7 4. Work Plan for the Fourth Quarter .......................................................................................................................................... 9 5. Conclusion and Recommendations ..................................................................................................................................... 11 Annexes: ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 12

Third SPFMSP Quarterly Report: 1 st April – 30th June 2016

Executive Summary This Third Quarterly Report covers the implementation period from 1 April to 30 June 2016. The Project Team has continued initiatives from the previous Quarter in the major work stream areas of capacity development, diagnostic and research studies, and Management Information System (MIS) development. A strengthened and active Social Protection Budget Management Unit (SPBMU) has been providing greater assistance to the Project in supporting all initiatives. There are prospects for moving into the next Quarter that the SPBMU and SPFMSP consulting staff will be co -located in an office large enough to accommodate all current and future staffing.

Most work plan targets from the previous Quarter have been met and work continues on pace in all work streams. The Project Team continues to face a number of challenging situations, including timely recruitment of short-term specialists and the ongoing security problems, but most work is on time and, in some instances, ahead of schedule.

The capacity development initiative providing National/International courses on Public Financial Management for Social Protection (PFM for SP) in Bangladesh is ahead of schedule and delivered a second, well-received course on 4-8 June (See Annex I). The Project Team concluded partnership agreements with a national training provider, the Institute for Public Finance (IPF), and an international provider, the International Network for Social Protection Investigation, Research and Education, (INSPIRE). This course introduced an innovative dual class ap proach designed to train 20 participants in each of two classes simultaneously that allows for an accelerated delivery schedule.

This course is the second of a series of seven, 5-day courses on PFM for SP that began in the previous Quarter. This course trained mid to upper-level policy makers in a number of topics including social protection models, programme design, targeting, payment systems, budgeting, use of MIS single registers, monitoring and practical applications in the Bangladesh context, among other topics. In order to provide sustainability of the capacity development initiative after the Project concludes next year, several participants from each course are selected as trainees to become course facilitators. The delivery of the two National/International courses is now more than 1 month ahead of schedule of the work plan in the Capacity Development Strategy (CDS) delivered during the Inception Phase. The two courses have trained a total of 64 participants.

A diagnostic study of the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MoWCA) Vulnerable Group Development (VGD) scheme is on time with the delivery of a draft, final report at the Quarter’s end.

This scheme is the first to be taken up in a diagnostic study and was ranked as one of the top two schemes that should be given priority because of both the importance of the programme and the number of challenges that the scheme faces in assisting poor women and their families. A consulting team consisting of an International Specialist and a National Specialist were selected to undertake the study which began work on 2 June and completed the first phase of work on 24 June. Their work will conclude in late August with a dissemination workshop and issuing a final report.

A research study on Payment Systems for Social Benefits is set to get under way shortly at the beginning of the Fourth Quarter. The Terms of Reference (ToR) have been approved and are fully supported by the Ministry of Finance which requested the study to be undertaken as soon a s possible.

One International and two National Consultants have been identified. The Research Study Team will undertake analysis during the Fourth Quarter and finish in the First Quarter, Second Implementation Year, with a final report and workshop.

During the first half of this quarter, an International MIS Specialist reviewed the current state of the MIS development and made adjustments in the MIS design and implementation plan as well as operationalized recommendations that had been made in previous reports. The work plan for developing the system is in place and procurement of software developers will start at the beginning of the next Quarter. The Project Team also will be strengthened in the area of MIS development moving into the next Quarter. The International MIS Specialist has been approved for hire as a full-time Team

Third SPFMSP Quarterly Report: 1 st April – 30th June 2016

member. In addition, a National MIS Specialist will be recruited and hired as a part of an MIS development and implementation team.

In May, the Project held a Sensitization Workshop in order to brief officials of partner Ministries, SGSP partners and other stakeholders about the activities of the Project since Implementation in October 2015. Over 50 guests participated in the two and a half hour discussion held in the conference room of Finance Division, Ministry of Finance. The Senior Finance Secretary opened the workshop and the Project Team presented overviews and held discussions on the areas of Capacity Development, Diagnostic and Research Studies as well as the MIS methodology and implementation plan. The Team is planning future events such as this workshop in order to highlight special activities and work streams of the Project.

The Project Team also has undertaken a number of activities that have strengthened the SPBMU. The Project renovated and fully furnished the currently available two office rooms of the Executive Director (ED) and Deputy Director (DD). The offices are fully functional and, in addition, a car has been provided for use by the SPBMU. A major drawback of the building housing the offices is that no additional space in the same building is available for co-location of SPBMU and Project consulting staff and it is unlikely that space will be made available in the near future. Other office space has been located, however, and discussions are underway to obtain a lease for the space. It will accommodate all staffs and it appears that minimal renovation will be needed to make it habitable in September.

The Project held a second Project Implementation Committee (PIC) meeting during the Third Quarter which was well attended by all Line Ministries (LMs) and had a total of 21 participants. The PIC made a number of important decisions at the meeting including coordination between the various groups developing MIS software with the LMs, approving the Project’s MIS Methodology Report, preparing for and convening a research workshop, and obtaining new office space that would accommodate both the SPBMU and Project consulting staff. The next PIC meeting is planned for the middle of the Fourth Quarter along with the first meeting of the Project Steering Committee (PSC).

Although a large number of activities were taking place during the Third Quarter, the Project Tea m also faced several challenging situations that have produced delays in some activities and concerns about security and safety of Project staff. Challenges included the sudden postponement by the MoF of the India Study Tour workshop planned for the Third Quarter, and the postponement of a diagnostic study on a MoHFW programme due to the unavailability of specialists to undertake the study. The under-staffing of the SPBMU and lack of office space continued to be a barrier to knowledge and skill transfer to this important unit. Security issues, including hartal disruptions and the attack on a local restaurant/ bakery in which foreigners were targeted and killed, are a grave concern and have caused disruption in Project work as well as recruitment of foreign consultants.

The Work Plan for the Fourth Quarter provides a summary of activities by week that will take place in upcoming Quarter (See Annex XI). A second Work Plan, spanning the remaining months of the Implementation Period to the end of the scheduled Project, provides a broader overview of activities in the long-term (See Annex XII). In summary, key upcoming activities for the Fourth Quarter include:    

The provision of a Global Course in Cape Town toward the middle of August in addition to the planned convening of the next National/International PFM for SP course in September; The completion of MIS development procurement and selection of an MIS software developer through a tender process; The operationalisation of the MIS implementation plan and the gathering of process requirements to help kick off the MIS design and development phase; The initiation of a research study on payment systems for social benefits with the delivery of the final report and a dissemination workshop scheduled for October (First Quarter of the next Implementation Year);

Third SPFMSP Quarterly Report: 1 st April – 30th June 2016

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The organisation of a workshop for key stakeholders to discuss several options for new research topics and set out a programme for undertaking the research; The conclusion of a diagnostic study on the VGD programme and dissemination workshop; Recruitment of consultants for the next two diagnostic studies, the Old-Age Allowance (OAA) and the Husband-Deserted Destitute Widow’s Allowance (Widow’s Allowance-WA); The Annual Review of SGSP Programmes; Preparations for another PIC meeting and the first PSC meeting.

The following recommendations are made at the end of this report as a result of lessons learnt during the Third Quarter of Project implementation: 

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Early planning and agreement on course content, syllabi, timing (specific dates) and course facilitators will be helpful in facilitating course approval and getting full participation from officials in the LMs and the MoF. A much longer lead-time (as much as three months of lead time) is necessary for recruitment of international consultants to undertake diagnostic and research studies. This requires that ToRs are approved and eligible consultants are identified well in advance of the date proposed to start the study.

Long lead times are needed also for developing the programme and approving the proposal for study tours, identifying participants and getting approvals, and implementing the study tour with follow-on reports and presentations on key findings and recommendations.

More events, such as the Sensitization Workshop, would be useful in providing higher visibility for the Project, its activities and achievements. Several workshops are being scheduled for the Fourth Quarter and would benefit from participation of larger numbers of relevant persons from the Government.

When more staff are appointed to the SPBMU and are co-located with the SPFMSP Project consulting staff, a programme for staff engagement should be drawn up in order to provide accelerated skills and knowledge transfer.

Second SPFMSP Quarterly Report: 1 st April – 30th June 2016

1. Introduction The SPFMSP is a complex technical assistance project that has been working closely with the Finance Division of the Government of Bangladesh (GoB), Ministry of Finance (MoF), and six implementing line ministries (LMs) including the Ministry of Social Welfare (MoSW), the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MoPME), the Ministry of Women and Childrens Affairs (MoWCA), the Ministry of Education (MoE), the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) an d the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR). The Project is co-financed by the British Department for International Development (DFID) and the Australian Department of Foreign Assistance and Trade (DFAT).

The SPFMSP project is one component of a larger five-component DFID-funded Strengthening Government Social Protection Systems for the Poor (SGSP) Programme which began in October 2013.

The aim of the overall SGSP Programme is to support the GoB establish policies, budgets and plans for a more effective and efficient social protection system. Other components of SGSP are being delivered by four implementing partners: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Bank (WB) and the Manusher Jonno Founda tion (MJF), a local Bangladeshi NGO. The Third Quarterly Report covers the implementation period from 1 April to 30 June 2016. During this three-month period, the Project continued working on initiatives from the previous Quarter in the areas of capacity development, diagnostic and research studies and the development of the Management Information System (MIS). A number of activities focused on supporting and strengthening the SPBMU while meetings and workshops have been held to provide greater visibility and support the governance of the Project.

Most Work Plan targets from the previous Quarter have been met and work continues on pace in all work streams. Highlights from the Third Quarter include: 

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The capacity development initiative providing national/international courses in Bangladesh in partnership with a national institute and an international provider delivered a second, wellreceived course which put this work stream ahead of schedule. To date, 64 participants of MoF, LMs, the Cabinet Division, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) and the Planning Commission have been trained.

The Project Team facilitated the attendance of a Joint Secretary of the MoF in a Global Course offered by the World Bank in May 2016.

A draft of a diagnostic study on the MoWCA Vulnerable Group Development (VGD) scheme was submitted with the delivery of the final report expected by the Quarter’s end.

After a delayed approval by the PIC of the MIS Methodology and Implementation Work Plan, the development of the MIS finally got under way in during the last Quarter. An International MIS Specialist reviewed the current state of the MIS development and made adjustments in the MIS design and implementation plan as well as operationalized recommendations that had been made in previous reports. The work plan for developing the system is in place and preparatory work to start the procurement process of software developers has begun July 2016.

The Project held a Sensitization Workshop in order to brief officials of partner Min istries, SGSP partners and other stakeholders about the activities of the Project since Implementation in October 2015. Over 50 guests participated, including the Senior Finance Secretary.

Both a Project Coordinator and an International MIS Specialist were hired and are set to begin full-time work at the start of the next Quarter. Advertising for a full-time National MIS Specialist is well-underway. A National MIS Specialist will be integral to assisting the Internal Specialist in the procurement of a service provider for the planned MIS software development and the implementation of the MIS in the two pilot Ministries and the SPBMU.

Second SPFMSP Quarterly Report: 1 st April – 30th June 2016

2. Activities and Achievements The Project Team has succeeded in achieving several planned activities during this Third Qu arter. This includes convening, ahead of schedule, the second of seven Social Protection Public Financial Management National/International courses, the delivery of a draft Final Report on the diagnostic study of the VGD Programme, finalizing and approving the MIS Methodology Report and supporting the strengthening of the SPBMU and the governance of the SPFMSP Project.

During the Third Quarter, the Project Team engaged in the following activities: A. B. C. D. E. F. G. A.

Keeping on Pace with Capacity Development Undertaking a diagnostic study on the VGD Scheme Preparing for a research study on Payment Systems for Social Benefits Designing and Implementing the MIS for the SPBMU and Line Ministries Increasing the Visibility of the Project Supporting the SPBMU Strengthening Project Governance Keeping on Pace with Capacity Development – The second of a series of 5-day courses on public financial management for social protection (PFM for SP) that began in the previous quarter was convened on 4 June. This course also trained mid to upper-level policy makers and introduced the dual class approach to training. This approach is designed to train 40 participants in two classes simultaneously. Course content is the same for both classes, but allows for an accelerated delivery schedule. The delivery of the two National/International courses is now more than 1 month ahead of schedule of the work plan in the Capacity Development Strategy (CDS) delivered during the Inception Phase.

The dual classes of the second course trained a total of 36 participants which, added to the first course, have trained a total of 64 participants to date. The participants have been selected from all seven partner Ministries and also included persons from the Cabinet Division, the Planning Commission, and the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

Although the Project Team faced several challenges in holding the second course, the preparations and partnerships of the training organizations were successful in providing an international course in a national setting (Annex I Report on the Second Course). Once again, the Project partnered with the Institute for Public Finance (IPF) and the International Network for Social Protection Investigation, Research and Education (INSPIRE) to bring to the Bangladesh Government a unique training opportunity, combining ten (10) international facilitators and five (5) national experts to cover social protection models, programme design, targeting, payment systems, budgeting, use of MIS single registers, monitoring and practical applications in the Bangladesh context, among other topics. Six (6) participants from the first course were selected as future facilitators, trained and provided presentations in the second course as part of building sustainability in the PFM for SP through a Training of Trainers (ToT) initiative.

The timing of the second course fell just at the beginning of the Ramadan observance period.

Work days were shortened and fasting was observed, however, participants and trainers successfully met the challenge and were able to complete the course work on time. One of the consequences of the course timing was abbreviated class hours in order to cover all subject matters and course content. While the first course provided 90 minutes of instruction in each class, the second course provided 40 minutes of instruction. As participants and facilitators agreed, whereas 90 minutes was considered too long for participants in the first course (based on participant feedback), 40 minutes was too short to cover all of the material and the class length will be changed to 60 minutes in the third course to facilitate satisfactory coverage time.

Second SPFMSP Quarterly Report: 1 st April – 30th June 2016

The third national course in Bangladesh is planned for September and will target Government officials involved with the delivery of social protection programmes in the six Line Ministries.

In addition, the Project is organising a global course to be provided in August that is designed to follow-on the training that was offered in the two initial courses provided in Bangladesh . The proposal for this course is nearing finalization and will be shared with DFID so that they may have early involvement in the course content and syllabus. This course is scheduled tentatively for August in Cape Town, South Africa. The Project’s Capacity Development Strategy plans to provide a series of global courses that would enhance learning from the national courses to train 96 officials from partner ministries by providing them with hands-on visits aimed at sharing global lessons and building an evidence base of how social protection schemes and policies work in different countries. These courses will be provided in partnership with INSPIRE and the Social Protection University consortium of education institutions including the Uni versity of Mauritius, Maastricht University and Sussex University.

B.

Undertaking a diagnostic study on the VGD Scheme – The first Diagnostic Study began during this quarter with the analysis of the Vulnerable Group Development (VGD) scheme of the MoWCA. This scheme was prioritized to be the first taken up in a diagnostic study because of both the importance of the programme and the number of challenges that the scheme faces in maximising its impact on poverty among women and their families.

A consulting team consisting of an International Specialist and a National Specialist were selected to undertake the study (Annex II Terms of Reference for VGD Study). They began work on 2 June and completed the first phase of their work on 24 June, providing a draft final report. The second phase of their work will include a dissemination workshop and finalizing the draft Final Report in August.

The diagnostic study is the first of its kind for the VGD scheme. It has reviewed the programme from the standpoint of providing good Value for Money (VfM) and provides recommendations that will form the basis for a costed reform plan that must be agreed to by the MoF and the MoWCA. The objective of the study and, ultimately the costed reform plan, is to serve as an example of drawing evidenced-based budgets that respond to VfM, improve targeting, prevent leakages, avoid duplication, bring efficiency in delivery systems and establish an efficient SP expenditure monitoring system.

The Project Team is planning six (6) additional diagnostic studies over the next year. Consulting services are being procured currently for a study of the MoHFW scheme of Demand Side Financing (DSF) for Maternal Health Services Vouchers. The ToR for this study has been approved and has been issued for procurement (Annex III Terms of Reference for DSF Study). Also, ToRs have been agreed to and supported by the MoSW and approved by DFID for two additional diagnostic studies of schemes called the Old Age Allowance (OAA) and the Husband Deserted and Destitute Women and Widows Allowance (WA) (Annex IV ToR for OAA Study and Annex V ToR for WA Study). The Project Team will procure consulting services during the next quarter.

C.

Preparing for a Research Study on Payment Systems for Social Benefits – Work has been underway during this quarter in preparing to conduct the first research study. The objective of the research study on payment systems is to analyze existing evidence and outline new approaches to the effectiveness of cash transfers as part of the payment systems that could be designed in Bangladesh for the delivery of social protection programmes and systems.

The TOR has been approved by the Ministry of Finance and DFID and the team of consultants has been recruited and will be hired shortly (Annex VI ToR for Research Study on Payment Systems).

Second SPFMSP Quarterly Report: 1 st April – 30th June 2016

One International and two National Consultants have been identified and the Project anticipates that the study will get underway at the beginning of the next quarter. According to the Fourth Quarter work plan the Research Study Team will undertake analysis during the quarter and finish in the First Quarter, Second Implementation Year, with a final report and workshop.

D.

Designing and Implementing the MIS for the SPBMU and Line Ministries – During the first half of this quarter, a short-term, international MIS Specialist undertook a review of the current state of the MIS development and made adjustments in the MIS design and implementation plan as well as operationalized recommendations that had been made in previous reports. The work plan for developing the system is in place and procurement of software developers will start at the beginning of the next quarter.

The challenges for developing the MIS are not small and the Specialist undertook a familiarization tour to ensure the potential difficulties were highlighted and will be taken into consideration in developing the system. The MoSW and MoWCA continue to function with non-digital, manual processes in place. The Department of Social Services (DSS), MoSW, however, has initiated a process for developing an MIS to register and enroll beneficiaries for MoSW allowance programmes under the Access to Information (a2i) Project. This will have to be closely monitored and taken into consideration in developing the current MIS pilot. It may also present an opportunity to consider the same software development company.

MoWCA, though, lacks computer systems in place and utilizes manual management of all processes. Data from registration, selection, enrolment, and payment are entered and accessed manually. Some programmes may need tracking of cash and asset transfers as well as training provided by NGOs. The tender process for procuring the software development company will be ongoing during the next quarter with the selection made toward the end. The Project will form an MIS Project Implementation Team followed, in the First Quarter of the Second Implementation Year, with gathering data and information on MoF and 2 LM programme management processes and development of the MIS according to the Systems Requirement Specifications (SRS).

The Project Team will be strengthened in the area of MIS development moving into the next Quarter. The International MIS Specialist has been approved for hire as a full-time Team member.

In addition, a National MIS Specialist will be recruited and hired as a part of the MIS development and implementation team.

E.

Increasing the Visibility of the Project – In May, the Project held a Sensitization Workshop in order to brief officials of partner Ministries, SGSP Partners and other Stakeholders about the activities of the Project since Implementation in October 2015. Over 50 guests participated in the two and a half hour workshop held in the conference room of Finance Division, Ministry of Finance.

The workshop was opened by the Senior Finance Secretary, MoF, followed by remarks of the NPD, the ED and an Additional Secretary of the Finance Division. Representatives from both DFID and DFAT also provided remarks concerning the Project and the larger SGSP Programme (Annex VII Programme for Sensitization Workshop).

The Project Team presented overviews and held discussions on the areas of Capacity Development, Diagnostic and Research Studies as well as the MIS methodology and implementation plan. This was part of the round table discussion that was designed to stimulate interest on behalf of participants and secure greater engagement of officials in Project activities, particularly in the demand driven areas of capacity development and analytical studies.

Second SPFMSP Quarterly Report: 1 st April – 30th June 2016

The Team is planning future events such as this workshop in order to highlight special activities and work streams of the Project. For example, a Workshop on the India Study Tour will be re scheduled for the next Quarter.

Preparations for a workshop on research studies that are demand-driven and could be undertaken by the Project will begin in the next quarter with the intention of holding this workshop either at the of the Fourth Quarter or beginning of the First Quarter of the Second Implementation Year.

The NPD has agreed to send out a letter to each Line Ministry highlighting possible research topics and requesting suggestions. The issuance of this letter will be followed-up with individual LM meetings and then the workshop to discuss proposals and agree on a research agenda that the Project will follow over the next implementation year.

F.

Supporting the SPBMU – The Project Team has undertaken a number of activities that have both supported and strengthened the SPBMU. The Project fully furnished the currently available two office rooms of the Executive Director (ED) and Deputy Director (DD) with desks, chairs, tables, computers, and printers after the office space had been renovated during the previous quarter.

The offices are fully functional, but no additional space has been located in the same building and it is unlikely that space will be made available according to the current occupants of the surrounding rooms.

The Project Implementation Committee (PIC) discussed the issue of availability of office space for the joint teams of the SPBMU and the Project consultants at a PIC meeting held on 17 May of this quarter. The National Project Director (NPD) requested the ED to survey and locate additional space in a building near the current SPBMU office, convenient to the Government Secretariat.

Office space, suitable for all members of the two teams, has been located and discussions are underway to obtain a lease for the space. It is located on the 14 th floor of the National Scout Bhaban in Kadrail, Dhaka. It will accommodate all staffs and it appears that minimal renovat ion will be needed to make it habitable in September.

In another area of support to the SPBMU, the Project has provided a car for use by the ED and DD. This vehicle was a former DFID Project car and had been transferred to the SPFMSP Project during the previous quarter. The car has been provided to the SPBMU with the understanding that the ED and DD take full responsibility for its use. Costs for fuel and maintenance are being reimbursed by the Project.

G.

Strengthening Governance – The Project held a second Project Implementation Committee (PIC) meeting during the Third Quarter. The PIC meeting, held on the same day as the Sensitization Workshop (17 May), had 21 attendees and all LMs were represented at the meeting (Annex VIII Minutes of the PIC Meeting).

The PIC made a number of important decisions at the meeting including the following: 

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The Project should ensure that its work is coordinated with a group called “a2i” working from the Prime Minister’s office to help develop MIS in such Government Ministries as MoSW and MoWCA as well as on an automated payment system for benefits. This is particularly important for the Project’s MIS development and the research study on payment systems for social benefits; The MIS Methodology Report was approved and work should proceed according to the implementation plan contained within. The PIC indicated that a roll-out of the MIS should occur after the MIS pilot was tested successfully and the roll-out should be coordinated between the GoB and development partners;

Second SPFMSP Quarterly Report: 1 st April – 30th June 2016

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The NPD will issue letters to the LMs providing options for possible research study and request proposals on capacity development. The Project will follow-up with the LMs, holding meetings to discuss the research study options and generate demand for research and capacity development; The ED and Team Leader will assess the availability of additional space in the building where the ED currently sits as well as pursue available space in other buildings near the Secretariat.

The PIC meets on an irregular basis according to the need for making decisions on Project activities and reports. A future date had not been set for the next PIC meeting, however, the Project Team will encourage the setting of a date for the first meeting of the Project Steering Committee (PSC) in the next Quarter. According to the ToR of the PSC in the Technical Assistance Project Proposal (TAPP), the PSC should meet at least once per implementation year.

Second SPFMSP Quarterly Report: 1 st April – 30th June 2016

3. Challenges, Risks and Lessons Learnt The Project succeeded in accomplishing many tasks on time according to the previous Quarter’s work plan in various workstreams, though a number of challenges delayed several activities. A workshop planned for the Third Quarter was suddenly postponed by the MoF, a diagnostic study on a MoHFW programme has been postponed due to the unavailability of specialists to undertake the study, understaffing of the SPBMU and lack of office space continue to be a challenge to knowledge transfer for this important unit and security issues continue to be a concern and have led to some disruption in work activities.

Postponement of Workshop – The Project had scheduled a workshop in June for participants from the India Study Tour (IST) to present their findings and observations on India’s system of pensions for the poor. (Annex IX IST Workshop Programme). The MoF decided, however, that it would be premature to discuss in a large group issues that may involve reforms of the Bangladesh pension system before the Finance Secretary received a thorough presentation and briefing on the subject.

The purpose of the scheduled workshop was to present only findings and observations on India’s system and not to discuss recommendations or approaches that Bangladesh could take in reforming the pension system. The Project Team was informed two days before the scheduled workshop that the MoF would like to postpone the workshop until after the Finance Secretary had reviewed the report of the IST group and further discussed with the Cabinet Division.

The Project Team is re-scheduling the IST workshop to September and will evaluate the situation after the MoF and Cabinet Division have reviewed the findings and recommendations of the IST team . The India Study Tour was demand-driven by the MoF and the findings and recommendations are a significant part of the decision-making process on reform of the pension system by the Government, In his Budget speech at the beginning of June, the Minister of Finance referred to findings from the IST to support the Government’s intention to expand the pension system eventually to all workers, including the informal sector in Bangladesh. This is the approach that India has taken over the years.

Hiring International Specialists for Diagnostic and Research Studies – Because the field of SP programme analysis is highly specialized according to each sector and qualified consultants are in high demand, the Project Team has encountered some difficulty in identifying and contracting international specialists for both diagnostic and research studies. Few specialists are available when they are needed and must be scheduled months in advance to perform the diagnostic work. While the Project was fortunate in scheduling an international specialist for the diagnostic study o f the VGD programme according to the Third Quarter Work Plan, it was not possible to identify and contract an international specialist for the DSF-MHSV programme during the Third Quarter. The same was true for contracting an international specialist for the research study on social benefit payment systems.

The current Fourth Quarter Work Plan calls for starting the research study at the beginning of the Fourth Quarter with available national consultants and bringing in an identified international specialist in September of the Fourth Quarter for the inputs outlined in the Terms of Reference (ToR).

It is anticipated that the draft final report will be prepared during this Quarter with a workshop to follow at the beginning of the Second Implementation Year.

The strategy in line with the Work Plan of the First Implementation Year was to draft and approve ToRs for each diagnostic study prior to procuring the services of consultants who would begin work shortly thereafter. The Project Team has decided that the difficulty encountered in contracting qualified international consultants and starting the diagnostic studies on time could be somewhat mitigated by advanced approval of the ToRs and earlier recruitment and contracting in order to have consultants in place to perform the study according to the proposed work plan schedule. The Fourth Quarter Work Plan and the End of Project Implementation Work Plan demonstrate this approach.

Second SPFMSP Quarterly Report: 1 st April – 30th June 2016

Understaffing of the SPBMU – Several challenges continue to face the Project, particularly in the area of achieving Project Objectives and addressing Security concerns. As discussed in the Second Quarterly report, two permanent positions have been filled in the SPBMU while appointments have not been made for three Deputy as well as five IT positions. While no action has been taken during the Third Quarter to fill these positions, the NPD has indicated that at least one of the Deputy positions should be filled from the FD allocation and every effort will be made to fill the IT position s through internal recruitment or hiring an IT service to cover the needs. Without adequate staffing of the SPBMU, the risk of limited engagement and skill/knowledge transfer in such areas as diagnostic and research studies, capacity development, MIS development and operation continues to grow greater as the end of the Project approaches in August 2017.

The risk of not having adequate office space for both the SPBMU and Project consulting staffs, however, has diminished somewhat toward the end of the Third Quarter. Prior to the PIC meeting on the 17th May, the Project was informed that no additional space would be made available in the currently-occupied rooms of the SPBMU. This was a set-back because the two rooms had been refurbished in order to make the office space functional for the ED and DD. Without additional office space, the two teams would be unable to work together. At the PIC meeting the NPD directed the ED and Team Leader to assess the current space and prospects for the availability of additional rooms or the need to acquire new space.

The Project Team determined that new space would be needed and, as indicated earlier in this report, located adequate office space in the National Scout Bhaban in Kadrail, Dhaka. Renovation of the space is planned to take place in August (if vacated at that time) with a move set for September.

Ongoing Risk Issues – Security, however, continues to be a concern and the risk of disruption of Project activities as well as risks to Project consultants has not diminished since the previous Quarter. The Project Team has updated the Risk Assessment and Management Matrix (Annex X Risk Assessment and Management Matrix).

Strike actions appear to be an ongoing risk, one the Project Team faces in every reporting Quarter. A nation-wide hartal was called for the beginning of May and had the effect of disrupting Project meetings for the 8 th of May. Of great concern, however, at the beginning of the Fourth Quarter, was the attack on 1 July on the Holey Restaurant and Bakery located in the same district as current Project offices. While no one from the Project was hurt, the attack targeted foreigners in particular and has caused the Project Team to re-evaluate the current risk situation and office attendance procedures. Moreover, the attack has had a chilling effect on the expat community and may very well slow down the recruitment of foreign consultants to undertake assignments, both for short-term diagnostic and research studies as well as long-term assignments to fill such positions as Team Leader that will be vacated during the Fourth Quarter.

Second SPFMSP Quarterly Report: 1 st April – 30th June 2016

4. Work Plan for the Fourth Quarter The work plan for the Fourth Quarter (July – September) has been updated and reflects planned activities for the last Quarter in the First Implementation Year (Annex XI Fourth Quarter Work Plan) as well as a re-aligned End of Project Implementation Work Plan (Annex XII Implementation to End of Project Work Plan). The activities and work streams are described under four major Project Outputs below.

Output 1 - Improved GoB capacity to develop social protection policy and budgets and coordinate and monitor the implementation of the social protection system .

The final activity for the Indian Sudy Tour (IST) is planned to take place toward the end of the Fourth Quarter as a dissemination workshop. This workshop is somewhat dependent on a review of the IST team’s report by the MoF, a presentation to the Finance Secretary and a discussion with the Cabinet Division concerning the issues and recommendations for reform of the Bangladesh pension system.

Preparations and delivery of a second study tour will take place during the Fourth Quarter. The plan calls for the preparation of a ToR for a study tour to Indonesia by the end of September. The Project Team will select a service provider to organize the study and will undertake the development of a programme and target participation of 10 to 15 officials from the MoF and the LMs. Following on the successful two National/International courses, the partnership of SPFMSP, IPF and INSPIRE will provide a third Social Protection Public Finance Management Course at the end of September. This course will be targeted to Government officials involved with the implementation of SP programmes in the six LMs and the MoF. The Project also is planning to provide global courses on public financial management for social protection. Preparations for courses in Cape Town, South Africa, and Chiang Mai, Thailand, will be fully underway during the Fourth Quarter. The global course in Cape Town is planned for August while the course in Chiang Mai will not take place until October in the following Quarter. This courses will have approximately 30 participants each, who will be selected from the national courses that have been provided in Bangladesh. Management of participant selection, travel arrangements and other logistics will be shared between the SPFMSP and INSPIRE and will be elaborated on in the upcoming Global Course proposal.

With the hire of a full-time, International MIS Specialist at the beginning of the next Quarter and recruitment and hire of a National MIS Coordinator, procurement and selection of an MIS software developer through a tender process will be undertaken during the Fourth Quarter. The implementation plan and system design will be operationalized and the gathering of process requirements and development of the MIS will be underway.

Output 2 - Ministry and Departments of the GoB are able to access and use a strengthened

evidence base on poverty, vulnerability, nutrition and social protection.

The research study on payment systems for social benefits will begin during the Fourth Quarter. The Project anticipates that the work will continue into the next Quarter with delivery of the final report and a dissemination workshop during October.

Also during the next Quarter, the Project will discuss with stakeholders several options for new research topics and set out a programme for undertaking the research. The NPD will send out to the LMs a call for research topics that will be discussed with relevant officials of the LMs and then presented in a workshop on research toward the end of the Fourth Quarter.

Output 3 - Costed plans are developed for the reform of priority social protection schemes .

The diagnostic study on the VGD programme will conclude in the Fourth Quarter with a final report and dissemination workshop delivered in August. As a pilot diagnostic s tudy, the Project will use lessons learned to inform the follow-on diagnostic studies, two of which are planned to begin during

Second SPFMSP Quarterly Report: 1 st April – 30th June 2016

the next quarter.

The Project Team has finished preparatory work on the two diagnostic studies, the Old-Age Allowance (OAA) and the Husband-Deserted Destitute Widows Allowance (Widow’s Allowance). ToRs for both diagnostic studies have been agreed to and are supported by the MoSW, have been approved by DFID and recruitment is beginning.

Output 4 - Ensuring that effective programme management arrangements are established to achieve programme outputs and objectives .

During the Fourth Quarter, the Project Team will be reporting on activities for the First Implementation Year through a number of mechanisms and processes. These include the following: 





PIC and PSC Meetings – The Project is planning to hold the first Project Steering Committee (PSC) meeting for the year. In preparation for this meeting, a PIC will be convened and the agenda for the PSC will be prepared and approved.

Annual Review – Toward the end of July, the Annual Review for the SGSP Programme is scheduled to take place. Documents are being prepared and meetings will be held in advance of the Review.

Annual Report – Also during the Fourth Quarter the Project Team will prepare the first Annual Report of Project Implementation. This is scheduled to be completed by the end of September/beginning of October to cover the entire implementation period from 1 October 2015 to 30 September 2016.

The Project Team also will be planning an anticipated re-location of Project offices to renovated space for the entire Project by the beginning of September. A lease agreement will be negotiated and signed between the SPBMU and National Scout organization, the owners of the office bu ilding. The office space was identified during the Third Quarter and evaluated for suitability and need for renovation.

Plans have been drawn up for renovation and re-location, keeping in mind the need for furniture and equipment for the combined offices of the SPBMU and the SPFMSP consulting staff.

The Project has identified and hired several candidates to fill vacated positions at the beginning of the Fourth Quarter. A new Project Coordinator began work in July. Also, the short-term International MIS Specialist is being converted to a full-time position and has started work as well. A full-time National MIS Specialist is being recruited and the Project Team is anticipating a starting date of the end of July/early August to assist with the procurement of a software developer.

Second SPFMSP Quarterly Report: 1 st April – 30th June 2016

5. Conclusion and Recommendations The Project Team has accomplished a number of work objectives over this Third Quarter and has developed processes to facilitate ongoing work activities: 







In the area of capacity development, the Team has succeeded in putting together a strong partnership among the SPBMU, the Project, the IPF and INSPIRE, to offer the National/International courses in Public Financial Management for Social Protection. This partnership will be continued for each subsequent course and will provide substantial Value for Money (VfM) and sustainability as international facilitators/trainers are phased out and the national facilitators are trained in the various fields. The partnership with INSPIRE also will be extended to provide Global Courses over the coming months to further train National Course participants and facilitators.

With regard to diagnostic and research studies, the diagnostic study of the VGD scheme is nearing conclusion and the process for selecting consultants and carrying out the study is being reviewed. Lessons learnt are being incorporated into the design of the next series of diagnostic and research studies. The solicitation and selection of consultants has been streamlined and a process for finalizing and approving ToRs is now in place.

The Governance process for the Project is functioning well. The Project Team anticipates further successful PIC meetings setting the stage for the first meeting of the PSC d uring the next Quarter. The Team anticipates also that after having successfully undergone the first Annual Review in 2015, the Project will be reviewed successfully in the 2016 Annual Review to take place in the Fourth Quarter.

The International MIS Specialist has provided several documents supporting the tendering process to begin shortly. With the hire of a National MIS Specialist, the Team anticipates that

Recommendations as a result of lessons learnt during the previous Quarter include the following: 









Early planning and agreement on course content, syllabi, timing (specific dates) and course facilitators will be helpful in facilitating course approval and getting full participation from officials in the LMs and the MoF. A much longer lead-time (as much as three months of lead time) is necessary for recruitment of international consultants to undertake diagnostic and research studies. This requires that ToRs are approved and eligible consultants are identified well in advance of the date proposed to start the study.

Long lead times are needed also for developing the programme and approving the proposal for study tours, identifying participants and getting approvals, and implementing the study tour with follow-on reports and presentations on key findings and recommendations.

More events, such as the Sensitization Workshop, would be useful in providing higher visibility for the Project, its activities and achievements. Several workshops are being scheduled for the Fourth Quarter and would benefit from participation of larger numbers of relevant persons from the Government.

When more staff are appointed to the SPBMU and are co-located with the SPFMSP Project consulting staff, a programme for staff engagement should be drawn up in order to provide accelerated skills and knowledge transfer.

Second SPFMSP Quarterly Report: 1 st April – 30th June 2016

Annexes: Annex I: Report on the Second Course Annex II: Terms of Reference for VGD Study Annex III: ToR for DSF Study Annex IV: ToR for OAA Study Annex V: ToR for WA Study Annex VI: ToR for Research Study on Payment Systems Annex VII: Programme for Sensitization Workshop Annex VIII: Minutes of the PIC Meeting Annex IX: Indian Study Tour Workshop Programme Annex X: Risk Assessment and Management Matrix Annex XI: Fourth Quarter Work Plan Annex XII: Implementation to End of Project Work Plan

Annex I: Report on the Second Course

Capacity Development Partnership for Social Protection SPFMSP

2nd Training Course Report DfID

JUNE 2016

Capacity Development Partnership for Social Protection - 2nd Training Course Report DfID

Table of Contents Executive Summary ...........................................................................................................................................................................i 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................................. 1 2. Activities and Achievements.................................................................................................................................................... 2 3. Challenges, Risks and Lessons Learnt ................................................................................................................................... 7 4. Work Plan for the Fourth Quarter .......................................................................................................................................... 9 5. Conclusion and Recommendations ..................................................................................................................................... 11 Annexes: ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 12 Annex I: Report on the Second Course ................................................................................................................................... 13 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Background .......................................................................................................................................................................... 1 The INSPIRE Proposal ........................................................................................................................................................ 1 Planning, Preparation and Logistics ............................................................................................................................ 2 The Course Design and Content .................................................................................................................................... 4 The Participants .................................................................................................................................................................. 5 Resource Deployment ....................................................................................................................................................... 6 7.1

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................... 6

7.2

Deployment of International Experts ............................................................................................................ 6

7.3

Deployment of National Capacity .................................................................................................................. 7 7.3.1 National Presenters ................................................................................................................................... 7 7.3.2 National Facilitators ................................................................................................................................. 8 7.3.3 Identification of New Facilitators ........................................................................................................ 9 7.3.4 Support Staff ............................................................................................................................................ 10

Course Delivery ................................................................................................................................................................. 10 Evaluation ........................................................................................................................................................................... 29 Lessons Learned ................................................................................................................................................................ 30 Annexure 1: Programme Roster ................................................................................................................................................ 31 Annexure 2: List of Names of Participants ............................................................................................................................ 33 Annexure 3: Presenter Profiles .................................................................................................................................................. 36 National Expert ................................................................................................................................................... 39 Annexure 4: Profiles of Course Support Staff ...................................................................................................................... 40 Annexure 5: Profiles National Facilitators ............................................................................................................... 40

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Capacity Development Partnership for Social Protection - 2nd Training Course Report DfID

Introduction This paper provides the Report of the Second National Social Protection Financial Management training course in Bangladesh. The Report gives insight into the training of 36 participants from the Ministry of Finance (MoF), the six line ministries (Social Welfare, Women and Children’s Affairs, Disaster Management and Relief, Health and Family Welfare, Education and Primary and Mass Education), the Cabinet Division, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) and the Planning Commission.

The Report should be read against INSPIRE’s proposals submitted to MSP and thus covers the topics as follows: Section 3 summarises the proposal for the 2 nd training course. Section 4 details MSP’s deftness in taking care of preparation, planning and logistical arrangements, Section 5 outlines the rationale of the course design and delivery content, Section 6 lists the international social protection experts who presented at the training and Section 7 lists the course participants, Section 8 provides an overview of the course delivery detailing the deployment of national presenters and facilitators (previous participants), the support staff and the identification of additional future social protection facilitators in Bangladesh, Section 9 covers in detail the course content presentati ons, Section 10 presents the evaluation conducted at the end of the training course and Section 11 presents thoughts on lessons learned.

Background DfID appointed Maxwell Stamp (MSP) to implement, as part of the Strengthening Government Social Protection Systems for the Poor (SGSP) programme, a capacity development programme aimed at supporting “Improved Government of Bangladesh (GoB) capacity to develop social protection policy and budgets and coordinate and monitor the implementation of the social protec tion system.” The assignment is part of the Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection Reform project for the Government of Bangladesh. To this extent MSP contracted with INSPIRE to design, develop and deliver Social Protection Public Financial Management training courses. The first National Social Protection Public Financial Management Training course, held from 27 th to 31 st March, proved successful and all stakeholders are pleased with the outcome.

The first 2 of 7 social protection training courses would target GoB officials at the policy and supervisory levels 1, and the remainder, supervisory and delivery levels. These courses together form a part of a broader capacity development strategy to be rolled out over a 17 -month period.

The INSPIRE Proposal INSPIRE submitted a proposal for the design, development and delivery of the second National Social Protection Public Financial Management training course to be conducted from 4 th to the 8 th June 2016. The training would target an audience of 40 policy and supervisory level government participants.

INSPIRE proposed that MoF, MSP and the national training partner, the Institute for Public Finance (IPF), take overall responsibility for planning, preparation and logistics and that INSPIRE ’s tasks would be significantly reduced relative to the first training course; both as part of the plan of transferring responsibilities and reducing the overall costs to DfID. The proposal was premised on the assumption that the Bangladeshi role players would draw on experiences and lessons from the first course, while INSPIRE provides support from a distance.

Following learnings form the first training course, considered as a pilot, INSPIRE proposed a number changes to the course, the syllabus and lesson content. These proposed changes were informed by feedback from key stakeholders, lessons learnt and experiences from the first training course, as well as to improved alignment with the Capacity Development Strategy.

1

See the Capacity Development Strategy

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Capacity Development Partnership for Social Protection - 2nd Training Course Report DfID

The proposal presented a significantly enlarged team that would be deployed based on the demand for increased international expertise that would increase the diversity of experiences from various jurisdictions.

INSPIRE’s proposal to train 40 GoB officials in the 2 nd training course was informed by a discussion and preparatory arrangements at the end of the first training course with MSP and the Ministry of Finance. The 40 officials would be split into two groups in which training would run in parallel.

Consequently, a bigger team of presenters would be recruited and deployed. INSPIRE proposed a diverse international team of 9 persons, representative in terms of gender (5 males and 4 females), geography (India, Kenya, Mauritius, Netherlands, Romania, South Africa, Singapore, Vietnam and the USA,) and social protection expertise. The international team was complemented by a national team of 4 males and 1 female.

It was further proposed that INSPIRE would draw on national experts, as well as the deployment of 6 GoB officials who were selected from the first training course, and who would become future social protection trainers. The team of previous participants would come from the MoF and some of the line ministries as part of the capacity building strategy.

In line with the proposals for changes to be made, a revised syllabus would be developed with more public financial management topics as suggested by the stakeholders and those highlighted in the Capacity Development Strategy.

It was proposed that the Course Reader would be more extensive with significantly more Bangladesh research material. Given the increased demand to cover more social protection themes, the programme roster would provide for 9 teaching lessons per day as oppose to the four in the previous course. INSPIRE submitted a syllabus from which the programme roster would be developed. The proposed programme roster was included as an annexure in INSPIRE’s proposal.

In summary, INSPIRE’s proposal would seek to achieve the following:        

Increased transfer of responsibilities for planning, preparation and logistics by MSP, MoF, and IPF, Address challenges of venue provision and food quality, Effecting changes to the course design and content, increasing the financial management content and reviewing the Course Reader, Expanding representation from Ministries and departments within Ministries, Increasing the deployment of international resources, Including GoB officials as part of the skills transfer process, Responding to language challenges, Developing courses that speak to the demands of officials at the different levels as outlined in the Capacity Development Strategy.

Planning, Preparation and Logistics MSP, in collaboration with INSPIRE, started planning for the second training course as early as at the end of the first training course in April, with a plan for the selection of participants for the 2 nd course.

MSP, under the leadership of its Team Leader, Daniel Wartonick, supported by Naheed Sultana, Social Protection Specialist, Capacity Development & Institution Building, took on a greater role in the planning, preparation and logistics for the training. Compared to the first training course, preparations started earlier with INSPIRE and MSP interacting on a weekly basis to assess progress. Thus more effort went into planning and preparation relative to the first training course.

The responsibilities for MSP as it relates to preparation involved the following:  

Coordination of contributions of the role players, Coordination of course facilitator contributions,

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Capacity Development Partnership for Social Protection - 2nd Training Course Report DfID



Facilitating preparation and procurement of course support materials

A great deal of initiatives previously undertaken by INSPIRE was successfully executed by the MSP Office. Thus it can be concluded that the Bangladeshi role players drew on experiences and lessons from the first course to take the initiative while INSPIRE provided support from a distance.

MSP played the pivotal leadership role by:         

Consulting with the Social Protection Budget Management Unit (SPBMU) in the MoF to agree on training arrangements, MSP together with the MoF had identified the officials that would be suitable for the training, Ensured a training contract was in place with INSPIRE, Ensured logistical arrangements were in place by contracting with IPF, the national partner, Provided supporting documentation for Visa applications, Facilitated where necessary interaction between role players INSPIRE, DFID, DFAT, IPF, MOF and UNDP, Provided over leadership and coordination on contributions, Refined the list of learning and support materials that would be necessary.

Identification of the eligible course participants in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance that targeted 40 participants from Finance Division, six line ministries as well as the Cabinet Division, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) and the Planning Commission.

INSPIRE cannot testify about the extent to which the contracting and or agreements reached between MSP, IFP and the MoF resulted in the success of planning. INSPIRE is however aware that some challenges were experienced in the early identification of candidates for the course. Venue preparation and space allocation was nevertheless satisfactory; space allocation for presenters, the operations room, the computer laboratory, visible signature and branding of the course and refreshment space provided were greatly improved.

Overall, the national partner is supposed to take care of the following:       

Providing and preparing the course venue; Provided computer laboratory room; Organise and arrange for group photo with photographer; The setting up of all course venues in line with course requirements (e.g. tables, chairs, configurations, equipment, etc.); Secretariat / Admin Office Stationery (staples, paperclips, etc.); Procuring the services of a caterer for meals: a lunch meal and two tea/coffee services The national partner provided the following personnel:

A course coordinator that liaised with the international service provider to support course logistics and requirements such as facilities, computer lab and internet; o A course assistant that provided logistical support for course services, including catering, room set up, etc.

Assessment: o

  

MSP disposed well of the preparatory tasks in respect of the preparations for the capacity development training, There is a need to improve in the transportation of the participants to the course venue. On most days participants arrived late as they rely on government transport, and If the intention is to transfer the capability to deliver social protection courses to the National Partner over time, then a more visible role in planning, logistics and preparation must be played by the MoF and the National Partner. There is at this stage limited capability at the National Partner’s level for such a role.

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Capacity Development Partnership for Social Protection - 2nd Training Course Report DfID

The Course Design and Content The design and content of the syllabus and programme for the first training course was the outcome of consultation with the Development Partner, MoF, MSP, and INSPIRE. At the end of the first course and prior to starting the second training, significant changes were req uested. The result was that INSPIRE changed its conventional training programme, which covers sessions of 90 minutes long to 40 minutes. The outline of the eventual agreed upon programme roster is presented in Annexure 1.

INSPIRE and MSP team agreed to develop a detailed draft course description which encompassed the following: i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi.

A course syllabus, programme (narrative), and programme roster; A list of the INSPIRE course presenters with CVs; A list of the INSPIRE support staff and CVs; An outline of the roles and responsibilities of the International Partner; An outline of roles and responsibilities of the National Partner; An outline of the services that would be provided by the National Partner vis a vis that of the International Partner; In line with DFID’s proposal to organise the lessons into themes, INSPIRE’s syllabus and programme roster reflected an alignment with topics into the suggested themes. The themes proposed for the five days would be as follows: Day 1 – Saturday 4th June: Theory, Concepts and Foundations of Social Protection; Day 2 – Sunday, 5th June: Design, Implementation and Tracking of services; Day 3 – Monday, 6th June: Financing and Budgeting for Social Protection; Day 4 - Tuesday, 7th June: Monitoring and Evaluation of Delivery and Spending; and Day 5 – Wednesday, 8th June: Practical Application through Participant Presentations.

In terms of subjects or topics to be included, there was significant congruence between the lecture topics proposed by MoF and DFID. An additional topic proposed by DFID, over and above the list by MoF was a lecture on the Political Economy of Social Protection in Bangladesh.

INSPIRE developed several new courses focussing on the Bangladesh context which included Strategic Planning for Social Protection, Vulnerable Groups such as Women, Children, People with Disabilities, the Culturally Marginalised, etc., Pension systems and demographic changes in Bangladesh, an Analysis of Revenue and Expenditure in the Budget, the Bangladesh Budget Process, Generating Fiscal Space, Analysis of Income Distribution in Bangladesh, Improving Public Financial Management and Social Protection and Disaster Management.

Similar to the first course, the course materials consisted of PowerPoint presentations, A Course Reader Package, the micro-simulation modelling exercise and class exercises that were aligned to the course themes.

The materials were designed to maximise peer learning and promoted useful discussions around social protection and financing in Bangladesh, and tied the materials to the overall course unifying exercise (participant presentations) on the final day. A limited set of course materials were made available to participants in printed copies in a ring binder and a more extensive set of reading material are now available online via an Online Learning Portal designed for the SPFMSP Project which also provides for participant interaction. The link to the portal is: http://inspirenet.org/resources-3 .

Assessment: 

A greater focus on social protection in the Bangladesh context with budgeting and financial management and strategic planning was achieved,

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Capacity Development Partnership for Social Protection - 2nd Training Course Report DfID







The significant increase in topics based on the topics requested, meant a significant reduction in time spent on each of the many important and relevant topics. This choice turned out to be less than desirable as the evaluation forms would indicate that officials were less than happy with the time spent on the subjects presented. The average score in the evaluations for Classroom A was 2.9/5 and for Classroom B was 3.7/5. Many participants in classroom B voiced this concern during sessions.

Going forward, there is a need to decide on the most important topics and allocate more time to each of them. Current thinking is that extension to an hour per topic would work, whereas participants indicate that 2 hours per topic would be adequate, There appears though still a need to consider how to spend more time on topics poorly covered such as disaster relief, food delivery and health insurance.

The Participants MoF submitted a list of participants to MSP and the training team by Saturday, 4 June. The list indicated that 40 participants would attend the course from seven Ministries, 36 participants actually attended the course. In addition, there would be the Course Director – Mr. Manzoor Hossain Bhuiyan to oversee training but would not be in the training course, while the Training Coordinator- Mr. Ataur Rahman would be present throughout the course. The table below lists the Ministries represented and the number of participants from each of the Ministries.

Annexure 2 provides a detailed breakdown of the names of participants while the table below presents the number of participants from the different ministries and institutions.

Ministry

No of Participants

Ministry of Finance (MoF)

10

Ministry of Social Welfare (MoSW)

4

Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MoWCA)

4

Ministry of Disaster Management Relief (MoDMR)

2

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW)

4

Ministry of Education (MoE)

5

Ministry of Primary Education (MOPME)

2

Cabinet Division

3

Planning Division

1

Statistics & Informatics Division (BBS)

1

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Capacity Development Partnership for Social Protection - 2nd Training Course Report DfID

Assessment: 

A notable improvement in the representation and diversity of the course participants was achieved in that: o o

More women attended the training course, in total 9 out of 36; that is 25% representation compared to 7% in the first course MSP worked with the UNDP, and participants this time included representation from the Cabinet Division and Planning Division of the Planning Commission.

Resource Deployment 7.1

Introduction This section will report on four issues considered in the proposal which constituted lessons from the first course, namely     

7.2

International Social Protection Experts Deployment of National Capacity Including GoB officials as part of the skills transfer process, Role of MSP in course delivery Facilitating the training officials at the two different levels as outlined in the Capacity Development Strategy.

Deployment of International Experts Given the short period of time in implementing the first training course, only two international experts and one national expert were deployed. This was a shortcoming which the proposal for the second course sought to address.

Since more time for planning and preparation was available for the second course and the key role players could agree on a delivery date 2 months before the time, INSPIRE was able to secure the services of 9 international social protection experts. The table below presents the list of international social protection experts who presented at the 2 nd training course and Annexure 3 provides brief profiles of the presenters.

Table 1: INSPIRE Team for Course Delivery International Presenters

Position

Responsibility

Selwyn Jehoma

Capacity Development Director, INSPIRE

Lead Trainer & Course Designer

Nesha Ramful

University of Mauritius Social Protection Lecturer

Presenter, Trainer, Coconvener

Dr. Mary Nyamongo

Director of African Institute of Development

Senior Trainer

Dr. Michael Samson

SPFMSP Strategic Advisor and Director at EPRI

Senior Trainer

Professorial Fellow: LKY School of Public Policy, Singapore & Director of Public Policy, Global Village Foundation in Delhi.

Senior Trainer

Prof. Mukul Asher

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Capacity Development Partnership for Social Protection - 2nd Training Course Report DfID

Dr. Lacri Corches

Executive Manager – Government of Romania

Senior Trainer

Nard Huijbregts

EPRI Associate and Social Protection Specialist

Senior Trainer

Ass Prof. Giang Long

Dr. Smita Premchander

Director: Institute of Public Policy and Management, National Economics University in Hanoi, Vietnam Trainer, Researcher, Evaluator, Policy and Programme Advisor

Senior Trainer

Trainer

Observation: INSPIRE’s observation is that early preparation greatly improved the deployment of international experts for the course in that:  

A greater pool of experts could be procured in good time, The team was more diverse through: o o



Gender representation: four women experts were on the team, Geographical spread was achieved through deployment of experts from

Experts could be deployed in several of the newly proposed topics such as Social Protection and marginalised groups which included women, people with disabilities, culturally marginalised groups, etc.

INSPIRE took a leading role in the identification and recruitment of the international experts, with inputs from Dr. Michael Samson and Mr. Daniel Wartonick. The selection took into account the expected objective of each session and course at large as well as the presenters’ background and specialisation in the field of social protection. Participants, in the evaluation, scored the presenters an average of 4.3 out of 5 on delivery and meeting the course objectives.

7.3

Deployment of National Capacity Building national capacity for the future delivery of social protection training, INSPIRE’s proposal suggested the assignment of presentations by national experts, GoB senior management and national support staff.

7.3.1 National Presenters Two national GoB officials supported the roll out of the course and five national presenters made contributions to the capacity development programme in the form of presentations. Mr. Manzoor Alam Bhuiyan, (ED, SPBMU) acted as the Director of the Training programme supported by his deputy, Mr Md. Ataur Rahman, the Deputy Director of the Project.

The presenters included Mr Shamsul Alam (Senior Secretary in the Planning Commission), and two managers from the MoF, namely Mr Muslim Chowdhury, Additional Secretary of Finance Division in the MOF and Mr Azizul Alam (Joint Secretary in MoF). In addition, Ms Ferdousi Sultana Begum, an independent Consultant, and an expert in monitoring and evaluation also made presentations over a two day period. Mr Naved Chowdhury (Poverty and Social Protection Advisor), from DfID made a presentation on the political economy of social protection in Bangladesh.

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Capacity Development Partnership for Social Protection - 2nd Training Course Report DfID

The national presenters are listed in the table below: National Presenter

Position

Institution

Prof Shamsul Alam

Senior Secretary

Planning Commission

Mr Muslim Chowdhury

Additional Secretary

Finance Division, Finance (MOF)

Ministry

of

Mr Azizul Alam

Joint Secretary

Finance Division, Finance (MOF)

Ministry

of

Ms Ferdousi Sultana Begum

Independent Consultant

Bangladesh, Independent

Mr Naved Chowdhury

Poverty and Protection Adviser

DfID

Social

7.3.2 National Facilitators In line with the Capacity Development Strategy, that envisages the transfer of skills to the GoB, INSPIRE selected and proposed 6 officials from the first course to be mentored and assisted in becoming future social protection presenters. These officials are referred to as facilitators to distinguish them from the national and international presenters.

Following general consensus about the selection from the MoF and MSP at the first course, INSPIRE spent a fair deal of time in preparing these aspirant social protection experts to make a contribution in the delivery of the first course. The list of the proposed facilitators is presented in the table below: Former Participants appointed as Facilitators Candidate

Ministry

Dr. Md. Jafar Uddin (not available)

Finance Division – MoF

Mr Ramendra Nath Biswas

Finance Division – MoF

Mr Shish Haider Chowdhury

Finance Division – MoF

Mr. Nurul Kabir Siddiqui

Ministry of Social Welfare

Mrs Begam Ummul Khair Siddiqua

Ministry of Education

Mr Shyama Prasad Bepari

Ministry of Education

INSPIRE’s Capacity Development Specialist provided ongoing briefings to the facilitators about their roles in capacity development, linked them with international experts and outlined to them the role they would play in the social protection capacity development courses.

Their roles in brief would be to:    

Provide the international experts with access to local information on the relevant topics, Attend all the classes, Assist in language translation where necessary, and Make brief presentations to contribute to at least one of the lessons.

Both the MoF and the facilitators were much pleased that the selection of local facilitators demonstrated a commitment to expanding social protection capacity with the government of Bangladesh. For the most part, the facilitators carried out their “duties” well; attending the classes (except for Dr Jaffer who travelled abroad) assisting with translation where necessary and helping in the facilitation of the learning. There were however some challenges in clearly defining expectations and role clarification.

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Capacity Development Partnership for Social Protection - 2nd Training Course Report DfID

7.3.3 Identification of New Facilitators At the end of the training course, INSPIRE identified an additional 8 persons as potential future trainers with a view to:    

Increase representation across the Ministries and government, Increase gender representativeness but ensuring merit. The females selected were all very active in engagement, and contributed significantly in class participation, Expand the skills pool across the social protection areas of expertise, and Ensure a sufficiently bigger pool of empowered officials for the future

The names of the newly identified officials are listed in the table below and will be communicated to the Ministry of Finance for concurrence.

New Facilitators identified from Class-A Mr. Bikash Kishore Das, ,

Additional Secretary

Ministry: Women & Children Affairs

Mr. Md. Nazmul Huda Siddiqui

Deputy Secretary

Cabinet Division

Ms. Naila Ahmed

Deputy Secretary

Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief

Mr. Sheikh Farid

Senior Assistant Secretary

Finance Division, MoF

New Facilitators identified from Class-B Ms. Dilara Begum

Senior Assistant Secretary

Finance Division, MoF

Mr. Md. Ashfaqul

Amin Mukut, Senior Assistant Secretary

Cabinet Division

Mr. AMM Rejwanul Hoque,

Senior Assistant Chief

Ministry of Health Family Welfare

Mr. Md. Ali Akbar,

Deputy Secretary

Ministry of Social Welfare

and

The selection of facilitators took into account a range of factors including but not limited to confidence, training capability, class participation, responsiveness and abil ity to take initiative. The selection also took into account the ability of the participants to logically make arguments, ask essential questions and provide constructive input during sessions. Each of the newly identified facilitators displayed qualities that would be essential in future trainers. It was also important to select candidates that could draw and hold the attention of the class as a trainer would be required to do.

As some of the pariticipants took the opportunity to present their view points in class, the facilitators were able to identify ideal candidates.

Assessment   

The identified facilitators will be part of a pool of 16 government officials prepared to be the drivers of capacity development in the future There is a need to develop a more detailed task description that outlines the roles and responsibilities of the facilitators, There is a need to include a code of conduct that facilitators must adhere to in the performance of the duties.

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Capacity Development Partnership for Social Protection - 2nd Training Course Report DfID

7.3.4 Support Staff Support staff members are to provide backstopping for the training delivery. INSPIRE submitted in its proposal the names of three experienced INSPIRE team members. The choice of the size of support staff was based on the assumption that MoF would also provide 2 to 3 staff members who would in time learn the roles and responsibilities associated with training support, and later take over these functions. In addition, it was expected that MSP and IPF would also provide sufficient support staff for the capacity building. INSPIRE’s support staff members started their duties several weeks before the course commenced; coordinating the procurement of experts, obtaining visa documentation, arranging the travelling of presenters and preparing templates for course documentation. The list of the names of the INSPIRE support is presented below.

INSPIRE Support Staff INSPIRE International Course Coordinator

Course Coordinator

Ms Preksha Golchha

INSPIRE Research Associate

Academic Support

Quinn Pitcher

INSPIRE Research Associate

Academic Support

Ms Takudzwa Muyambo

In addition to the INSPIRE support staff, IPF had one additional support staff member whose task in the main was to assist in preparation and provision of meals. The MSP Capacity Development Specialist attended to ensuring the implementation by INSPIRE, IPF and contribution by MoF and other Ministries. Consequently, the three SUPPORT staff from INSPIRE were insufficient in number terms to ensure the full support required.

Assessment: 

  

The initial responsibilities envisaged for the National Partner has not been adhered to and there is a need to clarify roles and responsibilities. There was inadequate admin support available to parallel run two sessions to assist with tasks like printing, putting together lecture notes and presentations, etc.

It would be useful to develop a type of ToR for support staff, with the different organizations (INSPIRE, IPF, MSP, MoF) to clearly delineate their roles and responsibilities during the training.

The responsibilities to be executed by support staff require tighter manageme nt, Consideration must be given to increase the support staff in the event that two classes are conducted in parallel. Delivering the training support proved overwhelming for the three support staff members of INSPIRE.

Course Delivery The course content had three main content components: (i) social protection design and implementation, (ii) social protection public financial management and (iii) monitoring and evaluation. The three main content components were merged in order to provide participants with a comprehensive understanding and approach to social protection and financial management.

The course content was covered in two classes that ran in parallel and covered the same content.

Day 1, Saturday 4th June 2015: Theory, Concepts and Foundations of Social Protection The objective of the first day of the course was to introduce and familiarise participants with the course objectives and structures, and the course unifying exercise, as well as introduce participants to the concept of social protection. The sessions for the day focused on introducing social protection, the reasons behind such programmes and the Bangladesh social protection agenda.

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Capacity Development Partnership for Social Protection - 2nd Training Course Report DfID

i) Course Opening Session The Chief Guest, Mr. Jalal Ahmed (Additional Secretary, Ministry of Finance) officially opened the training course. His opening remarks emphasised the need for social protection courses to equip Bangladeshi officials to better design and implement programmes that achieve far reaching developmental impacts. In addition, the Opening Session witnessed contributions by representatives from the Ministry of Finance (Messiers Chowdhury and Bhuiyan), DfID (Mr Naved Chowdhury), DFAT (Mr. Tom Nettleton), Maxwell Stamp (Mr Wartonick), (INSPIRE Mr Jehoma). The opening session was coordinated & facilitated by Ms. Naheed Sultana, Social Protection Specialist, SPFMSP Project.

The representatives each contributed to outlining the objectives and links to the Bangladesh social protection vision and agenda. Mr. Manzoor Alam Bhuiyan, (ED, SPBMU), who also performs the function of the Course Director, gave the vote of thanks before the participants went to their respective parallel session classrooms (Class A and Class B). ii) Period 2 and 3 - Course Introduction and Overview and Introductions, Personal Objectives and Unifying Mr. Selwyn Jehoma (INSPIRE) in Class A and Ms. Lacri Corches and Ms. Nesha Ramful (University of Mauritius) in Class B, introduced the course, outlining the objectives of the course, and introduced some of the core concepts of social protection. The sessions provided participants with an overview of the course, the programme structure and plan, explaining how the diverse modules fit together.

The course unifying exercise was also introduced, with a brief overview of topics that participants were to tackle for their presentations. Participants presentation topics included i) excluded groups, ii) social insurance, iii) generating fiscal space, iv) institutional arrangements v) monitoring and lastly vi) evaluation. Participants were then divided into groups of sixes and sevens. The course introduction and overview sessions also gave participants a platform to speak to their course expectations and learning objectives and these included:

iii).

From Class A

From Class B

How social protection can be integrated with development goals.

How to manage targeting errors in the face of corruption and inadequate institutional capacity

How disaster management systems can be implemented

How to incorporate social protection spending in the budgetary process

How the unique situation of Bangladesh, in terms of population and culture, informs social protection interventions

How to accurately forecast and estimate social protection expenditure

Period 4 Classroom A: Strategic Planning for Social Protection Mr. Selwyn Jehoma started this session with the discussion on national strategies, illustrating examples from around the globe and engaged the participants in a detailed discussion of the national strategy of Bangladesh. The participants enlightened each other on the mid-term expenditure review, the budgeting process of Bangladesh, and engaged in a debate surrounding national strategy and strategic planning. Mr. Jehoma enriched the classroom with information on operational and strategic plans, and engaged in an in-depth discussion of the planning system in Bangladesh. He also assigned a few participants the task to present an organisational structure and the path from programme

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planning to implementation. The participants elaborated upon the 7 th five-year plan, the framework and the approach. Mr. Jehoma facilitated a discussion on the current top -down versus a bottoms-up approach to strategic planning.

Period 4 and 5 Classroom B: Social Protection, Human Rights and Marginalised Groups (women and children, people with disabilities and the informal sector) Dr. Corches and Ms. Ramful kicked off the session by asking participants the following questions: what is social protection? What are human rights? Is poverty a human rights issue? What is the role of social protection for marginalised groups? How issues of gender and age are dealt with in social protection issues? The presenters went on to define social protection and explain the human rights approach to social protection. They highlighted that poverty is a multidimensional phenomenon, which extends far beyond lack of income to encompass the deprivation of the capability to live in dignity. The sessions explored how the human rights perspectives influence a pproaches to social protection as preventative, protective, promotive and transformative set of intervention. Ms. Ramful explained how social protection programmes can be useful tools used by states in assisting them to meet their obligations under the international human rights law and in extension, encourage participation of the marginalised and vulnerable groups in economic, political, social and cultural life.

Dr. Corches using the Romania Universal Children Allowance and the Bangladesh School Stipend Programmes as case studies highlighted how different countries with different capabilities design and implement social protection programmes, with countries with limited resources prioritising pressing needs. Dr. Corches highlighted the importance of improving and extending social protection coverage to all and that the right to social security should be established and defined by law, supported by long term strategy and reinforced by appropriate institutional frameworks. The presenters’ questions and presentation encouraged great dialogue between presenters and participants on the human rights based approach to social protection in the context of Bangladesh and generated awareness of poverty as a situation with major gender and age implications.

Period 5 Classroom A: Social Protection Models: Asian Best Practices Although this session was designed to provide information on Asian Best Practices, the debate and discussion around strategic planning and strategic planning in Bangladesh stretched into this sessio n and a large part of the discussions during this session revolved around strategic planning in other African countries, with an enriching discussion on the planning process in Bangladesh. From a planning perspective, Mr. Jehoma discussed social protection strategies from other South Asian countries. The discussion of Social Protection Models in Asian and African countries was also sufficiently covered in the sessions that followed by Ms. Nesha Ramful and Dr. Lacri Corches.

Period 6 Classroom A: Social Protection, Human Rights and Marginalised Groups (women and children, people with disabilities and the informal sector) – Part 1 Having successfully completed this session with Classroom B earlier in the day, Dr. Corches and Ms. Ramful began with an assessment of the participants’ knowledge of basic concepts like social protection, human rights, marginal groups etc. A wide range of definitions for “social protection” started an educative discussion between the presenters and participants as each of their understandings of social protection differed. After bringing the room on a relatively level ground with regards to what social protection encompasses, the presenters focused the rest of the session on an engaging discussion on human rights perspective to social protection. They presented the multidimensional nature of poverty, which extends far beyond lack of income to encompass the deprivation of the capability to live in dignity. The sessions explored a right -based approach to social

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protection as preventative, protective, promotive and transformative set of intervention. Dr. Corches discussed the Romania Universal Children Allowance and the Bangladesh School Stipend Programmes as case studies to highlight how different countries with different capabilities design and implement social protection programmes. She also highlighted a design problem with the stipend programme focusing on incentives that while increasing enrolment of girls in schools has simultaneously reduced that for boys. Dr. Corches emphasised on social protection as a right not a charity and that governments must be held accountable for its people. Dr. Corches, while highlighting the importance of improving and extending social protection coverage to all, also presented the impact of limited resources that require governments to prioritise pressing needs. She emphasised that the right to social security should be established and defined by law, supported by long term strategy and reinforced by appropriate institutional frameworks.

Period 6 and 7 Classroom B: National Social Security Strategy (NSSS) of Bangladesh Mr. Shamshul Alam (Planning Commission of Bangladesh) sessions gave an outline of the National Social Security Strategy of Bangladesh, which enhanced participants’ knowledge of the current range of social protection programmes in Bangladesh as well as present the case for reform. Mr. Alam highlighted the role of social protection as one of the Government of Bangladesh’s most effective instrument in tackling poverty. Mr. Alam explained how the strategy aims to coordinate and consolidate the existing and future social security programmes under one umbrella in order to achieve better efficiency and results.

The NSSS is the first life cycles approach to policy that will bring approximately 17% of the vulnerable into social safety net programmes including programmes for children, youth, women and disabled persons. Mr. Alam went on further to highlight key challenges and achievements of the NSSS. The sessions provided participants with a comprehensive understanding of the key instruments that are under the NSSS agenda and broader understanding of the Bangladesh social protection agenda.

Period 5 Classroom A: Social Protection Models: Asian Best Practices Although this session was designed to provide information on Asian Best Practices, the debate and discussion around strategic planning and strategic planning in Bangladesh stretched into this session and a large part of the discussions during this session revolved around strategic planning in other African countries, with an enriching discussion on the planning process in Bangladesh. From a planning perspective, Mr. Jehoma discussed social protection strategies from other South Asian countries. The discussion of Social Protection Models in Asian and African countries was also sufficiently covered in the sessions that followed by Ms. Nesha Ramful and Dr. Lacri Corches.

Classroom B: National Social Security Strategy (NSSS) of Bangladesh Mr. Shamshul Alam (Planning Commission of Bangladesh) sessions gave an outline of the National Social Security Strategy of Bangladesh, which enhanced participants’ knowledge of the current range of social protection programmes in Bangladesh as well as present the case for reform. Mr. Alam highlighted the role of social protection as one of the Government of Bangladesh’s most effective instrument in tackling poverty. Mr. Alam explained how the strategy aims to coordinate and consolidate the existing and future social security programmes under one umbrella in order to achieve better efficiency and results.

The NSSS is the first life cycles approach to policy that will bring approximately 17% of the vulnerable into social safety net programmes including programmes for children, youth, women and disabled persons. Mr. Alam went on further to highlight key challenges and achievements of the NSSS. The sessions provided participants with a comprehensive understanding of the key instruments that are under the NSSS agenda and broader understanding of the Bangladesh social protection agenda.

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Capacity Development Partnership for Social Protection - 2nd Training Course Report DfID

v). Period 6 Classroom A: Social Protection, Human Rights and Marginalised Groups (women and children, people with disabilities and the informal sector) – Part 1 Having successfully completed this session with Classroom B earlier in the day, Dr. Corches and Ms. Ramful began with an assessment of the participants’ knowledge of basic concepts like social protection, human rights, marginal groups etc. A wide range of definitions for “social protection” started an educative discussion between the presenters and participants as each of their understandings of social protection differed. After bringing the room on a relatively le vel ground with regards to what social protection encompasses, the presenters focused the rest of the session on an engaging discussion on human rights perspective to social protection. They presented the multidimensional nature of poverty, which extends far beyond lack of income to encompass the deprivation of the capability to live in dignity. The sessions explored a right -based approach to social protection as preventative, protective, promotive and transformative set of intervention. Dr. Corches discussed the Romania Universal Children Allowance and the Bangladesh School Stipend Programmes as case studies to highlight how different countries with different capabilities design and implement social protection programmes. She also highlighted a design problem with the stipend programme focusing on incentives that while increasing enrolment of girls in schools has simultaneously reduced that for boys. Dr. Corches emphasised on social protection as a right not a charity and that governments must be held accountable for its people. Dr. Corches, while highlighting the importance of improving and extending social protection coverage to all, also presented the impact of limited resources that require governments to prioritise pressing needs. She emphasised that the right to social security should be established and defined by law, supported by long term strategy and reinforced by appropriate institutional frameworks. vi) Period 7 Classroom A: Social Protection, Human Rights and Marginalised Groups (women and children, people with disabilities and the informal sector) – Part 2 Ms. Nesha Ramful took over from Dr. Corches and went on to explore social protection for marginalised groups from a rights-based perspective. She highlighted the disparities, the extent of deprivation and the more urgent need for social protection for marginalised groups. She focused on women and ethnic minorities, drawing on examples from Africa and India. In the discussion of women as marginalised groups, Ms. Ramful presented a host of challenges that women face on a daily basis from lack of right to freedom to wage discrimination. Owing to Bangladesh’s vulnerability of natural disasters, Ms. Ramful also engaged in dialogue with participants to discuss disaster management and the impact on women. She emphasised how while women are victims of disasters, they are also the resource of disaster management. She used the example of rehabilitation and building as a disaster management response where women are not allowed land ownership, making the suppo rt futile for female-headed households. Ms. Ramful also presented the concept of social justice and a debate surrounding dependence on social assistance. She elaborated upon the human rights argument for social justice and against discrimination and how marginalized groups do not enjoy the same political or social rights as others, drawing on examples from Dalits in Bangladesh and India. She closed the session with an encouraging discussion on how risk can be converted to opportunity, which facilitated an interesting discussion between participants and presenters.

Vii). Period 8 and 9 Classroom A: National Social Security Strategy (NSSS) of Bangladesh Mr. Shamshul Alam (Planning Commission of Bangladesh) presented a detailed discussion on the National Social Security Strategy of Bangladesh, which enhanced participants’ knowledge of the current range of social protection programmes in Bangladesh as well as present the case for reform.

He began with the history of the NSSS development, discussed the process, made reference to the

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stakeholders and elaborated on the need for the strategy. His discussion focused on the duplication of efforts, ineffective social protection spending, effective use of investment, minimisation of targeting errors and the need for a single registry. He highlighted the concept of value for money and how that influences the choice of programmes with the aim of poverty reduction, inequality reduction and human capital development. He provided insight on Article 15(d) and why the social protection strategy was renamed to social security strategy to align with the constitutional requirements. He also discussed how private sector pensions were proposed in Bangladesh but the advocacy was strongly opposed. The participants engaged in an exciting debate with Mr. Alam trying to understand the life cycle approach and while social support at each stage of the life cycle is widely discussed, why contributions from people to the economy at each life-stage are not factored into that discussion.

Mr. Alam ended the session describing social protection as a constitutional responsibility of the state.

Period 8 and 9, Classroom B: The Case for Social Protection: Systems around the world Dr. Michael Samson (EPRI) session explored the role of social protection in supporting the new global developmental agenda, based on the assessment of its role in strengthening the achievement of Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs). The session began with an assessment of social protection’s role as one of many governments’ most effective instruments in tackling poverty and inequality.

Using various examples of social protection programmes in South Africa, India, multiple East-Asian countries as well as more developed countries, Dr. Samson discussed the household-level economic impacts of SP and also explored the macro case for social protection, examining evidence on impacts for decent rural employment, social cohesion, macroeconomic resilience, economic reforms and other areas. The session concluded with a cautionary note, identifying why social protection programmes might fail to achieve these impacts.

Classroom B: Social Protection Frameworks, Life-Cycles approach for Bangladesh Dr. Samson outlined the three main social protection instruments – from the basic instruments such as social cash transfers to more insurance-based and contributory instruments to the legislationbased transformative instruments. The session also explored the varying orientations to defining social protection: is social protection defined by its instruments or its objectives? In respect of the frameworks, the session provided an overview of the World Bank’s Risk Management approach, the Transformative Social Protection Approach and the Life Cycle Approach. The presentation also explored the linkages between the approaches, and development planning frameworks, and analyse how these move towards the social protection systems approach. The session emphasised the common elements of these approaches rather than the differences, and examined how the different frameworks contribute uniquely to the evolving systems approach. The presentation led to a discussion that drew insights from earlier presentations on the rights based approach to social protection and how social protection can be a medium to combat shocks at different life cycles stages.

Participants also discussed the costing of social protection programmes and challenges that they face in Bangladesh. The session highlighted the importance of greater analysis of risk and vulnerability across the lifecycles to inform the design of social protection programmes in Bangladesh, in order to increase the effectiveness of tackling poverty.

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Day 2 – Sunday, 5th June: Design, Implementation and Tracking of services i). Period 1 Classroom A: The Case for Social Protection Systems around the World Dr. Michael Samson drew on examples of social protection programmes and policies from around the world, comparing them to Bangladesh’s National Social Security Strategy. The session involved extensive dialogue on the pros and cons of social protection such as dependency and sustainability.

He highlighted the social protection system in South Africa, India, multiple East -Asian countries and drew on examples from the more developed to the less developed countries, and relatively mature to still emerging social protection systems. This session was largely participatory with participants engaging in international comparisons, life-cycle approach to social protection, the increasing focus on providing social protection for all and the evolution of social protection systems in devel oping countries. Participants also engaged in discussions with Dr. Samson and each other, discussing the nature of social protection in Bangladesh, private and public interventions, the life cycle approach and the preventive and promotive roles of social protection.

Classroom B: Strategic Planning for Social Protection Mr. Selwyn Jehoma started this session with the discussion on national strategies, illustrating examples from around the globe and engaged the participants in a detailed discussion of the na tional strategy of Bangladesh. The participants enlightened each other on the mid-term expenditure review, the budgeting process of Bangladesh, and engaged in a debate surrounding national strategy and strategic planning. Mr. Jehoma enriched the classroom with information on operational and strategic plans, and engaged in an in-depth discussion of the planning system in Bangladesh. He also assigned a few participants the task to present an organisational structure and the path from programme planning to implementation. The participants elaborated upon the 7 th five-year plan, the framework and the approach. Mr. Jehoma facilitated a discussion on the current top -down versus a bottoms-up approach to strategic planning. ii) Period 2 Classroom A: Social Protection Framework and Life Cycle Approach for Bangladesh Dr. Samson began the session with a discussion around whether Bangladesh can sustain social protection for all at its current stage. After allowing participants to present their opinions, Dr. Samson advised on progressive realisation to eventually provide coverage for all as the path forward for Bangladesh. Participants, in the desire to use Dr. Samson’s experience to enlighten them, asked him to define social protection. He indicated that it was so broad that technically it could cover everything the government does and emphasis the need for the country to define social protection in its own context. He then discussed private and public interventions, the inclusion or exclusion of private interventions from social protection strategies and the role of the g overnment to only ensure that private interventions do not interfere with the government’s provision. Participants engaged in enriching dialogue to explore the options, the role of the strategy in regulating private interventions and the basic provision of public interventions.

Dr. Samson then briefly discussed costing of social protection programmes and moved on to elaborate upon transformative social justice and power. He re-emphasised the rights-based approach and the reinforcing nature of access to social rights and economic activities. He interactively discussed the happy and unhappy life cycles and presented social protection as a medium to prevent unhappy life cycles.

The session then focused on the three biggest concerns for finance ministers – dependence, sustainability and efficiency of social protection programmes. The school stipend programme was again presented as an example of design errors and the influence of corruption by participants. Dr. Samson also elaborated upon the spending pattern of the poorest households and cash transfers as

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an economic stimulant. The session ended with a discussion of demographic dividend and the need for early childhood interventions to capture the benefits during the first three years of a child’s life for maximum human capital development and high cost efficiency.

Classroom B: Social Protection Systems: Asian Best Practices Mr. Selwyn Jehoma session explored the different social protection models around the world, incorporating case studies from Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America into the sessions. The presentation explored the far reaching impacts of social transfers as well as other social protection instruments. The core impacts involve substantial poverty and vulnerability reduction but also include consistent results in terms of human capital development. This led to a highly engaged discussion of the Bangladesh National Social Security Strategy and the planning processes in Bangladesh in comparison to other Asian and African countries. iii). Period 3 Classroom A: Defining Poverty: Different Measures and Application in Bangladesh Dr. Lacri Corches began with the definition of poverty, assisted by Mr. Ramendra Biswas, who enthusiastically elaborated upon the construction of Bangladesh’s multiple poverty line s. Mr. Biswas illustrated the food poverty, upper, lower, extreme and hard ultra-poverty lines used in Bangladesh, and elaborated upon how they are actually constructed. Dr. Corches continued with the discussion on the various poverty definitions, food, monetary and multidimensional poverty. She also discussed relative versus absolute poverty in the case for Bangladesh and drawing on examples from other Asian and European countries. Dr. Corches went on to explain the intricacies of designing social protecti on programmes, illustrating the examples of Romania’s failed response to the financial crisis of 2008, where by reducing social transfers, the government eventually worsened poverty rates. Participants actively engaged in productive discussions on Bangladesh’s existing programmes, design issues and cultural interactions.

Classroom B: Defining Poverty: Different Measures and Application in Bangladesh Ms. Nesha Ramful session began with a brief discussion on why it is important to measure poverty and poverty measurements in Bangladesh. The session explored the different poverty measurements and analysis, and defined poverty and vulnerability in the context of Bangladesh. Ms. Ramful discussed the various definition of poverty in terms of food, monetary, economic, health, etc. emphasizing that poverty and vulnerability are multidimensional concepts. She went on further to explain the multiple overlapping dimensions of deprivation as well as discuss the absolute and relative definitions of poverty. The session explored the use of different poverty measures in assessing the social impacts of social programmes iv) Period 4 and 5 Classroom A: Design, Targeting and Implementation of Social Protection Programmes Dr. Corches took the conversation further with a presentation on the issues in implementation of social protection programmes. She discussed the implementation pipeline, from application to reconciliation, touching upon single registries, MIS systems, and payment mechanisms. A large part of this session was participatory as participants disccused the design and implementation pipeline in the context of various programmes in Bangladesh including disaster response, school stipend and government pension programmes. The participants engaged in discussions with the presenter on targeting errors, again raising issues of corruption and flawed design in the school stipend programmes and the impact that actually has on the outcomes. They discussed the actual effectiveness of programmes in the presence of targeting errors and debated the relative importance of inclusion versus exclusion errors in social protection programmes.

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Capacity Development Partnership for Social Protection - 2nd Training Course Report DfID

Dr. Corches also discussed single resgistries and MIS systems as a mechanism to counter targeting errors and the need for payment systems that minismise corruption and leakage.

Period 4 Classroom B: Benefit Designing and Targeting in Social Protection Dr. Samson’s session started off with the discussion on how to situate social protection programmes (and the larger systems) within government, which included identifying the appropriate ministry and departments within government to drive the social protection agenda, drawing in the Bangladesh experience. Using the social protection diamond model, Dr. Samson illustrated the evolving thinking on the institutional arrangements for governments’ management of social protection systems. The session explored programme specific design issues, including cash transfers, public works, contributory insurance programmes and others. The session also explored the different targeting mechanisms and errors of targeting - inclusion and exclusion errors and an enlightening discussion focused on the “errors by design”, where participants were asked what type of errors participants would prefer given the implications thereof. The session concluded that in the designing of effective social protection there is need to build and strengthen national capacity and learn from global lessons of experience however, ground social protection within the nation’s social and policy con text.

Period 5 Classroom B: Implementation Systems: Receiving applications, MIS Systems, and Single Registry, Payment Options and Operational Challenges Continuing from the Period 5, Dr. Samson went on to examine the main delivery systems required to provide social protection benefits, including the management information systems, registration and enrolment mechanisms and payments processes. The central role of a “single registry” as the backbone of delivery was established, along with the interlinked functions of the operational systems. The session contrasted the options for registration systems, from the cost -effective and flexible ondemand approach to the resource- intensive and challenging survey outreach model. In addition, the session explored case studies of developmental payment mechanisms linked to the centralized management information systems, including smart card-based bank accounts, mobile money, agentbased systems and others. The session highlighted the potential of payments systems to not only deliver benefits reliably and with low private costs to the beneficiary but also in a manner that strengthens the participants’ access to financial services as well as information and communications — services that can be empowering.

In the session Dr. Samson highlighted how implementation is more important than design and how implementation mechanisms can employ complementary approaches that strengthen developmental impact. For example, linking birth registration campaign with a social protection roll out strengthens both interventions. Birth registration makes it easier to identify participants and reduces targeting errors and other forms of leakage, and the access to social protection benefits tangibly stre ngthens demand for birth registration. Other implementation approaches can similarly strengthen developmental opportunities, such as delivering in-kind benefits through local sourcing processes, which strengthens local economies. It also elaborated upon integrated approaches that can maximise the developmental impact of social protection implementation. v). Period 6 Classroom A: Payment Options, Operational Challenges Mr. Selwyn Jehoma recharged this class with a practical lesson on payment systems and delivery mechanisms, encouraging participants to think beyond cash transfers. Mr. Jehoma encouraged the elimination of Cash, lauding Bangladesh’s progress and motivating participants to look at what next instead of dwelling on the current situation. He discusses successes and failures in payment systems across Africa and focused on the importance of local context in developing the best system for

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Bangladesh. He emphasised on the need to eliminate “cash” payments and switch to cashless transactions using mobile phone technology. He intrigued the participants with mobile payment examples from Kenya and Uganda – a success and a failure to highlight how context and implementatio plays a critical role in the success of such systems. Drawing on the leakages in Bangladesh as participants highlighted, he emphasised on the need for Bangladesh to go cashless. He entered into detailed presentations of costing of payment systems, the mo st effective to the least effective and encouraged participants to share Bangladesh’s cashless mechanism that is being developed.

Classroom B: Excel Refresher Exercise This session led by Mr. Quinn Pitcher prepared participants for the micro -simulation session on the following day. The session revisited the basic excel functions and formulas in order for the participants to have the full benefit of the microsimulation exercise on the following day. vi). Period 7 Classroom A: Excel Refresher Splitting the originally planned single resgistry and MIS System sessions into periods 4 and 5, this session was converted to a much-needed excel referesher session in order to prepare participants for the micro-simulation session on the following day. This session, run by Mr. Quinn Pitcher, with assistance from Ms. Preksha Golchha revisited the basic funactionalities of excel including necessary formulae and essentials for beginners. The session aimed to enable all participants, even those without prior excel experience to be be able to perform the functions necessary for them to understand and benefit from the microsimulation sessions on the following day.

Classroom B: Strategic Planning for Social Protection and Group Exercise The aim of the session was to get the participants thinking more about their final presentations.

Facilitated by Mr. Selwyn Jehoma, participants were asked to think more broadly about the issues ( i) excluded groups, ii) social insurance, iii) generating fiscal space, iv) institutional arrangements v) monitoring and lastly vi) evaluation they were to tackle in the presentations within the context of the NSSS and how to champion social protection effective reforms and initiatives and build political will and influence to drive the social protection agenda in Bangladesh. vii). Period 8 and 9 Classroom A: Social Insurance and Pensions Ms. Nesha Ramful presented on social insurance and pension systems. The social insurance lecture forced participants to look beyond Bangladesh’s current arrangement to absorb the concepts of contributory insurance and introduced the concepts of Pay-As-You-Go and Fully Funded insurance structures. She revisited the concepts of demographic transition, and ageing populations for Bangladesh and the need for adequate pension programmes. While explaining pension systems Ms. Ramful drew on testimonies of beneficiaries from pension programmes in Africa, emphasising the importance of an adequate pension benefit for it to positively affect the lives of the elderly. She focused on ensuring adequacy of benefits and efficiency of delivery to make any difference to the lives of the elderly. She helped participants understand the importance of these payments in uplifting the elderly – socially and economically even if the amount was not enough to cover all their expenses.

Classroom B: Social Insuarance, the need, employment based risks and Pensions Systems and Bangladesh Demographic trends Professor Asher Mukul presentations focused on the social insuarance and pensions systems, were he elaborated on the rationale for social security systems and the five pillar framework of the world bank.

Professor Mukul went through the key concepts of social insuarance highlighting the differences between social insuarance and private insuarance, contributory and non contributoru pensions. He

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discussed the concepts of demographic transition, and ageing populations for Bangladesh and the need for adequate pension programmes and elaborated on the economic role of insuarance noting that the transfer of wealth is what the purchase of insuarance accomplishes, therefore increasing total utility and hence the reason why people buy insuarance. He went on further to explain the various avennues for funding resources and financing to sustain social pension programmes, highlighting the importance of sustainable economic funding of social policies to contribute to productivity growth.

Day 3 – Monday, 6th June: Financing and Budgeting for Social Protection; i) Period 1 Classroom A: Public Finance: The role of the government in the economy This was informative session with Ms. Nesha Ramful who discussed the role of the government in public finance, from a free market economy to a regulated market, including equity of distribution through welfare states. She began with a discussion on market economies and the possibility that the economy is unable to provide basic goods to present a case for government intervention. She highlighted multiple situations where the government would have to intervene including failure of competition, information asymmetry and externalities. She visited the concept of equity as a basis for government intervention to protect those with low income, in the informal sector, with myopic behaviour, in high-risk professions etc. She then went on to discuss the impact of taxes and expenditure on social transfers on redistribution and poverty. She elaborated upon the role of the government in the health, education and insurance industries, not solely as providers but also regulators or administrators. She closed the session with a discussion on welfare states as a mechanism of equitable and efficient redistribution.

Classroom B: Public Finance: The role of Government in the economy Mr. Selwyn Jehoma led the session by discussing how in a perfect free market economy reaches a point of efficiency where everyone’s welfare needs are met. He highlighted on situations when it is necessary for government to which point the economy is inefficient and people’s welfare needs are unmet. He discussed the concept of equity as a basis for government intervention to protect those with low income, in the informal sector, with myopic behaviour, in high-risk professions as well as the impact of taxes and expenditure on social transfers on redistribution and poverty. He e laborated upon the role of the government in the health, education and insurance industries, not solely as providers but also regulators or administrators ii). Period 2 Classroom A: Budget and Fiscal Space Professor Mukul Asher took over from Ms. Ramful and presented deep insights into budget and fiscal space management. He elaborated upon the various growth drivers, emphasising on the generation, adaptation and diffusion of knowledge. He encouraged participants to think about delivery of primary education and health care and how has it changed in the last few years. He also discussed making rulebooks ‘relevant’ or changing circumstances.

He also visited the concept of demographic dividend as very important in the 20th century and the need for at least secondary education, information connectivity, physical connectivity in redefining growth and development. He drew upon an example of Kerala fishermen who now look up on apps to see where market prices are best when they are on their way back from fishing and head there straight.

This is only possible to due internet connectivity and a national initiative in India to link agricultural market across states.

He also discussed debt management, annual growth rates and compounding growth and stated that while China’s increasing growth rate could disrupt markets, the threshold is so low for Bangladesh

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that a good growth rate will not disrupt the international growth. He also discussed effective methods of increasing tax revenue without modernising tax rates using non -conventional sources such asset registry, auctions and gold monetisation. He left the participants with three rules for achieving value for money (VfM): spend less, spend well and spend wisely.

Classroom B: Revenue and Expenditure in Bangladesh Dr. Corches engaged the participants in a discussion on the affordability of social protection programme and if there is sufficient fiscal space for social protection in Lower and Middle Income countries. Discussion also focused on competing national objectives and if taxation is a feasible option for financing social protection programmes, drawing insight from the Bangladesh experience from the participants. She went through the public financial management cycle and budgeting processes in Bangladesh, and the budgetary allocations towards key social protection programmes. The session then went on to draw comparison on the safety net spending of different countries highlighting that low income countries and middle income countries commit approximately the same level o f resouces (1.5% -16% of GDP) in comparison to 1.9% of GDP by higher income countries. She highlighted that cost of social security programmes is determined by the size of the target population and benefit levels. The session concluded that basic social protection financing is affordable and should be implemented incrementally. iii). Period 3 Classroom A: Budgeting Process: Social Protection Mr. Muslim Chowdhury shared his experiences with the budgeting process in Bangladesh, encouraging participants to re-think Bangladesh’s current social protection financing mechanism. Is tax-based financing going to be able to sustain social protection programmes in Bangladesh over the next decade? Does the country need to consider tier-2, i.e., contributory finance or tier-3, even voluntary payments as a source for social protection funding? He explained the need to expand the tax base, building into Prof. Asher’s recommendations from earlier in the morning. Mr. Chowdhury.

He elaborated upon the multiple programmes currently active in Bangladesh and drew upon existing best practices for cash transfers in Latin America, Africa and India before presenting the social protection budget for Bangladesh. He elaborated upon the laws and regulations, beneficiary selection and targeting as well as the payment mechanisms used across programmes in Bangladesh. He discussed funds channelized through the treasury, the head offices to local banks, cash payments as well as the drawbacks of each of those in Bangladesh. He ended the session with a discussion of G2P payments including the multiple pilots for e-transfers and single registries for Pension schemes.

Classroom B: The budgeting process and Social Protection Mr. Azizul Alam shared his experiences with the budgeting process in Banglad esh, and elaborated upon the multiple programmes currently active in Bangladesh and drew upon existing best practices for cash transfers in Latin America, Africa and India before presenting the social protection budget for Bangladesh. He elaborated upon the laws and regulations, beneficiary selection and targeting as well as the payment mechanisms used across programmes in Bangladesh. He discussed funds channelized through the treasury, the head offices to local banks, cash payments as well as the drawbacks of each of those in Bangladesh. He ended the session with a discussion of G2P payments including the multiple pilots for e-transfers and single registries for Pension schemes. iv) Period 4 Classroom A: Fiscal Revenue and Expenditure Dr. Mary Amuyunzu-Nyamongo came in and steered the classroom into the discussion of government revenue and expenditure, comparing Bangladesh with other countries in Asia, Africa and Europe. She engaged in discussions around absolute expenditure, and comparisons using expenditure as a

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percentage of GDP. She contextualised public spending, with specific attention to social protection/security and facilitated the understanding of budget allocation to social protection using examples from Africa and Asia. She engaged participants in a discussion surround budgetary planning in Bangladesh, including a step-by-step chart as well as a discussion on the collaboration across various stakeholders. She also shared experiences from Africa on budget allocations, especially Kenya and discussed the concepts of sustainable financing to ensure accountability, transparency and sustainability of social protection systems.

Classroom B: Budget and Fiscal Space Professor Mukul elaborated upon the various growth drivers, emphasising on the generation, adaptation and diffusion of knowledge. He encouraged participants to think about delivery of primary education and health care and how has it changed in the last few years. He also discussed making rulebooks ‘relevant’ or changing circumstances.

He also visited the concept of demographic dividend as very important in the 20th century and the need for at least secondary education, information connectivity, physical connectivity in redefining growth and development. He drew upon an example of Kerala fishermen who now look up on apps to see where market prices are best when they are on their way back from fishing and head there straight.

This is only possible to due internet connectivity and a national initiative in India to link agricultural market across states.

He also discussed debt management, annual growth rates and compounding growth and stated that while China’s increasing growth rate could disrupt markets, the threshold is so low for Bangladesh that a good growth rate will not disrupt the international growth. He also discussed effective methods of increasing tax revenue without modernising tax rates using non -conventional sources such asset registry, auctions and gold monetisation. He left the participants with three rules for achieving value for money (VfM): spend less, spend well and spend wisely. v). Period 5 Classroom A: Microsimulation: Overview of Income Distribution Mr. Nard Huijbregts took the participants through a discussion of a series of quantitative measures to measure poverty and to evaluate the potential effects of social protection interventions. From poverty rates to poverty gap, he clarified the theoretical concepts and visually explained the concepts to the class. The participants engaged in an activity to calculate the poverty rate, ga p and poverty reducing efficiencies of fictitious simple social transfers in the class manually. Mr. Huijbregts also provided detailed explanation on microsimulation exercises, the uses and the benefits of using the exercise to inform policy choices. The session provided the essential theoretical backing for the practical sessions to follow later in the day.

Classroom B: Microsimulation: Overview of income distribution Dr. Samson built on the Defining Poverty session led by Ms. Ramful and revisited the quan titative measures of poverty and inequality, highlighting the impact of social protection interventions on the poverty and inequality indicators. He engaged the participants in a discussion about the poverty indicators of Bangladesh, highlighting that inequality in Bangladesh has been gradually falling, however in Asia and the Pacific region, inequality has been increasing. The session was an essential built up to the microsimulation exercise, provided participants with a strong understanding of microsimulation models, uses and how they influence policy. vi) Period 6 and 7 Classroom A and B: Microsimulation: Overview of Income Distribution - Exercise This was a computer based exercise led by Mr. Nard Huijbregts (Classroom A) and Dr. Michael Samson (Classroom B) that highlighted microsimulation modelling as a valuable tool for planning and

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designing a range of social and economic policies. The basic microsimulation exercise used basic generic excel data to predict the costs and poverty outcomes of the child and pension cash transfer programmes before any programme is launched. The exercise then simulated how the benefit will be distributed among households with different compositions, income levels etc. Participants gained a practical understanding of using excel based models to analyse social protection policies and estimate the cost efficiency and impacts of proposed initiatives.

The sessions started with a run through of the various elements of the dataset to familiarise them with the variables and explaining the concepts of individual and household weights. After introducing datasets, and the dataset used in the simulation, the presenters guided the participants to calculate the total number of poor households, the poverty rate, and the poverty gap. They then guided them to simulate a cash transfer to poor households with children and the participants were able to visualise the change in poverty rate, gap and number of poor households instantly. The participants were then guided to calculate the poverty rate reduction, the gap reduction and the poverty reducing efficiency of the cash transfer. The participants also managed to analyse the impact of increasing and decreasing transfer amounts, and lowering and raising the poverty line on poverty headcoun t, rate and gaps. This session was informative and exciting for participants who had never conducted such an exercise earlier.

Period 8 and 9 Classroom A: Monitoring of Social Protection Programmes, Monitoring Plan for NSSS Dr. Ferdousi Sultana discussed monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems, offering guidance on the need for and the requirements of such systems. She began with the definition of monitoring and the methods used in M&E of programmes. She drew extensively upon M&E systems in South East Asia (India and Pakistan) and engaged in detailed discussions about them with the participants. She discussed the cases of CPSMS in India and the BISP in Pakistan to illustrate existing frameworks. Dr. Sultana engaged the participants in a discussion surrounding centralised M&E systems in Bangladesh and explained the current establishment. She detailed the steps to develop a monitoring strategy in line with the NSSS and engaged in enriching discussions with participants regarding the same.

Dr. Sultana engaged the participants in a discussion surrounding centralised M&E systems in Bangladesh and explained the current establishment. She detailed the steps to develop a monitoring strategy in line with the NSSS and engaged in enriching discussions with participants regarding the same.

Classroom B: Monitoring of Social Protection Programmes, Monitoring Plan for NSSS Dr. Smita Premchander facilitated a discussion on monitoring and evaluation systems. She connected with the participants instantly as they shared their own experiences with monitoring and evaluation of social protection programmes. She asked participants to share their understanding on monitoring and evaluation and covered all the basics of M&E theories and substantiated them with examples from India and Bangladesh. She went through key monitoring and evaluation concepts, models and tools, taking them through the process of designing a programme evaluation and designing the control and counterfactual. She discussed the use of mobile technology and impacts on the monitoring methods.

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Day 4 - Tuesday, 7th June: Monitoring and Evaluation of Delivery and Spending; and Tuesday 7th June 2016: Theory, Concepts and Foundations of Social Protection i) Period 1 Classroom A: Grievance Mechanisms Mr. Nard Huijbregts began the session with a discussion on grievance redress systems. He began with the rationale behind the need for grievance registration and the impact that has on reducing targeting errors as people report exclusion or inclusion errors. He encouraged the use of such systems to protect programme success, build political will, and find sustainable financing avenues and establishing complementary programmes where necessary. Mr. Nard Huijbregts discussed a range of tools in detail including the types of GRMs and the need for standardisation and dissemination of procedures. He stressed on the importance of political will for success and encouraged participants to focus on graduation from poverty instead of graduation from social protection. He elaborated upon formal and informal systems, information laws and the steps to designing an effective grievance mechanism system. He also used the opportunity to clarify myths of social protection such as dependency, and transfers used for spending on goods with negative externalities. He concluded with a discussion on financing avenues like domestic revenue mobilisation, linking complementary programmes, cash model, and graduation from poverty as opposed to social protection.

Classroom B: Grievance Mechanisms Dr. Mary Nyamongo Amuyunzu presented on the conceptual framework on complaints and grievances noting that a grievance systems allows for citizens to provide feedback to implementers and allows implementers to respond. She highlighted several important benefits to setting a strong grievance mechanism for social protection programmes such as increasing overall programme accountability and citizens’ trust and involvement and continuously operational issues. She further discussed the major demand and supply issues on complaints and grievances to include programme targeting, inadequate awareness among the beneficiaries on the available communications channels, and lack of standardised process to collect and respond to feedback between different levels of programm e implementation. Ms. Ummul Siddiqua went on to discuss the grievance redress mechanisms within the context of the degree stipend project in Bangladesh. She took the class through the steps in programmes grievance process including oral, written and arbitration. She highlighted how the grievance mechanisms contribute to the programme success. The session was opened up to discussion of the various grievance mechanisms that are employed within various social protection programmes in Bangladesh. ii) Period 2 Classroom A: Fiduciary Risk Management Mr. Selwyn Jehoma took the discussion of social protection programme success to the management of fiduciary risk. After explaining the concept of fiduciary risk, he used the implementation pipeline to help participants identify risks at each stage. Participants very enthusiastically participated in Mr. Jehoma’s class activity that split the classroom into smaller groups, and asked each group to identify risks of fraud and corruption across the implementation pipeline. He also asked the groups for details on how they would communicate the programme through the media, emphasising the importance of suitable media management and its impact on public acceptance of the programme.

Classroom B: Success Criteria: Fiduciary Risk Management Ms. Nesha Ramful defined fiduciary risk as the likelihood that social protection programmes fail to achieve their primary objectives, which is the greatest value for money risk. She argues that while some losses are impossible to eliminate, they can be reduced by recording the risks, designing

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programmes to mitigate these risks and regular monitoring and evaluation to ensure the objectives of the programmes are being met. Using several case studies, Ms. Nesha highlighted some of the success stories which include the UK Food Stamp programme among others which militated against the challenges of fiduciary risk. To conclude the session, Ms. Ramful emphasized the importance of effective communications being the key driver of programme success. iii) Period 3 Classroom A: Social Protection, Disaster Risk Reduction & Climate Change Adaptation Mr. Md. Azizul Alam from the Finance Division of the Ministry of Finance presented on Social Protection, Disaster Risk Reduction & Climate Change Adaptation in the case of Bangladesh. He began with the introduction of the concepts of disaster risks management and climate change adaptation and the importance of two for Bangladesh. He illustrated the frequency and severity of natural disasters around the world and in Bangladesh statistically and introduced the three principles of identifying entry points for social protection in disaster response. He highlighted disaster and climate aware planning, interventions on livelihoods and assets building and capacity building to adapt and respond at the system level as crucial for successful response. He also focused on the importance of sustainability, scalability and flexibility of such responses. While lauding the country for extensive investment in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation of social protection, he emphasized on the need for coordinated institutional capacity and a longer -term approach to risk reduction. He drew on examples from Africa such as Ethiopia’s PSNP and concluded with an inventory of the current programmes for disaster and climate change management in Bangladesh.

Classroom B: Monitoring Social Protection Programmes: India Dr. Smita Premchander continued on with her previous session and discussed on social protection programmes in India and using a Sampark case study, she engaged in a detailed discussion about the methods and frameworks used in monitoring and evaluation of programmes with the participants iv) Period 4 Classroom A: Institutional and Organisational Arrangements Dr. Mary Amuyunzu-Nyamongo discussed institutional and organisational arrangements with the class. She drew upon examples from various countries to illustrate the various ways in which countries organise their social protection sector. Participants engaged in a discus sion of Bangladesh’s institutional setup with each other, elaborating extensively on the existing setup. The participants together drew and organisational structure and mapped the processed involved. Dr. Amuyunzu Nyamongo also elaborated upon the linkages between instruments, financing and institutional arrangements and mainstreaming the social protection agenda. She emphasised on the importance of country context in designing the institutional arrangement and that one model does not fit all.

She encouraged participants to look ahead and plan for the future of social protection in Bangladesh.

Classroom B: Social Protection, Disaster Risk Reduction & Climate Change Adaptation Mr. Md. Azizul Alam from the Finance Division of the Ministry of Finance presented o n Social Protection, Disaster Risk Reduction & Climate Change Adaptation in the case of Bangladesh. He began with the introduction of the concepts of disaster risks management and climate change adaptation and the importance of two for Bangladesh. He illustrated the frequency and severity of natural disasters around the world and in Bangladesh statistically and introduced the three principles of identifying entry points for social protection in disaster response. He highlighted disaster and climate aware planning, interventions on livelihoods and assets building and capacity building to adapt and respond at the system level as crucial for successful response. He also focused on the importance of sustainability, scalability and flexibility of such responses. While lauding the country for extensive investment in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation of social protection, he emphasized on the need for coordinated institutional capacity and a longer -term approach to risk

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reduction. He drew on examples from Africa such as Ethiopia’s PSNP and concluded with an inventory of the current programmes for disaster and climate change management in Bangladesh. v) Period 5 Classroom A: Program Evaluation: Building Evidence Dr. Giang Thanh Long elaborated upon evidence-based programme monitoring using the example of the old age allowance in Viet Nam. He provided in-depth information about the old age allowance programme and a detailed explanation of ex-ante and ex-post programme evaluation methods before detailing the technical notes, methodology and the results of the evaluation of Viet Nam’s old age allowance. He elaborated upon the logical framework for M&E and steps involved in designing and implementing impact evaluations. He also discussed combining ex-ante and ex-post evaluations for a holistic approach to M&E. Classroom B: Political Economy of Social Protection The session facilitated by Mr. Naved Chowdhury gave an overview of the political context for social protection in Bangladesh, highlighting the importance of strong political will, public opinions and the media in driving the social protection agenda in Bangladesh. Mr. Chowdhury re -emphasized the key messages discussed throughout the course and highlighted the various gaps, successes and failure s in social protection in Bangladesh and stressing the need for the lifecycle approach to social protection in Bangladesh. vi) Period 6 Classroom A: Evaluation Planning in the NSSS Dr. Smita Premchander facilitated a discussion on monitoring and evaluation systems. She connected with the participants instantly as they shared their own experiences with monitoring and evaluation of social protection programmes. She asked participants to share their understanding on monitoring and evaluation and covered all the basics of M&E theories and substantiated them with examples from India and Bangladesh. She ended the session asking the participants to read a case study which she will be discussing with them the following day.

Classroom B: Institutional and Organisational Arrangements Dr. Mary Amuyunzu-Nyamongo discussed institutional and organisational arrangements with the class. She drew upon examples from various countries to illustrate the various ways in which countries organise their social protection sector. Participants engaged in a discussion of Bangladesh’s institutional setup with each other, elaborating extensively on the existing setup. The participants together drew and organisational structure and mapped the processed involved. Dr. Amuyunzu Nyamongo also elaborated upon the linkages between instruments, financing and institutional arrangements and mainstreaming the social protection agenda. She emphasised on the importance of country context in designing the institutional arrangement and that one model do es not fit all.

She encouraged participants to look ahead and plan for the future of social protection in Bangladesh. vii) Period 7 Classroom A: Political Economy of Social Protection Mr. Naved Chowdhury presented on the political economy of social protect ion in Bangladesh. Mr. Chowdhury, an expert with DFID, gave the participants an in depth look at the political context for social protection in Bangladesh, and how political will, the media, and public opinion come to bear on furthering social protection goals in Bangladesh. He essentially brought together all the previously discussed theoretical concepts of social protection from a political-economy perspective. He presented the political economy of Bangladesh’s social protection sector, the pros and cons of political involvement, the need for a lifecycle approach and the various gaps, successes and failures in social

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protection in Bangladesh.

Classroom B: Evaluation in Social Protection: Evidence and Policy Dr. Samson session contextualised M&E within the policy environment, noting that robust global evidence base exist and can assist in the formulation of appropriate policies, however policies need to be rooted in the social and policy context of the country, and thus the importance of national evidence. He explained that the end goal is to be able to translate evidence (national and global) into effective policy, thereby influencing political will and identifying appropriate elements of design and implementation of programmes. Dr. Samson discussed the concept and role of pilots in generating evidence for scaling up to a national programme, however noting the biases they have towards success. He went on to discuss the importance of monitoring and evaluation, especially in mobilising political will to sustain and expand the programme. He emphasized that all players need to be involved in the monitoring and evaluation process to maximise achievement of the agenda for social protection. vii). Period 8 and 9 sessions were cancelled due to the start of Ramadan, and sessions were moved to the first two periods of Wednesday, as previously planned.

Wednesday 8th June 2016: Theory, Concepts and Foundations of Social Protection i) Period 1 Classroom A: VfM Effectiveness and Efficiency Dr. Smita Premchander started the session as a continuation from the M&E session a day before. She started with the discussion of the case study and answered four key questions: How to design an evaluation? What is a counterfactual? What is a control group? How do you design the contro l and counterfactual? She explained the concept of selection bias and external influence on the actual outcomes and emphasised that until now all M&E follow LFA, a linear thinking model and no theory captures the spiral trajectory of growth. She discussed the adoption of mobile technology and its impact on monitoring methods as well as the politicisation of the Samagra database in Madhya Pradesh in India.

Dr. Premchander introduced VfM as a tool to check whether the investment of public money is justifiable to tax payers and the poorest people. She presented VfM with the discussion of tax spending on social protection as a priority of the state and a right of citizens. She then presented the history of the concept and DFID’s qualitative VfM model/framework and identified the challenges in application for empowerment programmes, setting measurable indicators, early stages of implementation and for evidence building.

Classroom B: Value for Money (VfM): Economic Evaluation of a social programme via CBA and CEA The session led by Dr. Giang Long, helped participants understand the connotations of value for money and its importance to different stakeholders. He explained that value for money depends critically on the objectives of the systems- the nature of the outcomes and impacts it aspires to achieve and the validity of the causality embedded in the “logic� of the results chain. He highlighted how economic evaluation is of the greatest interest to fund allocators, and such defined economic evaluation to involve identifying, measuring and valuing both the inputs (costs) and outputs (benefits) of interventions. The session elaborated on the four types of economic evaluations - cost minimisation analysis (CBA), cost utility analysis (CUA), cost benefit analysis (CBA) and cost effectiveness analysis (CEA). Dr. Long discussed the information needed to conduct a cost effectiveness analysis, cost effectiveness measurements and interpretation that informs decision making.

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ii). Period 2 Classroom A: VfM: Cost Benefit Analysis In this session, Dr. Smita Premchander, further expanded on cases in Bangladesh where she uses the DFID VfM framework. Then, along with participants worked through and analysed a case study and calculates Value for Money for the Sampark intervention, knowing that the programme costs BDT 30 lakhs per year for all the activities of the organisation, including administration costs.

Classroom B: Programme Evaluation: Building Evidence – the Case of Cash Transfer Programme for Older People in Vietnam The session was a continuation of the Value for Money session. Dr Long explained that a comprehensive evaluation is defined as an evaluation that includes monitoring, process evaluation, cost-benefit evaluation and impact evaluation. He discussed the main steps in design and implementing impact evaluations, as well as explained the differences between quantitative and qualitative evaluation and instances when a combination of qualitative and quantitative evaluations can be used, in addition, he explained ex- ante evaluation, ex-post evaluation. Using the Vietnam Cash Transfer Programme for Older People to review the methods of programme evaluations, discussing the programme ex-ante evaluations methodology and findings, noting that the results of the evaluations indicated that, given the same cost, lower benefits provided to wider group of beneficiaries would have better impacts that higher benefits with limited beneficiaries. He demonstrated how the results were robust for different equivalent scales and poverty li nes. He concluded that the more precise poverty is defined, the better the evaluation of a social policy programme. iii). Period 3 – 5: Presentation Preparation Session and Team Presentations Classroom A: Presentation Preparation Session Providing for group presentation is a process of assessing the learning experiences of participants.

The preparation sessions was facilitated by Dr. Lacri Corches, Dr. Nyamongo-Amuyunzu, and Ms. Nesha Ramful in their respective classrooms and assisted as well as guided th e teams with the finalisation of their presentations. Facilitators provided inputs on the presentations participants had prepared and suggested improvements. The participants worked in their groups to make changes, practice and perfect their presentations. The facilitators then selected the ‘fiscal space’ team as the team that will present in classroom B as well. The order of presentations was finalised as: fiscal space, institutional framework (from classroom B), monitoring and evaluation and excluded grou ps.

Participants presented their work in pre-organised teams. There were three teams from classroom A and one from classroom B who presented in classroom A. Each team had approximately 20 minutes followed by 5 minutes of question and answer session where they responded to comments and questions from facilitators and participants. The facilitators were very impressed with the quality of presentations, the detailing from identifying the problem statement to proposing solutions and recommending one of the proposed solutions. The participants pulled together all the concepts covered in the sessions over the previous 4 days to put together insightful presentations.

Complimentary learning Opportunities INSPIRE seeks to enrich the learning experiences of course participants. In the first course dining dialogues were held. In this course, it proved difficult with limited support staff capacity. INSPIRE could generate a daily newsletter of the course development. Going forward, consideration needs to be given to field trips as added value the learning experience.

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Evaluation INSPIRE distributed an evaluation form customised for the training course in respect of organisation, delivery and presenter performance. The evaluation tool consists of sets of questions aimed at assessing the objective experiences of course participants. The respondents in the evaluation of the 2nd National Social Protection Public Financial Management indicate overall satisfaction, and deemed the course a valuable and an enriching learning experience.

As at the end of the first training, respondents again rated the organisation and overall running of the course positively, with participants commending the responsiveness and helpfulness of the course support staff. Delegates that participated in the dining dialogues cited that they were highly relevant and useful.

The most definitive conclusions from participants’ feedback were the need for more time to be allocated to lessons. The Participant’s comments included “Limited time”, “time shortages” among others, with the overall rating on “enough time was allocated to the cover each theme to be 2.9 for classroom A and 3.7 for Classroom B. The smaller class size seems to have worked as this time participants did not raise the relative compactness of the training rooms.

Unlike the first evaluation, this evaluation form did not canvass the views of participants. Of the record comments were made about the quality of the food on day one, as well as dissatisfaction about the lack of water for 4 days at washrooms.

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Lessons Learned Overall the course planning and delivery was greatly improved, building on lessons learnt from the 1 st training session. These in the related to more space in the classrooms, the use of the national facilitators, improved communication by international facilitators and deploying local facilitators to assist in communication.

There are areas that are noted for improvement for the next training courses.

Course training Support 

It would be useful to develop a type of ToR for support staff, with the different organizations (INSPIRE, IPF, MSP, MoF) to clearly delineate their roles and responsibilities during the training.

National Facilitators selected as future trainers  

There is a need to develop a more detailed task description that outlines the roles and responsibilities of the national facilitators, There is a need to include a code of conduct that facilitators must adhere to in the performance of the duties.

Planning and Preparation  

Earlier planning rendered dividends There is a need to find a balance between the broad range of topics and depth in the subjects

Commitment to making it work 

As indicated earlier, the curse was properly brought together at a late stage. The International Team Leader’s focused leadership and of tenacity cannot not be discounted in the successful delivery of the course. In addition, team effort has again proved very important

Local content 

INSPIRE hosts global courses successfully on a regular basis. It was assumed that providing global perspectives was going to be important. However, there is among officials a desire to understand the Bangladesh on context and schemes first and then relate that to best practices provided by international exerts. This came to the fore in refining the syllabus with the MoF as well as in training sessions. Using mix sets of case studies along-side examples of Bangladesh appear to be important.

Field trips and interactive exercises 

There may be a need to expose participants to field studies in Bangladesh for the purpose of cross pollination. Given the scope of information in the class, less time was spent on practical exercises. Again this was the result of attempting to cover as much information as possible.

Consideration may have to be given to giving participants “homework exercises”.

Skills transfer 



Transferring skills will not be successful without mentoring. A more detailed prop osal on skills transfer and more intensive mentoring will be developed, with specific milestones will be developed for consideration by INSPIRE, The INSPIRE support staff and those of IPF and MSP had their tasks cut out. As such there is a need to have the team members work must closer together to the extent that MSP, MoF and IPF persons shadow INSPIRE presenters and support staff.

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Annexure 1: Programme Roster Programme Roster for Class A Natio nal S o c ial P ro tec tio n P ub lic F inanc e Manag em ent C o urs e Timeslot

WEEK ONE

Saturday 04 June

Business case & Frameworks

8:30am to 9:00am

9:00am to 9:40am

Sunday 05 June

Monday 06 June

Registration day 1 only

Period 1

Plenary: Opening, welcome: MoF, SPFMSP, DFID, DFAT, INSPIRE Project and Course Overview

Financial Management

Design & Implementation

The Case for Social Protection systems around the world Dr. Samson

CLASS A Tuesday 07 June

Monitoring & Evaluation

9 to 9:10 announcements for day, evlaution, etc Public Finance: The role of the Grievance mechanisms Success Government in the economy Criteria Dr. Corches Ms. Ramful

Wednesday 08 June

Participants Design

VfM: Effectiveness and Efficiency Dr. Premchander

Tea/coffee break

9:40am to 10:20am

Period 2

Introductions, Personal Objectives & SP Frameworks, Life Cycle Approach Unifying Exercise for Bangladesh Dr. Samson & Mr. Mr. Jehoma, Mr. Bepari & Ms. Chowdhury Golchha

The Budget and Fiscal Space Prof. Asher Mukul

Introductions, Personal Objectives & Defining Poverty: Different Measures Unifying Exercise & Application in Bangladesh Mr. Jehoma, Mr. Bepari & Ms. Dr. Lacri Corches Golchha

10:20am to 10:40am

VfM: Cost Benefit Analysis Dr. Premchander

Budgeting Process: Social Protection Mr. Muslim Chowdhury

SP and Disaster Management GoB & Mr Jehoma

Institutional and Organisational Arrangements Dr. Nyamongo

Tea/Coffee

10:40am to 11:20am

Period 3

11:20am to 12:00pm

Period 4

12:00pm to 12:40

Success Criteria: Fiduciary Risk Management Mr. Jehoma & Mr. Bepari Mary took over

Period 5

Strategic Planning for Social Protection Mr. Jehoma & Mr. Bepari

Benefit Designing in SP Targeting in SP Dr Lacri Corches

Revenue and Expenditure: Fiscal Dr. Nyamongo

Improving Public Financials: Mr. Jehoma & Mr. Bepari

Group Presentations Mr. Jehoma & Mr. Bepari

Social Protection Models: Asian Best Practices Mr. Jehoma & Mr. Bepari

Implementation SP Systems Dr. Corches

Microsimulation: Overview of income distribution Mr. Huijbregts, Mr. Biswas & Mr. Pitcher

Evaluation of Programmes, Building the Evidence Dr. Long

Group Presentations Mr. Jehoma & Mr. Bepari

Human Rights, SP and children and women SP Ms. Ramful

MIS Systems and Single Registrations, Receiving Applications Mr. Jehoma, Mr. Bepari

Microsimulation: Overview of income distribution Mr. Huijbregts, Mr. Biswas & Mr. Pitcher

Evaluation Plan in the NSSS Dr. Premchander

Group Presentations Mr. Jehoma & Mr. Bepari

12:40pm to 13:40pm

LUNCH

13:40pm to 14:20pm

Period 6

14:20pm to 15:00pm

Period 7

SP and marginalised groups, people Payment Options, Operational Microsimulation: Overview of income Political Economy of Social Protection with disabilities, informal sector Challenges Dr. distribution Mr. Mr. Naved Chowdhury Ms. Ramful Samson Move to period 6 Becomes Huijbregts, Mr. Biswas & Mr. Pitcher Excel refresher

15:00pm to 15:20pm

Tea/Coffee

Bangladesh's National Social Security Strategy (NSSS) Mr. Shamshul Alam, Planning Commission

Social Insurance Personal Finance Ms. Ramful

Monitoring Plan for NSSS Dr. Sultana & Ms. Siddiqua

VfM: Effectiveness and Efficiency Dr. Premchander

15:20pm to 16:00pm

Period 8

16:00pm to 16:40pm

Bangladesh's National Social Security Strategy Mr. Shamshul Alam, Planning Commission

Pension systems, Bangladesh Demographics, Trends Ms. Ramful & Mr. Biswas

Monitoring SP Programmes: India, Pakistan Dr. Sultana

VfM: Cost Benefit Analysis Dr. Premchander

Period 9

16:40pm to 17:00pm

Period 10

Groups meet to decide on presentation topic, reference to readings Mr. Jehoma & Mr. Bepari

Group Presentation Preparation Mr. Jehoma & Mr. Bepari

Group Presentation Preparation Mr. Jehoma & Mr. Bepari

Group Presentation Preparation Mr. Jehoma & Mr. Bepari

31

Group Presentations Mr. Jehoma & Mr. Bepari

Capacity Development Partnership for Social Protection - 2nd Training Course Report DfID

Timeslot

WEEK ONE

8:30am to 9:00am

9:00am to 9:40am

Saturday 04 June

Sunday 05 June

Monday 06 June

Tuesday 07 June

Wednesday 08 June

Business case & Frameworks

Design & Implementation

Financial Management

Monitoring & Evaluation

Participants Design

Strategic Planning for Social Protection Mr. Jehoma & Mr. Bepari

Public Finance: The role of Government in the economy Mr. Jehoma & Mr. Bepari

Grievance mechanisms Dr. Nyamongo

VfM: Cost benefit analysis Dr. Long

Social Protection Models: Asian Best Practices Mr. Jehoma & Mr. Bepari

Revenue and Expenditure in Bangladesh Dr. Corches

Success Criteria Ms. Ramful became institutional & org arrangement

Evidence Building Cos

Monitoring SP programmes: India Dr. Premchander & Mr. Biswas

Institutional & Org. arrangements Ms. Ramful

Registration day 1 only

Period 1

Plenary: Opening, welcome: MoF, SPFMSP, DFID, DFAT, INSPIRE Project and Course Overview

Tea/coffee break

9:40am to 10:20am

Period 2

Introductions, Personal objectives & Country presentation exercise Ms. Ramful

10:20am to 10:40am

Tea/Coffee

Introductions, personal objectives & country presentation exercise Ms. Ramful, Dr. Corches and Ms. Muyambo

Defining Poverty: Different measures & The Budgeting process & social applications in Bangladesh protection Ms. Ramful & Dr. Nyamongo Mr. Aziz Alam & Mr. Remandra

10:40am to 11:20am

Period 3

11:20am to 12:00pm

Period 4

Human Rights, SP and child and women SP Dr. Corches

Benefit Designing in SP Targeting in SP Dr. Samson

Period 5

SP and marginalised groups, people with disabilities, informal sector Dr. Corches

Implementation Systems: Receiving applications Dr. Samson

Bangladesh's National Social Security Strategy (NSSS) Prof. Shamshul Alam, Planning Commission

MIS systems and Single registries Payment Options, Operational Challenges Dr Samson

Bangladesh's National Social Security Strategy (NSSS) Prof. Shamshul Alam, Planning Commission

Payment Options, Operational Challenges Nurul Kabir Moved to session 6 Nw becomes Excel Refresher

The Case for Social Protection systems around the world Dr. Samson

Social insurance, the need, employment based risks Prof. Asher

Results-Based Monitoring systems: Dr. Premchander

SP Frameworks, Life Cycle approach for Bangladesh Dr. Samson & Mr. Chowdhury

Pension systems and Bangladesh Demographic trends Prof. Asher

Monitoring Plan for NSSS Dr. Premchander

12:00pm to 12:40

The Budget and Fiscal space in SP and Disaster Management Group Presentations Bangladesh GoB & Mr Jehoma Ms. Ramful, Dr. Nyamongo Prof. Asher & Mr. Ramendra & Dr. Corches

12:40pm to 13:40pm

13:40pm to 14:20pm

14:20pm to 15:00pm

Microsimulation: Overview of income distribution Dr. Samson, Mr. Biswas & Ms. Golchha

Political Ecnomy of Social Protection Mr. Naved Chowdhury

Group Presentations M Dr. Nyamongo & Dr. Corches

Microsimulation: Overview of income distribution Dr. Samson, Mr. Biswas & Ms. Golchha

Presentation

Closing

Microsimulation: Overview of income distribution Dr. Samson, Mr. Biswas & Ms. Golchha

Evaluation in Social Protection Dr. Samson

Closing

LUNCH

Period 6

Period 7

15:00pm to 15:20pm

Tea/Coffee

15:20pm to 16:00pm

Period 8

16:00pm to 16:40pm

Period 9

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Capacity Development Partnership for Social Protection - 2nd Training Course Report DfID

Annexure 2: List of Names of Participants National Social Protection Public Financial Management Course Institute of Public Finance, Segunbagicha, Dhaka 4-8 June, 2016 Class A

Sl

Name

Designation Ministry

Md Nazmul Huda Siddiqui

Deputy Secretary

Cabinet Division

Dr. Ashraful Alam

Senior Secretary

Cabinet Division

Sheikh Mohammad Salim Ullah

/

Assistant

Joint Secretary Finance Division Deputy Secretary

Md. Shah Alam

Finance Division Deputy Secretary

Syed Rashedul Hossen

Finance Division Deputy Secretary

Mohammed Yasin

Finance Division

Ministry/ Directorate

FD FD

Cell phone number/Email

01720690618 nazmulbcs@gmail.com 01711030911 ashraful851@gmail.com 01715590300 Salimu_55@yahoo.com 01936761475 shahalam6484@yahoo.com 01717142234

FD

FD

rashedul_hossen@yahoo.co m 01714411089 yasin6064@gmail.com 01716604300

Nazma Mobarek

Deputy Secretary

FD

Md. Mizanul Karim

Senior Analyst

FD

Sheikh Farid

Senior Secretary

Md. Mostafa Mazumder

Kamal

System Assistant

Deputy Secretary

FD MoSW

Rokeya Begum

Deputy Secretary

MoHFW

Md. Fazlur Rahman

Senior Secretary

MoE

Kazi Shahjahan

PS to Secretary

Assistant

nazmamobarek@yahoo.co.u k 01840208180 mizank@finance.gov.bd 01717655556 skfaridurmi@gmail.com 01712189567 mkamal6043@yahoo.com 01711265400 Rokeya72@yahoo.com 01713581397 Fazlu_11@yahoo.com 01712653035

33

MoE

Shajahan_kazi@yahoo.com

Capacity Development Partnership for Social Protection - 2nd Training Course Report DfID

Naila Ahmed

Deputy Secretary

MoDMR

Bikash Kishore Das

Additional Secretary

MoWCA

01819557942 nailaahmednoor@yahoo.co m 01730043562 bikashkishore@gmail.com

Sayeda Qudsia Nahrin

Program Officer

MoWCA

01716488133 sqnahrin@yahoo.com

Md. Nasir Uddin Khan

Statistical Officer

MoPME

01731802813 Nasiruddin193@yahoo.com

Md. Moniruzzaman

Joint Secretary

Statistics and Informatics Division

monirdirector@yahoo.com 01714378015

National Social Protection Public Financial Management Course Institute of Public Finance, Segunbagicha, Dhaka 4-8 June, 2016 Class B

Sl

Name

Designation

Md. Ashfaqul Amin Mukut

Senior Secretary

Md. Fazlul Haque

Sheikh Momena Moni

Ministry/ Directorate

Assistant

Deputy Secretary Finance Division Deputy Secretary Finance Division Assistant

Senior Assistant Secretary

FD

Cell phone number/Email

01971952289 tomukut007@gmail.com 01552353626 fazlubr@gmail.com

FD

01712205975 momenamoni@gmail.com 01715087718

Dilara Begum

Senior Secretary

Md. Ali Akbar

Deputy Ministry Welfare

Syeda Ferdaus Akhter

Additional Director, Department of Social Welfare

MoSW

syedaferdousakhter@yahoo. com

S M Kamrul Ehsan

Social

MoSW

01911333655

Secretary of Social

Services

34

FD

dilara@finance.gov.bd 01711668338

MoSW

aakbr12@yahoo.com 01712165651

Capacity Development Partnership for Social Protection - 2nd Training Course Report DfID

Officer, Department of Social Services Badrun Nahar

Senior Secretary

A M M Rejwenul Hoque

Senior Assistant Chief

MoHFW

Maksuda Yeasmin

Senior Secretary

MoHFW

Dr. Md. Chowdhury

Nurul

Amin

Mst Noorjahan Khatun

Assistant

kamrul.ehsan@gmail.com

Assistant

Assistant Director

MoHFW

MoPME

01711015666 badrunn.bonna@gmail.com 01715238975 rejwan1976@gmail.com 01715488326 Maksuda15805@yahoo.com 01711311732 amin.prog3@gmail.com

Deputy Chief

MoE

01711033947 mstnurjahan@yahoo.com

Lokman Hossain

S M Bashir Ullah

Md Abdul Jalil Mojahary

Assistant SESIP

Director

Deputy (P&D),

Director

MoE

01715127448 Lokmanh1973@yahoo.com.

Deputy Director

DSHE

01819133245

MoE

ubashiralo@gmail.com

MoDMR

01937411901 abduljalilmojahari@gmail.co m

Raina Ahmed

Deputy Secretary

MoWCA

01711394979

Mukta Parvine

Program Officer

MoWCA

01797093330 muktaparvine157@gmail.co m

Shyamal Kumar Singha

Deputy Secretary

35

Planning Division

01712283500 Sksingha7600@gmail.com

Capacity Development Partnership for Social Protection - 2nd Training Course Report DfID

Annexure 3: Presenter Profiles 1.

Mr. Selwyn Jehoma

Mr. Selwyn Jehoma is the Director for Capacity Building at the International Network for Social Protection Inquiry, Research and Education. Mr. Jehoma started his career in the public service in October 2000 as the Director for Social Insurance in the National Department of Social Development, South Africa.

His initial task was to implement a comprehensive Service Delivery Improvement plan for the social grants system.

He was appointed as Chief Director: Grants Systems in 2001 and took a leading in the est ablishment of the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA).

In 2006 Mr. Jehoma became the Deputy Director-General: Comprehensive Social Security and turned his Department’s attention to the reform of the contributory social security system, focussing on the reform of the retirement system of South Africa.

Mr. Jehoma has a Social Science Degree and an Honours Degree in Public Management. He attended the Pension Reform Courses of both the World Bank in 1999 (Harvard) and the International Labour Organisa tion (Italy). His has completed a part of a Master’s Degree programme in Social Security Systems and Management.

2.

Ms. Nesha Ramful

Ms. Ramful is a PhD student at Tillburg University, Netherlands and has a M.Sc. in social Protection Financing from University of Mauritius Trust Business School/Maastricht University. She has been involved as a quantitative and qualitative researcher in the following UNICEF projects including deprivation analyses, costing and impact evaluations as well as a research assistance on IDRC projects.

She also has teaching experience and has taught Social Protection Administration and Policy Implementation modules.

3.

Dr. Mary Amuyunzu-Nyamongo

Dr. Amuyunzu-Nyamongo is an experienced trainer facilitator who has done extensive social protection policy development work for the governments of Kenya, Ghana. She is the Executive Director and Founder at African Institute for Health & Development.

Dr. Amuyunzu-Nyamongo has provided consultancy services for the government of Kenya and interna tional development partners on various activities, including the development of a National Social Protection Framework and Policy, Poverty Social Impact Analysis, and the Kenya Country Social Analysis She is also the African Regional Coordinator of Health Promotion with the Global Program of Health Promotion Effectiveness and is engaged in collaborative research with the International Centre for Research on Women, Sida and Poverty and Economic Policy Network. She has also been involved in programme monitori ng and evaluation activities.

Dr. Amuyunzu-Nyamongo has published widely in the areas of health and development, focusing on HIV/AIDS, gender, youth, mothers and children under-five, rural and urban poverty, and health promotion in general. She also serves on various international committees/boards, including the World Health Organization.

4.

Dr. Michael Samson Dr. Michael Samson is the Director of Research at the Economic Policy Research Institute, based in Cape Town, South Africa. He is also an Associate Professor of Economics at the Williams College Centre for Development Economics in the United States. At the Economic Policy Research Institute, Dr. Samson directs all research projects. Dr. Michael Samson has over ten years’ experience in social protection and over twenty-five years’ experience in systems design and development. He also has extensive experience in providing instruction in social protection capacity building courses around the world. Dr. Samson has designed EPRI’s flagship two-week course on social transfers called Designing and Implementing Social Protection Programmes that is hosted in Cape Town, South Africa and in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Furthermore, Dr. Samson has designed various country specific social protection courses including the ones described above for the Government of Nepal, Government of Tanzania and the Government of Zambia.

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Capacity Development Partnership for Social Protection - 2nd Training Course Report DfID

5.

Prof. Mukul Asher Prof. Mukul Asher specialises in public finance and the economics of social security in Asia as well as economic relations between India and East Asia. He is currently a Professorial Fellow at LKY School of Public Policy in Singapore and Director of Public Policy at Global Village Foundation in Delhi. He teaches applied public sector economics and economic reasoning for public policy. He has published extensively in international journals, and has authored and edited several books. He is also on the Editorial Board of International Social Security Review, a leading journal in the field along with many others.

He has been a consultant to the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Health Organization, Asian Development Bank, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and other institutions.

He has interacted with policy-makers as a resource person in several Asian countries such as India, Indonesia, Vietnam, People’s Republic of China, and Sri Lanka.

6.

Dr. Lacri Corches

Dr. Corches is an experienced Trainer and Speaker at international conferences, seminars and has obtained her PhD at the Academy of Economic Studies Bucharest. She is the Deputy General Director - National Agency for Payments and Social Inspection – Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Protection in Romania.

She has proven strategic social protection experience of 18 years coupled with management and administr ation skills, including 10 years of top management experience within the Government in Romania: organising, restructuring and managing social protection institutions at local level and national levels. Her competencies, skills and experiences include:  

Policy, legal, strategy and management familiarity in social protection and employment A deep understanding and experience of capacity and programme management: undertaking functional reviews, designing capacity development programmes, coordinating projects a nd initiatives to enhance the outputs and performance of an entire workforce  Interactions at the highest levels including: political, the academia, foreign mission representatives and executives of international businesses to achieve positive outcomes.  Extensive knowledge of cash transfers design as they relate to human rights, SP and women and children impact, special protection for disabled people and for marginalised groups – in different countries.

She has acquired extensive knowledge and experience of programmes in Bangladesh during the participation in the South-South Social Protection and Labour Forums organised by World Bank and Asian Development Bank in Hyderabad (India), Brazil, Beijing (China), and in “For Protection and Promotion: the design a nd implementation of effective Social Safety Net - Core Course” organised by the World Bank She is also a Member of the Social Protection Committee of EU. 7.

Mr. Nard Huijbregts Mr. Nard Huijbregts is a Social Policy Advisor and he has research and policy adv isory work experience in Nigeria, Uganda, Thailand, Bangladesh, China, Tanzania, Ethiopia, South Africa and other countries, consulting for UNICEF, UNDP, DFID, ILO, Save the Children and various government MDAs. Nard is specialized in the design and implementation of social protection policies, programs and information systems.

Mr. Huijbregts has recently worked extensively in Nigeria. He led the design and implementation, including the development of a state of the art open source programme MIS, of an 8.5 million USD, UNICEF implemented, DFID funded cash transfer programme in Sokoto and Niger state for girls education, for which he is currently preparing the scale-up to Kebbi, Zamfara and Katsina after securing additional funding. In addition, he is providi ng policy advisory support to another DFID funded cash transfer programme in Jigawa and Zamfara state for maternal and child health and has provided inputs in federal government’s cash transfer program concept note. Furthermore, he has provided policy advisory support to the state governments of Adamawa and Kebbi, specifically on the interaction between social protection and maternal and child health.

Besides his work in Nigeria, Mr. Huijbregts is currently drafting the National Social Protection Framework in Tanzania,

37

Capacity Development Partnership for Social Protection - 2nd Training Course Report DfID

developing a business case for social protection in Uganda, advisor to a mid -term evaluation of a cash transfer program in China and supporting the implementation of a single registry MIS for social protection in Bangladesh.

Nard has acted as an advisor, providing technical inputs, to numerous other projects, including the development of Bangladesh’s first National Social Protection Strategy, a study by South Africa’s Department of Social Development to explore the vertical extension of the Child Support Grant, a health equity study in Ethiopia, the development of a programme MIS for Thailand’s Child Support Grant and a UNICEF study assessing the extent to which social protection programs in Malawi, Ghana, Lesotho, Kenya and South-Africa are HIV-sensitive.

He presented at conferences, speakers series and policy courses in Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa and other countries. Nard is a visiting lecturer in Microsimulation Models for Policy Analysis at Maastricht University – UNU MERIT in the Netherlands, and Inclusive Economic Development to South African ministers, deputy-ministers and members of parliament in the South African Parliamentary Capacity Building Program.

8.

Dr. Giang Thanh Long Dr. Giang Thanh Long interests include the economics of ageing and micro-simulation of anti-poverty programmes for the older persons, particularly for Viet Nam, Indonesia, and Myanmar; health financing and actuarial costing for health care programmes. He has published extensively and in currently undertaking multiple PhD research.

He is a Director at the Institute of Public Policy and Management, National Economics University in Hanoi; a Senior Researcher at Institute of Social and Medical Studies (ISMS) and Research Fellow at Oxford Ins titute of Population Ageing and IPAG Business School.

Dr. Long was a member of the drafting team for the Vietnam’s Social Protection Strategy 2011 -2020. He is currently a member of key consultancy team for the Master Plan of Social Assistance Reform (MPSAR ). Dr. Long has also been a consultant for a number of organizations, including Ministry of Finance (MoF), Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), Ministry of Health (MoH), Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), ADB, GTZ, HelpAge International (HAI), ILO, Oxfam, UNDP, UNESCAP, UNFPA, the World Bank, and WHO. Among his recent commitments are the “Designing and Implementing a Social Pension Scheme” for HelpAge, and “Social assistance needs for the poor and vulnerable older persons” in In donesia. Among his clients are: UNFPA and ILO, HelpAge, Asian Development Bank (ADB), UNDP, the World Bank, etc.

9.

Dr. Smita Premchander Dr. Premchander obtained a PhD from Foundation for Small and Medium Enterprise Development, Durham University, England. She is a Trainer, Researcher, Evaluator, Policy and Programme Advisor. She is a Certified Associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers, Mumbai. Dr. Premchander has extensive experience in the area of training and facilitation of capacity development and had engagements in over 18 Indian States, Nepal, Bangladesh, Switzerland, Thailand, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Jordan, Tajikistan and presentations in Switzerland, Italy, Brazil, UK, Canada, USA, France, Norway, Kyrgyzstan, Kenya and Uganda. Her training programmes have had participants from about 40 countries, including African countries, Central Asia and South Asia.

She has published extensively and offers valuable experience in:  

Monitoring and evaluation of social protection programmes in India Teaching, writing, and reviews for international journals, lectures and presentations, conference and workshop facilitation  Gender, Cooperatives & Women’s Economic & Social Empowerment, Violence Against Women & Girls,  Microfinance, Microenterprise, Bonded Labour, Child Labour, Children’s Education and Child Protection  Social Development, Social Inclusion, Elimination of extreme poverty  Livelihoods, Sustainable development, poverty alleviation, microfinance, microenterprise development,  Knowledge sharing communities of practice, nationally and globally She has conducted strategic evaluations related to the functioning of UN and other international agencies and projects, on various agendas including social development, gender and women’s empowerment, bonded labour and child labour. She has experience with the ILO and other international organisations (e.g. the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation, DFID, and Plan International) in evaluation of projects and agency programmes, including structures at different levels of administration, from local to national. Her assignments have involved policy

38

Capacity Development Partnership for Social Protection - 2nd Training Course Report DfID

appraisal at the international, national and state levels, capacity building components, and how external organisations can influence policies and mainstream strategies of governm ents and other stakeholders.

National Expert Dr. Ferdousi Sultana Dr. Ferdousi Sultana Begum is a Bangladeshi Gender and Social Development Specialist with over 37 years of work experience and in-depth knowledge of international development. She has worked extensively on national and international development programmes.

Her expertise includes social protection, poverty reduction, health, water management among others. Ms. Sultana Begum has conducted social/ gender analysis, monitoring and evaluation and result assessments on socio-economic structures and gender relations, combining detailed quantitative and qualitative analysis for institutes and civil society organisations. She is an expert in capacity building, knowledge management with excellent facilitation/presentation skills for training, seminar, workshop through participatory approach.

She has designed and implemented projects and developed Gender Action Plans of more than 30 projects/programmes of different sectors. She has written several key n ational reports on gender equality for the government and UN agencies.

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Capacity Development Partnership for Social Protection - 2nd Training Course Report DfID

Annexure 4: Profiles of Course Support Staff 1.

Ms. Takudzwa Muyambo Ms. Takudzwa Muyambo is the Course Coordinator at the International Network for Social Protection Inquiry, Research and Education (INSPIRE). She has extensive experience in organising social protection capacity building training programmes both in Africa and Asia.

She has been responsible of organising and running several tailor made, national courses on social protection, including Mozambique, Malawi and Kenya for donor agencies such as UNICEF, GIZ and UNDP. Ms. Muyambo also organises and coordinates study tours that reinforce links between relevant policymakers and officials from participating countries, building consensus and momentum for social protection programme implementation.

2.

Mr. Quinn Pitcher Mr. Quinn Pitcher graduated with Honours from Williams College where he double majored in Art History and Economics. He is a Project leader on economic development-related projects across Africa, including extensive research in South Africa and with NGOs. Mr. Pitcher has extensive organising capabilities with practical experience in quantitative and qualitative research projects. He has been involved in multiple INSIPRE course and has practical classroom experience teaching quantitative analysis methods.

3.

Ms. Preksha Golchha Ms. Golchha obtained MSc. Management degree with Distinction from Cass Business School and a B.Sc. in Economics and International Development from the University of Bath. She has significant entrepreneurial experience in the manufacturing and education sector and has consulted for the Ministry of Education in Nepal.

She is led and managed multiple social protection-related projects in East-Asia and the Pacific and has experience managing large research teams. She is adept in a diverse range of skills which include project and team management , client communication and management, with significant experience in strategic planning and strong leadership and entrepreneurial outlook.

Annexure 5: Profiles National Facilitators 1.

Dr. Md. Jafar Uddin Dr. Md. Jafar Uddin has over 28 years of experience working in the public sector and the non -governmental sector, including working for BRAC – an international development organisation based in Bangladesh that is dedicated to alleviating poverty by empowering the poor.

He has a M.Sc. in Finance from the University of Dhaka and Master of Arts in Government Financial Management from the University of Ulster, UK. He also obtained a Doctorate of Business Administration from the University of the East, Philippines.

Dr. Uddin has extensive experience in the field of financial management and social protection budgeting. He was the Director of Finance in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2.

Mr. Ramendra Nath Biswas Mr. Ramendra Nath Biswas is a member of Bangladesh Civil Service (Administration) cadre (9 th Batch) and currently working as a Joint Secretary in the Budget Wing of Finance Division, Ministry of Finance. Mr. Nath studied economics at the University of Dhaka and development economics at the University of Bi rmingham (UK) and has significant experience in the social protection field.

He is involved in the national budget making process since 2003 and now leads a branch responsible for budget preparation of a number of ministries.

His experience includes analysing, designing and implementing macro-fiscal- development policies, development

40

Capacity Development Partnership for Social Protection - 2nd Training Course Report DfID

financing, public financial management, gender budgeting, capacity building, programme design and public administration.

3.

Mr. Shish Haider Chowdhury Mr. Shish Haider Chowdhury is a Member of BCS Audit and Accounts Cadre posted in the Finance Division, Ministry of Finance as Deputy Secretary at Grade-4 level. He has a M.Sc. in International Development from University of Birmingham, M.B.A. from Institute of Business Administration from the University of Dhaka as well as a M. Com in Accounting from University of Dhaka.

Over the last 25 years, he has held multiple positions of responsibility in the government as Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Public Administration; Additional Controller General of Accounts (Admin); Finance Controller (Army); Director, Foreign Aided Projects Audit Directorate (FAPAD); Chief Accounts Officer, Ministry of Education; Director, Directorate of Commercial Audit; Deputy Project Director (Finance and Adminis tration), IDA Technical Assistance Project (TA-6); Assistant Controller General of Accounts (ACGA), Office of the Controller General of Accounts (CGA); and Assistant Chief Accounts Officer, Ministry of Food and Relief.

He has experience with international organisations such as International Jute Study Group (IJSG) and teaching experience in the Department of Business Administration (Presently IBA) at the University of Jahangir Nagar; School of Business at Independent University of Bangladesh; School of Business at the University of Liberal Arts as well as multiple government training academies. He has also been involved in management training at national and international levels.

Mr. Chowdhury has also published in the Journal of Business (University of Jahangir) and Journal of the Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh.

Administration

4.

Mr. Nurul Kabir Siddiqui Mr. Siddiqui is the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Social Welfare. Mr. Siddiqui has over 28 years of experience in the Government of Bangladesh, with six years of service exclusively in the Social Protection sector under the Ministry of Social Welfare.

He is currently responsible for all Social Safety Net Programmes under the Ministry of Social Welfare; preparation for the SMART Action Plan for the implementation of the National Social Security Strategy (NSSS) of Bangladesh as well as the coordination and oversight of the thematic group of the NSSS comprising nine ministries.

Mr. Siddiqui obtained an M.S.S in Public Administration from the University of Dhaka.

5.

Mrs. Begam Ummul Khair Siddiqua Mrs. Begam Ummul Khar Siddiqua is the Assistant Project Director of the Stipend Project for the Students of Degree Level at the Ministry of Education. She leads the coordination of social protection proce sses at degree level college across the country including, policy, capacity building, and programme design. She obtained a Masters in Geography and a Masters in IT Project Management from Teesside University, United Kingdom.

6.

Mr. Shyama Prasad Bepari Mr. Bepari is the Joint Secretary and Project Director of the Higher Secondary Stipend Project at the Ministry of Education. He has obtained a M.Sc. in Environmental Sciences from the State University of Bangladesh and is a student of the M.Phil. programme (leading to a PhD) on ICT in Land Administration in Bangladesh at the Bangladesh University.

He has over 27 years of experience in Bangladesh Civil Services at varying capacities and over the last 15 years, he has been the C.E.O of Moulavibazar Municipality; Deputy Secretary of Tongi Municipality; Deputy Scientific Advisor; and the Deputy Secretary (ICT & Administration) and Joint Secretary (ICT & Planning) Information & Communication Technology Division.

Mr. Bepari has participated in over 15 international and national training programmes and has worked as a trainer and guest lecturer for over 20 years in the field of Land Administration, Land surveying, Land Management, General Administration, Judicial System, Good Governance, E-Governance and ICT Policy. He has been involved with Sanitation Local Government Co-operative at Bangladesh Civil Service (administration) Academy, Land

41

Capacity Development Partnership for Social Protection - 2nd Training Course Report DfID

Administration Training Centre, Bangladesh Civil Service Officers Survey and Settlement Training Centre, Regional Co-operatives Training Institute, National Academy for Education & Management, and various NGOs & LGED. He is also an Examiner an =d Expert of Bangladesh Public Service Commission.

He has also edited a text book on Land Law which was published by Bangladesh Technical Educatio n Board.

42

Annex II: Terms of Reference for VGD Study

14

Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) Project

Terms of Reference Diagnostic Study and Recommendations on Vulnerable Group Development (VGD) Scheme Implemented by Ministry of Women and Child Affairs (MOWCA), Government of Republic of Bangladesh 1. Background Maxwell Stamp PLC (MSP) has been contracted by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) as the Managing Agent (MA) for the Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) project under Strengthening Government Social Protection for the Poor (SGSP) programme. SPFMSP is a 32 months technical assistance (TA) project aimed to support the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) in the area of social protection. The SPFMSP project is a part of a larger five-component DFID-funded Strengthening Government Social Protection for the Poor (SGSP) Programme launched in 2014. The aim of the overall SGSP Programme is to support the GoB establish policies, budgets and plans for a more effective and efficient social protection system. Other parts of SGSP are being delivered by four implementing partners: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Bank (WB) and the Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF), a local Bangladeshi NGO. As such, SGSP covers five specific components:   



WB is conducting institutional analysis and assessment of key Social Safety Net (SSN) programmes along with Public expenditure reviews of the social protection schemes.

UNDP is working with the Planning Commission and Cabinet Division on the Nation al Social Security Strategy (NSSS) of Bangladesh.

WFP is engaging with the Ministry of Women & Child Affairs (MW&CA) on the Vulnerable Group Development programme and, to support the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on the panel survey building on the existing collaboration with BBS and WFP. In addition, WFP will work with the BBS to implement an annual panel survey linked to the national household income and expenditure survey (HIES) and support government to implement reforms in the Vulnerable Group Development scheme.

MJF is establishing an independent platform to facilitate engagement of civil society on the NSSS and building on its experience of engaging civil society organisations in policy dialogues by undertaking research, advocacy, and act as an effective challenge function in monitoring the existing schemes.

MSP is implementing the SPFMSP component, a TA project to the Ministry of Finance (MoF). The objective of SPFMSP is to improve social protection policy-making, strategic planning, financing, implementation and monitoring and to build individual and organisational capacity of the Government of Bangladesh. This support is being provided mainly to the Finance Division (FD), MoF, where a new Social Protection Budget Management Unit (SPBMU) is planned, but will also include six other implementing Line Ministries - the Ministry of Social Welfare (MoSW), the Ministry of Primary Education (MoPME), the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MoWCA), the Ministry of Education (MoE), the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW) and the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR). Overall, SPFMSP aims to ensure that the MoF and implementing line ministries are equipped to deliver their roles in the reform of the social protection programme s in Bangladesh.

The underlying objective therefore is to transfer skills and capacity to these organisations.

2. SPFMSP Project The Government of Bangladesh (GoB) is committed to strengthening the social protection system by ensuring efficiency and effectiveness in the use of resources (Value for Money – VfM) in the Sector.

This commitment is clearly reflected in the recently approved National Social Security Strategy (NSSS).

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Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) Project

The Finance Division (FD) of the Ministry of Finance (MoF) has undertaken the SPFMSP Project, with the assistance of UK DFID and Australian DFAT, to follow through on the VfM commitment.

The TAPP of the Project has been approved by the Government and its implementation has already started. DFID has procured a Managing Agent (MA), Maxwell Stamp PLC, to assist the FD and above six LMs to implement the Project. The major activities of the Project are the following : 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Establish and Operationalize a Social Protection Budget Management Unit (SPBMU) in the Finance Division –The SPBMU will lead the implementation of the Project and on completion of the Project it will continue as a permanent unit of the Budget Wing of the FD. The purpose of establishment of the SPBMU is to enhance the capacity of the FD: i) to draw evidence based Social Protection(SP) Budget that responds to efficiency and effectiveness objectives, ii) to improve monitoring of SP expenditure and iii) to analyze existing policies, procedures, systems and commission studies and research to improve/ reform the existing systems.

Undertake Diagnostic Studies of Existing Social Protection Schemes – The Project will commission diagnostic studies of 7 SP schemes of the above LMs to bring improvement from the perspective of VFM, better targeting, prevent leakages, avoiding duplication and bringing efficiency in the delivery system including payment of benefits.

Conduct Research – The Project also will commission demand-driven, issue-based, as well as exploratory research with the objective to support the reform of the existing SP system by filling gaps in knowledge and meeting requests for additional analysis.

Assist in Preparing Costed Plans for the Reforms of Priority Social Protection Schemes – The Project will assist the Government in preparing costed plans for SP reforms on the basis of the results of the Diagnostic Studies and research undertaken by the Project.

Establish a Management Information System (MIS) to Track and Evaluate SP Expenditure – The Project will assist the FD in establishing a functional and effective MIS to perform cross cutting monitoring including expenditure tracking, analysis and evaluation of SP sc hemes. The system will be piloted in the FD and two selected line ministries.

Provide Training and Capacity Development – The Project will implement a number of Capacity Development initiatives for SPBMU, FD and the six LMs. The major activities in this area will include national and international training programmes for suitable GoB officials in the different aspects of SP relevant to the objectives of the Project and study tours for policy level officials to acquire knowledge on best global practices in SP.

The Project will be implemented by the SPBMU of the budget wing of the FD under the overall supervision of the Additional Finance Secretary (Budget) who will also act as the National Project Director (NPD) for the Project. An Executive Director(ED), who also will act as the Project Director (PD), will head the SPBMU. The Government has approved the organizational set -up of the SPBMU. The Managing Agent has fielded the requisite number of national and international consultants to support the FD and LMs. The Project will have two governance structures. A Steering Committee will oversee the Project and be chaired by the Finance Secretary with representation from six LMs, UK DFID, Australian DFAT and other government relevant ministries/agencies. In addition to the Steering Committee, a Project Implementation Committee, chaired by the NPD with representation from six LMs and UK DFID and Australian DFAT, will monitor the timely implementation of the Project.

3. Overview of the Vulnerable Group Development (VGD) scheme: Vulnerable Group Development (VGD) is a large scale safety net programme with development orientation aimed at uplifting the socio - economic condition of the poor and destitute women living in the rural areas of Bangladesh. The beneficiaries selected for VGD programme receive a food assistance of 30 Kg of rice/wheat per month combined with the services of a training package (includes training, saving scheme and credit) for a period of 24 months. This period of 24 months is

16

Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) Project

called a VGD cycle. During each VGD cycle 750,000 poor and destitute women in rural areas receive benefits from VGD programme. The implementation of VGD programme is managed by Department of Women Affairs of the MoWCA and the training is imparted through the services of NGOs s elected

by DoWA/MoWCA The long term objective of the Vulnerable Group Development Program is to make positive changes in the socio-economic condition of the destitute and poor rural women so that they alleviate themselves from their current state of food and income insecurity, malnourishment and lower social status and develop capacity to remain above the poverty level on a sustainable basis. The immediate objectives of the VGD program are: a.

b. c.

To increase the income earning capacities of women by: i. providing training in marketable skills; ii. encouraging the accumulation of seed capital through savings; iii. providing access to credit.

To increase functional knowledge, including literacy of women through training and participation in group activities.

To increase the food intake of women and their family members.

4. Proposed Consultancy Assignment The objective of the assignment is to undertake an in-depth, independent and comprehensive diagnostic study on VGD scheme being implemented by the MOWCA, and perform an operati onal and financial analysis of the scheme with a view to suggest recommendations that could improve upon the economy and cost effectiveness of its operations and bring in greater efficiencies in terms of targeting, enrolment and allocating resources, improving compliance of guidelines and procedures.

The recommendations shall also include and need for re-modelling the size of transfer and improvement in monitoring, maintenance of database / records and benefit delivery system. It shall provide for recommendations so as to improve the operational and financial allocative efficiencies of the scheme to provide stability and sustainability and promote value for money by mitigating fiduciary risks for the exchequer. The Diagnostic study shall be conducted with a view that the report and recommendations shall be used to develop costed reform plans to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the scheme for a greater value for money.

A total of two consultants (hereafter called Service Provider) shall jointly be required to conduct the study. One of the Service Providers shall be an International consultant who will act as the Component Team Leader, while the other shall be a National (Bangladeshi) consultant who together would form a consultancy team. Both the consultants shall have common ToR and deliverables so that both complement and supplement each other and shall jointly work towards attaining the goal of the assignment. It is natural that while the National Consultant shall add value to the local knowledge and information about the scheme, and facilitate discussions with the local stakeholders, the International consultant shall bring to the table, the global experience and knowl edge and shall add to the body of knowledge in the sector. As mentioned, the National Consultant shall be reporting to the International consultant who shall be acting as the Component Team Leader for the assignment.

All deliverables and reports including conducting the workshop shall be performed jointly by the two consultants under the guidance of the Team Leader of SPFMSP project.

The international consultant who shall be acting as the Component Team Leader for the assignment and will be responsible for and accountable for achieving the deliverables set out in this ToR. During the inception phase, the team will need to propose more defined ToRs outlined for both consultants with clear roles and responsibilities.

17

Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) Project

5. Scope of Services Specifically, this would include: 1.

Review the relevant literature and documents including assessment and evaluation reports, if any, to formulate an understanding of the present management and administration of VGD with special reference to the fiduciary risk if any.

2. Review different characteristic features of the scheme including its objectives, product features such as eligibility criteria; exclusion and inclusion errors if any; size, timelines, frequency and volume of benefits; budgetary allocations versus expenditure analysis; flaws in design feature, if any; and suggest recommendations for improvement of the product so that it delivers value for money by improvements in allocative efficiencies and cost effectiveness in delivery. Review of ICVGD scheme including cash transfer mechanism. Process recommendations for distribution of fortified rice and improvement of the supply chain management.

3. Review the different types of processes adopted for implementation of the scheme including targeting and selection of beneficiaries; training imparted to them, maintenance of their data base and individual savings accounts and timely delivery of benefits, payment system (as in ICVGD) and its weaknesses and provide recommendations for improvement at each stage of the value chain so as to improve cost effectiveness and efficiency and promote transparency in the system.

4. Identify and review the various cost elements at each stage of value chain in the processes and recommend cost effectiveness and efficiencies so as to improve the benefits size and / or number of beneficiaries within the same budgetary allocations.

5. Review and discuss with implementing actors at union and upazilla level with few beneficiaries and women who are eligible but not beneficiaries to get their views on ‘demand perspectives’, improvement in product and processes and scope for further improvements so as to bring in transparency and promote value for money.

6. Review the process of managing budgetary funds including flow of fund 7. Review the procedures, processes and management of funds generated from the savings of the beneficiaries and provide recommendations to improve recordkeeping, transparency and accountability.

8. Explore the modalities of forward integration of the scheme for keeping a track of the beneficiaries including their income generating activities even after they move out of the scheme so as to judge the larger impact of the scheme on livelihoods and improvement in quality of lives of the beneficiaries.

9. Review and suggest measures for improvement of management and governance structure of the scheme in view of VfM and improved financial management practices from national to community level, especially the effectiveness of the role of the MOWCA and the Civil Societies and the Local Government representatives in the various committees for VGD implementation.

10. Review the process of community involvement and also accountability framework that could lead to cost reduction and an improved impact.

6. Deliverables and Output The consultants shall be reporting to the Team Leader of SPFMSP Project at Dhaka office and shall be required to perform various tasks in order to deliver the following:

1. First Deliverable – Short Inception Report including Understanding of Tasks, Work Plan

and Timelines. A Research Methodology including the application of different tools and techniques shall also be a part of this deliverable. (08 Days).

This shall include but not limited to, orientation on assignment with SPBMU and MSP; literature review and briefing; pre-arranged meetings with Finance Ministry, Line Ministry, Line Directorate and development partner agencies; designing a research plan including tools and techniques; a short

18

Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) Project

presentation and finalization of the work plan.

2. Second Deliverable – Draft Report on Findings and Recommendations (16 Days) This shall include field visits to two districts/upazilla including meetings at district, upazila and union Level and with those of Beneficiaries. Data and information gathering and processing; further discussions and fact findings if any and submission of Draft Report to the SPFMSP project Team Leader.

There shall be a gap of time before the next activity. This time period shall be utilized by the SPFMSP project and Government stakeholders to provide comments and opinions on the draft report.

3. Third Deliverable – Conduct Half Day Stakeholders’ Workshop on Findings and Recommendations (03 Days) Consultants shall be responding/incorporating the suggestions received from the SPFMSP project, and conduct a Stakeholders’ Workshop in Dhaka. This shall involve the second travel to Dhaka.

4. Fourth Deliverable – Submission of Draft Final Report based on opinions/comments/recommendations from the Workshop within the next three days.

(03 Days)

Schedule of Deliverables and Outputs Deliverables Deliverable No. of Days 

 





  



Detailed Joint briefing with Executive Director, Project Team Leader and other team members’ Literature Review of Available Documents and Reports.

Meetings with Ministry of Finance (MoF), Line Ministry and Line Directors in consultation with the Project Team Leader.

Prepare a Research Plan and Tools & Techniques.

Presentation to SPFMSP and finalize the Inception Report Field Visit to Two Districts Upazilas, Unions and Meetings with Service Providers and Beneficiaries Data and Information Processing and Submission of Draft Report Incorporation of Suggestions and Presentation of Findings and Recommendations to Stakeholders at Dhaka Draft Final Report to the Project Team Leader & DFID Bangladesh

08 (Dhaka)

16 (Field in Bangladesh and Dhaka)

3 (Dhaka) 3 (Dhaka)

Total Days

30

19

Output

Deadline

Inception Report Submitted

9th June

Draft Report Submitted

24th June

Workshop Conducted

Return Date in August + 3 days

Final Report Submitted

Return Date in August + 6 days

Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) Project

Note: 1.

2.

3.

It is assumed that both the consultants shall be reporting to the project at Dhaka on Wednesday, 1st of June The consultants shall be required to work in Dhaka / Bangladesh for a total period of 30 Days of which 24 days shall be spent during the first tenure and 06 Days in the second tenure.

International Consultants shall be provided with Two Return, Economy Class Tickets from the Home Office to Dhaka and Travel arrangements from Dhaka to Field.

2. Indicative Sources of information for Desk Review    

 

Implementation Guidelines for VGD issued by the MOWCA Vulnerable Group Development (VGD) Emerging challenges and New opportunities arranged by World Food Programme BY Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman and Nazma Sabina, 2013 Impact Evaluation on Vulnerable group Development Programme (2009 -2010) by RDA Bogra Mohammad MUNsur Rahman phD, Md. Nurul Amin, Md. Mohiuddin, 2012 Impact Evaluation on Vulnerable group Development Programme in Bangladesh , Prepared by M.A. Mannan and Budrun Nessa Ahmed, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies( BIDS), Agargaon, Sher-e – Bangla Nagar, Dhaka -1207, 2012.

The politics of what works: the case of the Vulnerable Group Development Programme in Bangladesh Naomi Hossain December 2007. CPRC Working Paper 92 Medium Term Budgetary Framework (MTBF) – Ministry of Finance, Government of Bangladesh.

3. Indicative list of Stakeholder for meetings and interviews: Following is an indicative list of government officials and other stakeholders that consultant shall be required to meet.

A. In Dhaka a. At the Ministry Level: Secretary / Additional Secretary (VGD) / Relevant Joint Secretary / Other Key Officials b. At the Line Directorate Level: Director General Women Affairs (DGWA), Director VGD and Other Key Officials. c.

Relevant Officials of DFID d. Key Officials of WFP and other relevant Development Partners e.

Civil Societies / NGOs associated with VGD Programme including BRAC (ICVDG sector) f.

Other relevant experts / knowledgeable persons in VGD programme B. At District Level a. Deputy Commissioner, District Women Affairs Officer, District Controller of Food b. Civil Societies / NGOs associated with VGD Programme C. Upazila and Union Level      

Upazilla Chairman / Vice Chairman Upazilla Nirbahi officer Upazilla Food Controller and Upazilla Women Affairs Officer VGD Selection Committees Local School teacher NGO Representatives

D. Field Level a. Meeting with a few selected beneficiaries and women who were eligible for VGD but not included b. Civil Societies / NGOs Implementing VGD Programme

4. Initial Briefing and Field Visit It is expected that the consultant shall begin their work with a short orientation on the programs and

20

Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) Project

tasks and shall meet the SPFMSP team and its members within the first week. 

Dhaka (Inception Phase) o Orientation on Assignment with SPFMSP and Literature Review o Meetings with Officials of Line Ministry and their Directorate o Formulating Methodology including Tools and Techniques o Preparing Work Plan o Presentation on the Inception Report o Finalization of the Inception Report.

At the end of the Inception Phase, the service provider is supposed to be ready with the knowledge and information on the policy as well as strategy perspective. After his / her meetings with relevant government officials and MSP team as well as secondary literature review would equip her / him with the objectives and questions as well as an approach to be adopted for the study.

Field Visit: The service provider is expected to be in the field and would begin from the district headquarter meeting the relevant officials including district officials of the line directorate. The consultant will also discuss with the relevant officials of the upzilla and union level. They will also have consultations with the beneficiaries and other important stakeholders as indicated above. Field visit shall be undertaken where two or more upazillas (to be decided later) should be covered by the service provider. Depending on the work requirement as agreed between the service provider and the Team Leader of the SPFMSP, only one district could be chosen and program modified accordingly.

5. Counterpart Staff Availability The service provider shall be reporting to the Team Leader of the SPFMSP project as well as the Project Manager and Project Director of Maxwell Stamp. All deliverables are required to be essentially approved by the Project Team Leader. If necessary, the counterpart staff shall also be accompanying the service provider during the field visits and shall facilitate meetings and discussions. The service provider shall be provided a working space at the office of the SPFMSP in Dhaka, however they are expected to have their own laptops and / or other equipment to perform their tasks.

6. Location of Assignment The consultant will undertake work in Dhaka and at least two selected Upazillas / Unions as the case may be, where the VGD scheme is being implemented.

7. Essential Qualification of the Service Provider International Consultant:  

Master’s or higher degree in Social Sciences or in a relevant field.

Substantial, relevant work experience in Government Social Protection including experience of program / project review. Previous work on diagnostic studies of social protection schemes in general and women development issues in particular will be an advantage. Experience in Asian region in general and Bangladesh in particular shall be an added advantage  Fluent in spoken, written, and reading abilities in English; Speaking and understanding Bangla will be an additional qualification; National Consultant:    

Post- graduate or Graduate in Social Science or relevant field Substantial, relevant experience of working in social protection in general and women development in particular with familiarization in GOB’s Social Protection Systems.

Familiarization with GoB’s Public Financial Management (PFM) systems will be an advantage.

Strong oral and written communication in Bangla and English

21

Annex III: ToR for DSF Study

22

Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) Project

Terms of Reference Diagnostic Study and Recommendations on Demand Side Financing (DSF) – Maternal Health Voucher Scheme Implemented by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), Government of Republic of Bangladesh 1. Background Maxwell Stamp PLC (MSP) has been contracted by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) as the Managing Agent (MA) for the Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) project under Strengthening Government Social Protection for the Poor (SGSP) programme. SPFMSP is a 32 months technical assistance (TA) project aimed to support the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) in the area of social protection. The SPFMSP project is a part of a larger five-component DFID-funded Strengthening Government Social Protection for the Poor (SGSP) Programme launched in 2014. The aim of the overall SGSP Programme is to support the GoB establish policies, budgets and plans for a more effective and efficient social protection system. Other parts of SGSP are being delivered by four implementing partners: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Bank (WB) and the Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF), a local Bangladeshi NGO. As such, SGSP covers five specific components: 

WB is conducting institutional analysis and assessment of key Social Safety Net (SSN) programmes along with Public expenditure reviews of the social protection schemes.  UNDP is working with the Planning Commission and Cabinet Division on the National Social Security Strategy (NSSS) of Bangladesh.  WFP is engaging with the Ministry of Women & Child Affairs (MW&CA) on the Vu lnerable Group Development programme and, to support the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on the panel survey building on the existing collaboration with BBS and WFP. In addition, WFP will work with the BBS to implement an annual panel survey linked to the national household income and expenditure survey (HIES) and support government to implement reforms in the Vulnerable Group Development scheme.  MJF is establishing an independent platform to facilitate engagement of civil society on the NSSS and building on its experience of engaging civil society organisations in policy dialogues by undertaking research, advocacy, and act as an effective challenge function in monitoring the existing schemes.

MSP is implementing the SPFMSP component, a TA project to the Ministry of Finance (MoF). The objective of SPFMSP is to improve social protection policy-making, strategic planning, financing, implementation and monitoring and to build individual and organisational capacity of the Government of Bangladesh. This support is being provided mainly to the Finance Division (FD), MoF, where a new Social Protection Budget Management Unit (SPBMU) is planned, but will also include six other implementing Line Ministries - the Ministry of Social Welfare (MoSW), the Ministry of Primary Education (MoPME), the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MoWCA), the Ministry of Education (MoE), the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW) and the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR). Overall, SPFMSP aims to ensure that the MoF and implementing line ministries are equipped to deliver their roles in the reform of the social protection programmes in Bangladesh.

The underlying objective therefore is to transfer skills and capacity to these organisations.

2. SPFMSP Project The Government of Bangladesh (GoB) is committed to strengthening the social protection system by ensuring efficiency and effectiveness in the use of resources (Value for Money – VfM) in the Sector.

This commitment is clearly reflected in the recently approved National Social Security Strategy (NSSS).

23

Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) Project

The Finance Division (FD) of the Ministry of Finance (MoF) has undertaken the SPFMSP Project, with the assistance of UK DFID and Australian DFAT, to follow through on the VfM commitment.

The TAPP of the Project has been approved by the Government and its implementation has already started. DFID has procured a Managing Agent (MA), Maxwell Stamp PLC, to assist the FD and above six LMs to implement the Project. The major activities of the Project are the followin g: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Establish and Operationalize a Social Protection Budget Management Unit (SPBMU) in the Finance Division –The SPBMU will lead the implementation of the Project and on completion of the Project it will continue as a permanent unit of the Budget Wing of t he FD. The purpose of establishment of the SPBMU is to enhance the capacity of the FD: i) to draw evidence based Social Protection(SP) Budget that responds to efficiency and effectiveness objectives, ii) to improve monitoring of SP expenditure and iii) to analyze existing policies, procedures, systems and commission studies and research to improve/ reform the existing systems.

Undertake Diagnostic Studies of Existing Social Protection Schemes – The Project will commission diagnostic studies of 7 SP schemes of the above LMs to bring improvement from the perspective of VFM, better targeting, prevent leakages, avoiding duplication and bringing efficiency in the delivery system including payment of benefits.

Conduct Research – The Project also will commission demand-driven, issue-based, as well as exploratory research with the objective to support the reform of the existing SP system by filling gaps in knowledge and meeting requests for additional analysis.

Assist in Preparing Costed Plans for the Reforms of Priority Social Protection Schemes – The Project will assist the Government in preparing costed plans for SP reforms on the basis of the results of the Diagnostic Studies and research undertaken by the Project.

Establish a Management Information System (MIS) to Track and Evaluate SP Expenditure – The Project will assist the FD in establishing a functional and effective MIS to perform cross-cutting monitoring including expenditure tracking, analysis and evaluation of SP schemes. The system will be piloted in the FD and two selected line ministries.

Provide Training and Capacity Development – The Project will implement a number of Capacity Development initiatives for SPBMU, FD and the six LMs. The major activities in this area will include national and international training programmes for suitable GoB officials in the different aspects of SP relevant to the objectives of the Project and study tours for policy level officials to acquire knowledge on best global practices in SP.

The Project will be implemented by the SPBMU of the budget wing of the FD under the overall supervision of the Additional Finance Secretary (Budget) who will also act as the National Project Director (NPD) for the Project. An Executive Director(ED), who also will act as the Project Director (PD), will head the SPBMU. The Government has approved the organizational set -up of the SPBMU. The Managing Agent has fielded the requisite number of national and international consultants to support the FD and LMs. The Project will have two governance structures. A Steering Committee will oversee the Project and be chaired by the Finance Secretary with representation from six LMs, UK DFID, Australian DFAT and other government relevant ministries/agencies. In addition to the Steering Committee, a Project Implementation Committee, chaired by the NPD with representation from six LMs and UK DFID and Australian DFAT, will monitor the timely implementation of the Project.

3. Overview of the DSF scheme: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), in collaboration with WHO, introduced in August 2006 an innovative maternal health voucher scheme, a demand-side financing (DSF) initiative, to improve access to and use of quality maternal health services.

The main objective of the DSF program is to improve maternal health, by stimulating increased utilization of safe maternal health services by poor pregnant women, including antenatal care

24

Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) Project

(ANC), child birth by qualified providers, emergency obstetric and postnatal care (PNC). DSF transfer resources to pregnant women on condition that they utilize specific services, which increase the income levels of targeted groups without impacting the cost incurred for maternal health shocks and hence affordability of services.

DSF maternal voucher scheme is a component of the Operational Plan (OP) of Maternal Neonatal Child and Adolescent Health (MNC&AH) under Health Population and Nutrition Sector Development Program (HPNSDP) of MOHFW. A voucher is a subsidized card that entitles its holder for specific health services free of charge. Poor pregnant women receive vouchers which entitle them to free maternal health services viz. antenatal and postnatal care, safe delivery, treatment for complications including cesarean section and laboratory tests. Besides this they also receive transport subsidies, cash incentive for delivery with a qualified provider (either at home or at a designated facility), and a gift box. Service Providers are reimbursed cost of the services rendered by them to the voucher holders.

DSF is an innovative initiative to improve access to and use of quality maternal health services by stimulating increased utilization of safe maternal health services by poor operational in 53 Upazilas of 41 districts. The scheme is gender responsive covering more than 1.6 lakh ultra-poor women and is most likely to continue as even more ministries (LGD) are implementing it now and has a likelihood of convergence with such programs.

The scheme has a prescribed procedure for targeting and selecting the beneficiaries. The bene fits are paid both in cash and kind through designated Managers. While the payments are required to be made on the spot but studies indicate that they are often delayed The . An extremely important scheme such as DSF lacks in its own publicity and fails to create awareness both, amongst the potential beneficiaries as well as even amongst local DSF committee members. There exists no strategy or plan for the stakeholders including implementers as regard any training and capacity building and the scheme lacks a robust database. There is an emphasis in the NSSS on expansion of scheme to all needy women in a phased manner.

The voucher scheme is implemented by MOHFW using pooled funds of HPNSDP. The World Health Organization (WHO), with co-funding from the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), provides technical assistance to the DSF program, including administrative and monitoring support.

4. Proposed Consultancy Assignment The objective of the proposed consultancy assignment is to undertake an in-depth, independent and comprehensive diagnostic study on DSF Maternal Health Voucher scheme being implemented by the MOHFW, and perform an operational and financial analysis of the scheme with a view to identify causes, factors and circumstances under which the cost effectiveness of operations and resource allocation for the scheme are being hampered leading to sub optimal outcomes if any, and suggest recommendations that could improve upon the economy and cost effectiveness and bring in greater efficiencies in terms of targeting, enrolment and awareness-raising, allocating resources, implementing according to guidelines, considering nutritional and other outcomes, modelling size of transfer/ impact, monitoring and evaluation, data maintenance and benefit delivery system. It shall provide for concrete recommendations so as to improve the operational and financial allocative efficiencies of the scheme to provide stability and sustainability and promote value for money by mitigating fiduciary risks for the exchequer. Recommendations for expanding the scheme from its current level of operations to other geographical regions with economies of scope and economies of scale shall be part of the broad objective of the study. The Diagnostic study shall be conducted w ith a view that the report and recommendations shall be used to develop costed programme reform plans.

In this way policy development, programme implementation and monitoring for the Government of Bangladesh will be systematically improved.

25

Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) Project

A total of two consultants (hereafter called Service Provider) shall jointly be required to conduct the study. One of the Service Providers shall be an International consultant who will act as the Team Leader, while the other shall be a National consultant who together would form a consultancy team.

Both the consultants shall have common ToR and deliverables so that both complement and supplement each other and shall jointly work towards attaining the goal of the assignment. It is natural that while the National Consultant shall add value to the local knowledge and information about the scheme and facilitate discussions with the local stakeholders, the International Consultant shall bring to the table, the global experience and knowledge and shall add to the body of know ledge in the sector. As mentioned, the National Consultant shall be reporting to the International consultant who shall be acting as the Team Leader for the assignment.

All deliverables and reports including conducting the workshop shall be performed join tly by the two consultants under the guidance of the team Leader of SPFMSP project.

The international consultant who shall be acting as the Team Leader for the assignment and will be responsible for and accountable for achieving the deliverables set out i n this ToR. During the inception phase, the team will need to propose more defined ToRs outlined for both consultants with clear roles and responsibilities.

5. Scope of Services Specifically, this would include: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Review and understand the different characteristic features of the scheme including its objectives, program design, product features such as eligibility criteria; exclusion and inclusion errors if any; size, timelines, frequency and volume of benefits; budgetary allocations versus expenditure analysis; related fiduciary risk , if any and suggest recommendations for improvement.

Review the different types of processes adopted for implementation of the scheme including targeting of beneficiaries; maintenance of their data base and accounts; timely servic es being offered to the beneficiaries; issues and challenges currently being faced by the service providers as well as beneficiaries in timely delivery of services, and timely delivery of benefits, both in cash as well as kind; payment system and its weaknesses and related fiduciary risk and provide recommendations for improvement at each stage of the value chain with special focus on reducing the fiduciary risk.

Review the relevant literature and documents including assessment and evaluation reports and meet the relavant officials and donar agencies to get their perspectives.

Review the process of managing funds and fund / budgetary flow for DSF at various levels including the incentive packages both for the service providers and the clients / beneficiaries and suggest how funds and vouchers can be made available on time and the pregnant woman / mother receiving her benefit package and gift box immediately after having a safe birth.

Explore and identify the key economic questions and suggest ways to scale -up of DSF in additional districts and sub-districts in Bangladesh bringing in economies of scope and economies of scale promoting value for money.

Review and suggest measures for improvement of management and governance structure of the scheme in view of VfM and improved financial management practices and accounting practices from national to community level, especially the effectiveness of the role of the MOHFW and the Local Government representatives in the various committees for DSF implementation.

Review the process of community involvement and also accountability framework that could lead to cost reduction and an improved impact.

Consult with the management of similar program by the Local Government Division (LGD) and Ministry of Women and Children Affairs (MOWCA) and suggest improved coordination Review the M&E mechanisms of the DSF programme with special reference to value for money and suggest improvements.

26

Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) Project

6. Deliverables and Outputs The consultants shall be reporting to the Team Leader of SPFMSP Project at Dhaka office and shall be required to perform various tasks in order to deliver the following:

1. First Deliverable – Short Inception Report including Understanding of Tasks, Work Plan

and Timelines. Research Methodology including the application of different tools and techniques shall also be a part of this deliverable (08 Days).

This shall include but not limited to, Orientation on Assignment with SPBMU and MSP; Literature Review and Briefing; Pre-arranged meetings with Finance Ministry, Line Ministry , Line Directorate and Donor Agencies. Designing Research Plan including Tools and Techniques; a sho rt Presentation and Finalization of the work plan.

2. Second Deliverable – Draft Report on Findings and Recommendations (16 Days) This shall include Field Visit to Two Districts / Upzilla including meetings at District, Upazila and Union Level and with those of Beneficiaries. Data and information gathering and processing; further discussions and fact findings if any and submission of Draft Report to the SPFMSP project Team Leader.

There shall be a gap of time before the next activity. This time period shall be utilized by the SPFMSP project and Government stakeholders to provide comments and opinions on the draft report.

3. Third Deliverable – Conduct Half Day Stakeholders’ Workshop on Findings and Recommendations (03 Days) Consultants shall be responding / incorporating the suggestions received from the SPFMSP project, and conduct Stakeholders’ Workshop in Dhaka. This shall involve the second travel to Dhaka.

4. Fourth Deliverable – Submission of Draft Final Report based on opinions / comments / recommendations from the workshop within the next three days. (03 Days)

Schedule of Deliverables and Outputs Deliverables Deliverable 

 





  

Detailed Joint briefing with Executive Director, Team Leader and other team members’ Literature Review of Available Documents and Reports.

Meetings with Ministry of Finance (MoF), Line Ministry and Line Directors in consultation with the Team Leader.

Prepare a Research Plan and Tools & Techniques. Presentation to SPFMSP and finalize the Inception Report Field Visit to Two Districts Upazilas, Unions and Meetings with Service Providers and Beneficiaries Data and Information Processing and Submission of Draft Report Incorporation of Suggestions and Presentation of Findings and Recommendations to Stakeholders at Dhaka

27

No. of Days

Output

Deadline

08

Inception Report Submitted

17th April

Draft Report Submitted

04th May

Workshop Conducted

19th May

(Dhaka)

16 (Field in Bangladesh and Dhaka) 3 (Dhaka)

Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) Project



Draft Final Report to the Team Leader & DFID Bangladesh

Total Days

3 (Dhaka)

Final Report Submitted

22nd May

30

Note: 1.

It is assumed that both the consultants shall be reporting to the project at Dhaka on Sunday, 10 th of April The consultants shall be required to work in Dhaka / Bangladesh for a total period of 30 Days of which 24 days shall be spent during the first tenure and 06 Days in the second tenure.

International Consultants shall be provided with Two Return Tickets from the Home Office to Dhaka and Travel arrangements from Dhaka to Field.

2.

3.

7. Indicative Sources of information for desk Review and interviews The following Documents including M&E Reports are available for desk review 2: 1. PIP volume -1 of HPNSDP (2011 – 2016), MOHFW, July 2011 2. Revised Operational Plan on Maternal Neonatal Child and Adolescent health, April 2015 3. Program Evaluation for Demand Side Financing Maternal Health Voucher Scheme in Bangladesh, By HERA / September 2013 4. Economic Evaluation of DSF Voucher 2 Program in Bangladesh - this Study was funded by the GTZ and prepared under HNPSP of the MOHFW, February 2010.

5. The World Bank PAD on HEALTH SECTOR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, May 3, 2011 6. National Social Security Strategy, 2015 (NSSS) 7. Health Care Financing Strategy 2012 – 2032, MOHFW, September, 2012 8. A maternal health voucher scheme: what have we learned from the demand-side financing scheme in Bangladesh? (From: Health Policy and Planning).

9. DSF Orientation Manual 10. Recent Annual Program Implemnetation Reports (APIRs) and Annual Program Review (APR) Midterm Review Reports (MTR) Reports on HPNSDP

8. Indicative list of Stakeholder for meetings and interviews: The consultants shall be required to perform discussions at different level within the Ministry and Divisions. Following is an indicative list of government officials and other stakeholders that consultant shall be required to meet.

E.

F. G. 2

In Dhaka a. At the Ministry Level: Secretary , DG – HEU, Joint Chief Planning, Deputy Chief Planning, MOHFW b. At the Line Directorate Level: Director General Health Services (DGHS), Director General Family Planning (DGFP); Line Director (MNC&AH), Program Manager / Deputy Program Manager, DSF program; c. Relevant Officals of DFID d. Other Officials: Officials of Development Partners and that of WHO and World Bank Officials, BRAC Officials (Health sector) and PMU Chief Advisor, MOHFW. Other relevant experts / knowledgeable persons in DSF programme. e. Other relevant experts / knowledgeable persons in DSF programme.

At District Level a. At the District Level: Civil Surgeon and Deputy Director Family Planning Upjilla and Union Level

This is only an indicative List and the Consultants may be required to review other documents as well.

28

Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) Project

H.

a. Upjilla Health and Family Planning Officer b. Medical Officer, c. DSF Committee members, d. UP Chairman / Members, and e. Other relevant experts / knowledgeable persons in DSF programme.

Field Level a. Meeting with a few selected beneficiaries and women who were eligible for vouchers but not included

9. Initial Briefing and Field Visit It is expected that the consultant shall begin their work with a short orientation on the programs and tasks and shall meet the SPFMSP team and its members within the first week. 

Dhaka (Inception Phase) o Orientation on Assignment with SPFMSP and Literature Review o Meetings with Officials of Line Ministry and their Directorate o Formulating Methodology including Tools and Techniques o Preparing Work Plan o Presentation on the Inception Report o Finalization of the Inception Report.

At the end of the Inception Phase, the service provider is supposed to be ready with the knowledge and information on the policy as well as strategy perspective. After his / her meetings with relevant government officials and MSP team as well as secondary literature review would equip her / him with the objectives and questions as well as an approach to be adopted for the study.

Field Visit: The service provider is expected to be in the field and would begin from the district headquarter meeting the relevant officials including district officials of the line directorate. The consultant will also discuss with the relevant officials of the upzila and union level. They will also have consultations with the beneficiaries and other important stakeholders as indicated above. Field visit shall be undertaken where two or more Upazilas (to be decided later) should be covered by the service provider.

Depending on the work requirement as agreed between the service provider and the Team Leader of the SPFMSP, only one district could be chosen and program modified accordingly.

10.

Counterpart Staff Availability

The service provider shall be reporting to the Team Leader of the SPFMSP project as well as the Project Manager and Project Director of Maxwell Stamp. All deliverables are required to be essentially approved by the Team Leader. The TL shall also remain the single point of contact (SPOC) for the service provider for all administrative and technical functions. If necessary, the counterpart staff shall also be accompanying the service provider during the field visits and shall facilitate meetings and discussions. The service provider shall be provided a working space at the office of the SPfMSP in Dhaka, however they are expected to have their own laptops and / or other equipment to perform their tasks.

11.

Location of Assignment

The consultant will undertake work in Dhaka and at least two selected Upazilas / Unions as the case may be, where the DSF – Voucher scheme is being implemented.

29

Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) Project

12.

Essential Qualification of the Service Provider

International Consultant:  

Master’s or higher degree in Social Sciences or in a relevant field Minimum ten (10) years of work experience in Government Social Protection including experience of program / project review. Previous work on diagnostic studies of social protection schemes in general and Health related issues in particular will be an advantage. Experience in Asian region in general and Bangladesh in particular shall be an added advantage  Fluent in spoken, written, and reading abilities in English; Speaking and understanding Bangla will be an additional qualification National Consultant:    

Post-graduate or Graduate in Social Science or relevant field Minimum 10 years’ experience of working in social protection in general and women development in particular with familarization in GOB’s Social Protection Systems.

Familiarization with GoB’s Public Financial Management (PFM) systems will be an advantage.

Strong oral and written communication in Bangla and English

30

Annex IV: ToR for OAA Study

31

TOR - Diagnostic Study and Recommendations on Old Age Allowance (OAA) Scheme Implemented by Ministry of Social Welfare (MOSW), Government of Republic of Bangladesh

Terms of Reference Diagnostic Study and Recommendations on Old Age Allowance (OAA) Scheme Implemented by Ministry of Social Welfare (MOSW), Government of Republic of Bangladesh 1. Background Maxwell Stamp PLC (MSP) has been contracted by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) as the Managing Agent (MA) for the Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) project under Strengthening Government Social Protection for the Poor (SGSP) programme. SPFMSP is a 32 months technical assistance (TA) project aimed to support the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) in the area of social protection. The SPFMSP project is a part of a larger five-component DFID-funded Strengthening Government Social Protection for the Poor (SGSP) Programme launched in 2014. The aim of the overall SGSP Programme is to support the GoB establish policies, budgets and plans for a more effective and efficient social protection system. Other parts of SGSP are being delivered by four implementing partners: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Bank (WB) and the Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF), a local Bangladeshi NGO. As such, SGSP covers five specific components: b.

WB is conducting institutional analysis and assessment of key Social Safety Net (SSN) programmes along with Public expenditure reviews of the social protection schemes. c. UNDP is working with the Planning Commission and Cabinet Division on the National Social Security Strategy (NSSS) of Bangladesh. d. WFP is engaging with the Ministry of Women & Child Affairs (MW&CA) on the Vulnerable Group Development programme and, to support the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on the panel survey building on the existing collaboration with BBS and WFP. In addition, WFP will work with the BBS to implement an annual panel survey linked to the national household income and expenditure survey (HIES) and support government to implement reforms in the Vulnerable Group Development scheme. e. MJF is establishing an independent platform to facilitate engagement of civil society on the NSSS and building on its experience of engaging civil society organisations in policy dialogues by undertaking research, advocacy, and act as an effective challenge function in monitoring the existing schemes.

MSP is implementing the SPFMSP component, a TA project to the Ministry of Finance (MoF). The objective of SPFMSP is to improve social protection policy-making, strategic planning, financing, implementation and monitoring and to build individual and organisational capacity of the Government of Bangladesh. This support is being provided mainly to the Finance Division (FD), MoF, where a new Social Protection Budget Management Unit (SPBMU) is planned, but will also include six other implementing Line Ministries - the Ministry of Social Welfare (MoSW), the Ministry of Primary Education (MoPME), the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MoWCA), the Ministry of Education (MoE), the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW) and the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR). Overall, SPFMSP aims to ensure that the MoF and implementing line ministries are equipped to deliver their roles in the reform of the social protection programmes i n Bangladesh.

The underlying objective therefore is to transfer skills and capacity to these organisations.

2. SPFMSP Project The Government of Bangladesh (GoB) is committed to strengthening the social protection system by ensuring efficiency and effectiveness in the use of resources (Value for Money – VfM) in the Sector.

This commitment is clearly reflected in the recently approved National Social Security Strategy (NSSS).

The Finance Division (FD) of the Ministry of Finance (MoF) has undertaken the SPFMSP P roject, with the assistance of UK DFID and Australian DFAT, to follow through on the VfM commitment.

32

TOR - Diagnostic Study and Recommendations on Old Age Allowance (OAA) Scheme Implemented by Ministry of Social Welfare (MOSW), Government of Republic of Bangladesh The TAPP of the Project has been approved by the Government and its implementation has already started. DFID has procured a Managing Agent (MA), Maxwell Stamp PLC, to assist the FD and above six LMs to implement the Project. The major activities of the Project are the following: 

Establish and Operationalize a Social Protection Budget Management Unit (SPBMU) in the Finance Division –The SPBMU will lead the implementation of the Project and on completion of the Project it will continue as a permanent unit of the Budget Wing of the FD. The purpose of establishment of the SPBMU is to enhance the capacity of the FD: i) to draw evidence based Social Protection(SP) Budget that responds to efficiency and effectiveness objectives, ii) to improve monitoring of SP expenditure and iii) to analyze existing policies, procedures, systems and commission studies and research to improve/ reform the existing systems.  Undertake Diagnostic Studies of Existing Social Protection Schemes – The Project will commission diagnostic studies of 7 SP schemes of the above LMs to bring improvement from the perspective of VFM, better targeting, prevent leakages, avoiding duplication and bri nging efficiency in the delivery system including payment of benefits.  Conduct Research – The Project also will commission demand-driven, issue-based, as well as exploratory research with the objective to support the reform of the existing SP system by filling gaps in knowledge and meeting requests for additional analysis.  Assist in Preparing Costed Plans for the Reforms of Priority Social Protection Schemes – The Project will assist the Government in preparing costed plans for SP reforms on the basis of the results of the Diagnostic Studies and research undertaken by the Project.  Establish a Management Information System (MIS) to Track and Evaluate SP Expenditure – The Project will assist the FD in establishing a functional and effective MIS to perform cross-cutting monitoring including expenditure tracking, analysis and evaluation of SP schemes. The system will be piloted in the FD and two selected line ministries.  Provide Training and Capacity Development – The Project will implement a number of Capacity Development initiatives for SPBMU, FD and the six LMs. The major activities in this area will include national and international training programmes for suitable GoB officials in the different aspects of SP relevant to the objectives of the Project and study tours for policy level officials to acquire knowledge on best global practices in SP. The Project will be implemented by the SPBMU of the budget wing of the FD under the overall supervision of the Additional Finance Secretary (Budget) who will also act as the National Project Director (NPD) for the Project. An Executive Director(ED), who also will act as the Project Director (PD), will head the SPBMU. The Government has approved the organizational set -up of the SPBMU. The Managing Agent has fielded the requisite number of national and international consultants to support the FD and LMs. The Project will have two governance structures. A Steering Committee will oversee the Project and be chaired by the Finance Secretary with representation from six LMs, UK DFID, Australian DFAT and other government relevant ministries/agencies. In addition to the Steering Committee, a Project Implementation Committee, chaired by the NPD with representation from six LMs and UK DFID and Australian DFAT, will monitor the timely implementation of the Project.

3. Overview of the Old Age Allowance Programme (OAA) To reduce extreme poverty and destitution among older people and widows in Bangladesh, the Old Age Allowance Programme, launched in 1988 is one of the most important social security schemes of the government helping the country fight old age poverty. OAA targets 10 (5 men and 5 women) oldest and poorest members of each Ward in each Union, the lowest level district. APWDW targets 5 poorest widows and destitute women in each Ward. The selection is based on the minimum age of 62 for women and 65 for men and is performed by the Ward Committees. As per set criterion old aged persons are eligible to receive this scheme benefit, but the scheme does not covers all eligible old aged population because of the limitation of the government financial capacity. Therefo re priority has been

33

TOR - Diagnostic Study and Recommendations on Old Age Allowance (OAA) Scheme Implemented by Ministry of Social Welfare (MOSW), Government of Republic of Bangladesh set among the eligible old aged persons who are more or most vulnerable than and includes criteria such as - Impoverished, landless and evacuee / displaced person who would be given priority. Similarly, widow, divorced, Widower, childless, separated from family person will be given priority as well.

The Department of Social Service (DSS) under the Ministry of Social Welfare (MoSW) is implementing this programme, bearing the administrative and monitoring responsibilities all over the country. It covers all over Bangladesh- all city Corporations and Municipalities, 64 districts, all Upazilas and Unions. The OAA, also known as ‘pensions’ are disbursed by local branches of the government -run Sonali Bank. With an almost 4% of Social Protection budgetary allocation of 14.4 billion, it covers 2.7 million senior citizens in Bangladesh with a monthly allowance of Taka 400 per month per person, paid on a quarterly basis.

While the scheme has largely benefitted the elderly in the country it also possess certain challenges both, from the perspective of the Design and Implementation as well as demand perspective of the beneficiary recipients. The proportion of elderly in Bangladesh is growing rapidly, while the coverage of the scheme is unable to cope with the numbers and does not provide a universal coverage suffer ing from issues of exclusion as well as inclusion errors. While the eligibility criteria is well defined the selection of beneficiaries is highly biased, subjective, non- participatory and discriminatory. Reports of people younger than 62 years of age receiving benefits cannot be denied. There is no digitization of database of the beneficiaries and hence issues of leakages, double dipping, ghost beneficiaries and other inefficiencies related to fiduciary risks cannot be ruled out. The NSSS treats OAA as one of the core schemes and recommends it to take the shape of a Universal scheme that too shall have a bearing of the exchequer. Various studies have also pointed flaws in payment system from the beneficiary perspectives as they have to travel a longer distance to receive their allowance in a limited time period window. The allowance withdrawal place (Bank) from home is an important factor behind not receiving timely money. Physical condition and financial ability to come at withdrawal place are the other factor behind such challenges from the perspective of the recipients.

While there are evaluation reports and other research papers on the OAA, most are from the perspectives of the beneficiaries as well as implementation. A strong need is thus felt to perform a diagnostic study that would identify the level of operational efficiency for delivering social protection programs leading to a financial viability and operational feasibility analysis to determine feasible options at the lowest possible cost without adversely affecting the quality of transfers as well as the coverage through an analytical report and contribute to the roadmap of Old Age Allowance for strategy and policy development towards life cycle and convergence.

4. Proposed Consultancy Assignment The objective of the proposed diagnostic study is to conduct an in-depth, independent and comprehensive study on Old Age Allowance scheme being implemented by the MOSW, and perform an operational and financial analysis of the scheme with a view to identify causes, factors and circumstances under which the cost effectiveness of operations and resource allocation for the scheme are being hampered leading to sub optimal outcomes if any, and suggest recommendations that could improve upon the economy and cost effectiveness and bring in greater efficiencies in terms of targeting and allocating resources and modelling the size of transfer etc. The study shall also examine and recommend improvements in targeting, recordkeeping systems and delivery system of benefits, data maintenance, monitoring and evaluation.

It shall provide for concrete recommendations so as to improve the operational and financial allocative efficiencies of the scheme to provide stability and sustainability and promote value for money by mitigating fiduciary risks for the exchequer. The Diagnostic study shall be conducted with a view that the report and recommendations shall be used to develop costed programme reform plans.

A total of two consultants (hereafter called Service Provider) shall jointly be required to conduct the study. One of the Service Providers shall be an International consultant who will act as the Component

34

TOR - Diagnostic Study and Recommendations on Old Age Allowance (OAA) Scheme Implemented by Ministry of Social Welfare (MOSW), Government of Republic of Bangladesh Team Leader, while the other shall be a National (Bangladeshi) consultant who together would form a consultancy team. Both consultants shall have common ToR and deliverables so that both complement and supplement each other and shall jointly work towards attaining the goal of the assignment. It is natural that while the National Consultant shall add value to the local knowle dge and information about the scheme, and facilitate discussions with the local stakeholders, the International consultant will provide the global experience, international best practices and knowledge that will add to the body of knowledge in the sector. As mentioned, the National Consultant shall be reporting to the International consultant who shall be acting as the Component Team Leader for the assignment.

All deliverables and reports including conducting the workshop shall be performed jointly by the two consultants under the guidance of the Team Leader of SPFMSP project.

The international consultant who shall be acting as the Component Team Leader for the assignment and will be responsible for and accountable for achieving the deliverables set out in this ToR. During the inception phase, the team will need to propose more defined ToRs outlined for both consultants with clear roles and responsibilities.

5. Scope of Services Specifically, this shall include 1.

Review the relevant literature and documents including assessment and evaluation reports, scheme legislation, regulations, guidelines etc. to get an understanding of the current systems, operating procedures and overall governance of the scheme.

2. Review different characteristic features of the scheme including its objectives, product features such as eligibility criteria; methods of targeting and selection of beneficiaries; maintenance of their data base, exclusion and inclusion errors, intra / inter scheme duplications if any; size, timelines, frequency and volume of benefits; budgetary allocations versus expenditure analysis and provide recommendations for improvement in the product so that it ensures value for money by improvements in allocation of resources.

3. Review and discuss with implementing agencies / committees at union and Upazila level, and discuss with select beneficiaries as well as eligible but excluded persons to get their views on demand perspectives, improvement in selection processes, challenges and scope for further improvements so as to bring in transparency and accountability.

4. Review the delivery system in terms of reliability, financial inclusion, timeliness and efficiency (or lack of) and provide recommendations for improvement of the system so that it ensures an efficient, reliable and timely delivery of benefits.

5. Review existing financial management practices, reporting and monitoring systems including the tracking of expenditure (or lack of) and recommend improvements.

6. Review the process of community involvement and also accountability framework that could lead to cost reduction and an improved impact.

Recommendations so provided should be further bifurcated into Short Term Implementation Plans (Within One Year) as well as Long Term recommendations. The recommendations so provided from the Diagnostic study shall be such that it could be used to develop costed programme reform plans.

35

TOR - Diagnostic Study and Recommendations on Old Age Allowance (OAA) Scheme Implemented by Ministry of Social Welfare (MOSW), Government of Republic of Bangladesh

6. Deliverables and Output The consultants shall be reporting to the Team Leader of SPFMSP Project at Dhaka office and shall be required to perform various tasks in order to deliver the following: 1.

First Deliverable – Short Inception Report including Understanding of Tasks, Work Plan and Timelines. A Research Methodology including the application of different tools and techniques shall also be a part of this deliverable. (05 Days).

This shall include but not limited to, orientation on assignment with SPBMU and MSP; literature review and briefing; pre-arranged meetings with Finance Ministry, Line Ministry, Line Directorate and development partner agencies; other stakeholders, designing a research plan including tools and techniques; discussion and finalization of the work plan.

Second Deliverable – Draft Report on Findings and Recommendations (20 Days) This shall include field visits to two districts/Upazila including meetings at district, Upazila an d union Level and with those of Beneficiaries. Data and information gathering and processing; further discussions and fact findings if any and submission of Draft Report to the SPFMSP project Team Leader.

There shall be a gap of time before the next activity. This time period shall be utilized by the SPFMSP project and Government stakeholders to provide comments and opinions on the draft report.

Third Deliverable – Conduct Half Day Stakeholders’ Workshop on Findings and Recommendations (2.5 Days) Consultants shall be responding/incorporating the suggestions received from the SPFMSP project, and conduct a Stakeholders’ Workshop in Dhaka. This shall involve the second travel to Dhaka.

Fourth Deliverable – Submission of Draft Final Report based on opinions/comments/recommendations from the Workshop within the next three days.

(2.5 Days) Final Draft Report should also carry a Two Pager ‘Policy Note’ in English and Bengali that could be circulated by the Ministry to the district officials towards implementation.

2.

3.

4.

Main Body of all reports should be limited to 30 Pages.

Schedule of Deliverables and Outputs Deliverable

Deliverables No. of Days



05

 



Detailed Joint briefing with Executive Director, Project Team Leader and other team members’ Literature Review of Available Documents and Reports.

Meetings with Ministry of Finance (MoF), Line Ministry and Line Directors in consultation with the Project Team Leader.

Prepare a Research Plan and Tools & Techniques. Discuss and finalize the Inception Report

36

(Dhaka)

Output Inception Submitted

Deadline Report

TOR - Diagnostic Study and Recommendations on Old Age Allowance (OAA) Scheme Implemented by Ministry of Social Welfare (MOSW), Government of Republic of Bangladesh 

  



Field Visit to Two Districts Upazilas, Unions and Meetings with Service Providers and Beneficiaries Data and Information Processing and Submission of Draft Report

20

Incorporation of Suggestions and Presentation of Findings and Recommendations to Stakeholders at Dhaka

5

Draft Submitted

Report

(Field in Bangladesh and Dhaka)

(Dhaka)

Workshop Conducted

Final Submitted

Draft Final Report to the Project Team Leader & DFID Bangladesh

Total Days

Report

30

Note: 1.

The consultants shall be required to work in Dhaka / Bangladesh for a total period of 30 Days of which 25 days shall be spent during the first tenure and 55 Days in the second tenure.

7. Indicative Sources of information for Desk Review The consultant will review the following indicative literature of the project as a part of desk review: a.

b.

c. d. e. f. g. h.

“Small Scale Old Age and Widow Allowance for the Poor in Rural Bangladesh: An Evaluation” Research Monograph Series No. 36. Research and Evaluation Division, BRAC, July 2008 http://research.brac.net/monographs/Monograph_36%20.pdf “The Service Delivery System of the Old Age Allowance Programme of the Government of Bangladesh: An Assessment”. Mostafa Hasan (Department of Social Work, Jogannath University, Dhaka, Bangladesh) A.K.M. Mahbubuzzaman and Shofiqur Rahman Chowdhury (Department of Social Work, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh) SUST Journ al of Social Sciences, Vol. 18, No.4, 2012; P: 68-76 July 30, 2012 http://library.sust.edu:8081/bitstream/handle/123456789/114/Shafiq_SCW%20okay.do c?sequenc e=1 “Old Age Allowance Programme of Bangladesh: Challenges and Lessons”, Sharifa Begum, Senior Research Fellow, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) http://www.ipc-undp.org/conference/south-south-learningevent/presentations/Sharifa%20Begum.pdf “Social safety nets in Bangladesh: an analysis of impact of old age allowance program”- by Md. Ansar Uddin, Institute of Governance Studies (IGS), BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh; “Improving the Targeting Effectiveness of Social Safety Nets in Bangladesh” - Professor Abul Barkat, Ph.D Department of Economics, University of Dhaka Implementation Manual for Old Age Allowance Program ( Revised)- GoB Old Age Social Protection Option for Bangladesh Volume-1- Bazlul Haque Khondker ( University of Dhaka, Charles Knox-Vydmanov and Andrea Vilela ( HelpAge Internation)

37

TOR - Diagnostic Study and Recommendations on Old Age Allowance (OAA) Scheme Implemented by Ministry of Social Welfare (MOSW), Government of Republic of Bangladesh

8. Indicative list of Stakeholder for meetings and interviews: Following is an indicative list of government officials and other stakeholders that consultant shall be required to meet.

A. In Dhaka a) At the Ministry Level: Secretary / Additional Secretary (OAA) / Relevant Joint Secretary / Other Key Officials b) At the Line Directorate Level: Director General Social Welfare Affairs (DGSW), Director OAA and Other Key Officials. c) Relevant Officials of DFID d) Key Officials of OAA and other relevant Development Partners e) Civil Societies / Banks / Postal department associated with OAA Programme f) Other relevant experts / knowledgeable persons in OAA programme B. At District Level a) Deputy Commissioner, District Social Welfare Officer etc b) Civil Societies / Banks associated with OAA Programme C. Upazila and Union Level a) Upazila Chairman / Vice Chairman b) Upazila Nirbahi officer c) Upazila Bank Manager and Upazila Social Welfare Officer d) OAA Selection Committees D. Field Level a) Meeting with a few selected beneficiaries b) Non beneficiaries who were eligible for OAA but not included

9. Initial Briefing and Field Visit It is expected that the consultant shall begin their work with a short orientation on the programs and tasks and shall meet the SPFMSP team and its members within the first week. i.

Dhaka (Inception Phase) o Orientation on Assignment with SPFMSP and Literature Review o Meetings with Officials of Line Ministry and their Directorate o Formulating Methodology including Tools and Techniques o Preparing Work Plan o Presentation on the Inception Report o Finalization of the Inception Report.

At the end of the Inception Phase, the service provider is supposed to be ready with the knowledge and information on the policy as well as strategy perspective. After his / her m eetings with relevant government officials and MSP team as well as secondary literature review would equip her / him with the objectives and questions as well as an approach to be adopted for the study.

Field Visit: The service provider is expected to be in the field and would begin from the district headquarter meeting the relevant officials including district officials of the line directorate. The consultant will also discuss with the relevant officials of the Upazila and union level. They will also have consultations with the beneficiaries and other important stakeholders as indicated above. Field visit shall be undertaken where two or more upazilas (to be decided later) should be covered by the service provider.

Depending on the work requirement as agreed between the service provider and the Team Leader of the SPFMSP, only one district could be chosen and program modified accordingly.

38

TOR - Diagnostic Study and Recommendations on Old Age Allowance (OAA) Scheme Implemented by Ministry of Social Welfare (MOSW), Government of Republic of Bangladesh

10. Counterpart Staff Availability The service provider shall be reporting to the Team Leader of the SPFMSP project as well as the Project Manager and Project Director of Maxwell Stamp. All deliverables are required to be essentially approved by the Project Team Leader. If necessary, the counterpart staff shall also be accompanying the service provider during the field visits and shall facilitate meetings and discussions. The service provider shall be provided a working space at the office of the SPFMSP in Dhaka, however they are expected to have their own laptops and / or other equipment to perform their tasks.

11. Location of Assignment The consultant will undertake work in Dhaka and at least two selected Upazilas / Unions as the case may be, where the OAA scheme is being implemented.

12. Essential Qualification of the Service Provider International Consultant: a. b.

Master’s or higher degree in Social Sciences / Social Works or in a relevant field.

Substantial, relevant work experience in Government Social Protection including experience of program / project review. Previous work on diagnostic studies of social protection schemes in general and Old Age Allowance issues in particular will be an advantage. Experience in Asian region in general and Bangladesh in particular shall be an added advantage c. Fluent in spoken, written, and reading abilities in English; Speaking and understanding Bangla will be an additional qualification; National Consultant: a. b. c. d.

Post- graduate or Graduate in Social Science or relevant field Substantial, relevant experience of working in social protection in general and Old Age / Pension development in particular with familiarization in GOB’s Social Protection Systems.

Familiarization with GoB’s Public Financial Management (PFM) systems will be an advantage.

Strong oral and written communication in Bangla and English

39

Annex V: ToR for WA Study

40

TOR - Diagnostic Study and Recommendations on Allowance to the Husband Deserted Destitute Women and the Widow (WA) Implemented by Ministry of Social Welfare (MOSW), Government of Republic of Bangladesh

Terms of Reference Diagnostic Study and Recommendations on Allowance to the Husband Deserted Destitute Women and the Widow (WA) Implemented by Ministry of Social Welfare (MOSW), Government of Republic of Bangladesh 1. Background Maxwell Stamp PLC (MSP) has been contracted by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) as the Managing Agent (MA) for the Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) project under Strengthening Government Social Protection for the Poor (SGSP) programme. SPFMSP is a 32 months technical assistance (TA) project aimed to support the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) in the area of social protection. The SPFMSP project is a part of a larger five-component DFID-funded Strengthening Government Social Protection for the Poor (SGSP) Programme launched in 2014. The aim of the overall SGSP Programme is to support the GoB establish policies, budgets and plans for a more effective and efficient social protection system. Other parts of SGSP are being delivered by four implementing partners: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Bank (WB) and the Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF), a local Bangladeshi NGO. As such, SGSP covers five specific components: a.

WB is conducting institutional analysis and assessment of key Social Safety Net (SSN) programmes along with Public expenditure reviews of the social protection schemes. b. UNDP is working with the Planning Commission and Cabinet Division on the National Social Security Strategy (NSSS) of Bangladesh. c. WFP is engaging with the Ministry of Women & Child Affairs (MW&CA) on the Vulnerable Group Development programme and, to support the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on the panel survey building on the existing collaboration with BBS and WFP. In addition, WFP will work wit h the BBS to implement an annual panel survey linked to the national household income and expenditure survey (HIES) and support government to implement reforms in the Vulnerable Group Development scheme. d. MJF is establishing an independent platform to facilitate engagement of civil society on the NSSS and building on its experience of engaging civil society organisations in policy dialogues by undertaking research, advocacy, and act as an effective challenge function in monitoring the existing schemes.

MSP is implementing the SPFMSP component, a TA project to the Ministry of Finance (MoF). The objective of SPFMSP is to improve social protection policy-making, strategic planning, financing, implementation and monitoring and to build individual and organisational capacity of the Government of Bangladesh. This support is being provided mainly to the Finance Division (FD), MoF, where a new Social Protection Budget Management Unit (SPBMU) is planned, but will also include six other implementing Line Ministries - the Ministry of Social Welfare (MoSW), the Ministry of Primary Education (MoPME), the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MoWCA), the Ministry of Education (MoE), the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW) and the Ministry of Disaster Manageme nt and Relief (MoDMR). Overall, SPFMSP aims to ensure that the MoF and implementing line ministries are equipped to deliver their roles in the reform of the social protection programmes in Bangladesh.

The underlying objective therefore is to transfer skills and capacity to these organisations.

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TOR - Diagnostic Study and Recommendations on Allowance to the Husband Deserted Destitute Women and the Widow (WA) Implemented by Ministry of Social Welfare (MOSW), Government of Republic of Bangladesh

2. SPFMSP Project The Government of Bangladesh (GoB) is committed to strengthening the social protection system by ensuring efficiency and effectiveness in the use of resources (Value for Money – VfM) in the Sector.

This commitment is clearly reflected in the recently approved National Social Security Strategy (NSSS).

The Finance Division (FD) of the Ministry of Finance (MoF) has undertaken the SPFMSP Project, with the assistance of UK DFID and Australian DFAT, to follow through on the VfM commitment.

The TAPP of the Project has been approved by the Government and its implementation has already started. DFID has procured a Managing Agent (MA), Maxwell Stamp PLC, to assist the FD and above six LMs to implement the Project. The major activities of the Project are the following: 

Establish and Operationalize a Social Protection Budget Management Unit (SPBMU) in the Finance Division –The SPBMU will lead the implementation of the Project and on completion of the Project it will continue as a permanent unit of the Budget Wing of the FD. The purpose of establishment of the SPBMU is to enhance the capacity of the FD: i) to draw evidence based Social Protection(SP) Budget that responds to efficiency and effectiveness objectives, ii) to improve monitoring of SP expenditure and iii) to analyze existing policies, procedures, systems and commission studies and research to improve/ reform the existing systems.  Undertake Diagnostic Studies of Existing Social Protection Schemes – The Project will commission diagnostic studies of 7 SP schemes of the above LMs to bring improvement from the perspective of VFM, better targeting, prevent leakages, avoiding duplication and bringing efficiency in the delivery system including payment of benefits.  Conduct Research – The Project also will commission demand-driven, issue-based, as well as exploratory research with the objective to support the reform of the existing SP system by filling gaps in knowledge and meeting requests for additional analysis.  Assist in Preparing Costed Plans for the Reforms of Priority Social Protection Schemes – The Project will assist the Government in preparing costed plans for SP reforms on the basis of the results of the Diagnostic Studies and research undertaken by the Project.  Establish a Management Information System (MIS) to Track and Evaluate SP Expenditure – The Project will assist the FD in establishing a functional and effective MIS to perform cross-cutting monitoring including expenditure tracking, analysis and evaluation of SP schemes. The system will be piloted in the FD and two selected line ministries.  Provide Training and Capacity Development – The Project will implement a number of Capacity Development initiatives for SPBMU, FD and the six LMs. The major activities in this area will include national and international training programmes for suitable GoB officials in the different aspects of SP relevant to the objectives of the Project and study tours for policy level officials to acquire knowledge on best global practices in SP. The Project will be implemented by the SPBMU of the budget wing of the FD under the overall supervision of the Additional Finance Secretary (Budget) who will also act as the National Project Director (NPD) for the Project. An Executive Director(ED), who also will act as the Project Director (PD), will head the SPBMU. The Government has approved the organizational set -up of the SPBMU. The Managing Agent has fielded the requisite number of national and international consultants to support the FD and LMs. The Project will have two governance structures. A Steering Committee will oversee the Project and be chaired by the Finance Secretary with representation from six LMs, UK DFID, Australian DFAT and other government relevant ministries/agencies. In addition to the Steering Committee, a Project Implementation Committee, chaired by the NPD with representation from six LMs and UK DFID and Australian DFAT, will monitor the timely implementation of the Project.

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TOR - Diagnostic Study and Recommendations on Allowance to the Husband Deserted Destitute Women and the Widow (WA) Implemented by Ministry of Social Welfare (MOSW), Government of Republic of Bangladesh

3. Overview of the Allowance to the Husband Deserted Destitute Women and the Widow (WA) The Government of Bangladesh aims toward all the efforts of the growth escalation and poverty reduction in the shortest possible period. However, fulfilling these targets require prudent policy and suitable action plan. According to the government, inclusive growth policy which includes social safety net programs for the poor is one of the most effective tools for poverty reduction. Henceforth, The National Social Security Policy, ‘Vision-2021’ and other policy documents emphasize providing social protection for old people, small ethnic communities, disabled persons, destitute women and children etc. As per Article 15 (d) of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh ‘It shall be a fundamental responsibility of the State to attain a constant increase of productive forces and a steady improvement in the material and cultural standard of living of the people through planned economic growth, with a view to securing its citizens right to social security, that is to say, to public assistance in cases of undeserved want arising from unemployment, illness or disablement, or suffered by widows or orphans or in old age, or in other such cases.

Widows and Husband’s Deserted Destitute Women are one of the most vulnerable and poorest segment of population in Bangladesh. The Economic position of widows and husband’s deserted woman has been an important social issue in society. Husband is still the key-provider in all sphere of family lives and after his death family members especially the widow tends to fall into poverty and utmost social insecurity. Many a times, these women are deprived from the rightful inheritance and husbands’ belongings. Considering the reality and sufferings of widow various initiatives have been taken for their social protection and security. The Goal of the program is to improve the economic and social condition of the poor and helpless widowed and husband deserted distressed women and to mitigate their vulnerability. The main Objectives of the program include a.

Empowering poor widowed and distressed women through financial support and to improve the widowed women’s status both within the family and in the society. b. Ensuring socio-economic development and social security for the Widow and Husband’s Deserted destitute Women; c. Increase the dignity of Widow and Husband’s Deserted destitute Women within family and community; d. Straightening of mental health through grant to Widow and Husband’s Deserted destitute Women and Grant for Medicare and increase of nutritional support.

The program provides widowed and husband deserted distressed women with monetary support.

Approximately 1.15 Million women were provided the monetary support in 2015 – 16 with a revised outlay of Taka 5.3 Billion. Since not all deserving could get the benefits, priority is being be given to the old aged widow and husband deserted destitute women. Priorit y is also provided to the wealth less, homeless and landless respectively. The Government also lays emphasis on priority to be accorded to women with two children who are under sixteen years of age.

The Department of Social Service (DSS) under the Ministry of Social Welfare (MoSW) is implementing this programme, bearing the administrative and monitoring responsibilities all over the country. It covers all over Bangladesh- all city Corporations and Municipalities, 64 districts, all Upazilas and Unions.

4. Proposed Consultancy Assignment The objective of the proposed diagnostic study is to conduct an in -depth, independent and comprehensive study on Husband Deserted Destitute Women and Widow Allowance scheme being implemented by the MOSW, and perform an operational and financial analysis of the scheme with a view to identify causes, factors and circumstances under which the cost effectiveness of operations and resource allocation for the scheme are being hampered leading to sub optimal outcomes if any, and suggest recommendations that could improve upon the economy and cost effectiveness and bring

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TOR - Diagnostic Study and Recommendations on Allowance to the Husband Deserted Destitute Women and the Widow (WA) Implemented by Ministry of Social Welfare (MOSW), Government of Republic of Bangladesh in greater efficiencies in terms of targeting and allocating resources and modelling the size of transfer etc. The study shall also examine and recommend improvement in targeting, recordkeeping arrangements, delivery system of benefits, data maintenance, monitoring and evaluation.

The diagnostic would identify the level of operational efficiency for delivering social protection programs leading to a financial and operational feasibility analysis to determine feasible options at the lowest possible cost without adversely affecting the quality of transfers as well as the coverage through an analytical report and contribute to the roadmap of the Husband Deserted Destitute Women and the Widow Allowance Program for strategy and policy development towards life cycle and convergence.

It shall provide for concrete recommendations so as to improve the operational and financial allocative efficiencies of the scheme to provide stability and sustainability and promote value for money by mitigating fiduciary risks for the exchequer. The Diagnostic study shall be conducted with a view that the report and recommendations shall be used to develop costed programme reform plans.

A total of two consultants (hereafter called Service Provider) shall jointly be required to conduct the study. One of the Service Providers shall be an International consultant who will act as the Component Team Leader, while the other shall be a National (Bangladeshi) consultant who together would form a consultancy team. Both consultants shall have common ToR and delive rables so that both complement and supplement each other and shall jointly work towards attaining the goal of the assignment. It is natural that while the National Consultant shall add value to the local knowledge and information about the scheme, and facilitate discussions with the local stakeholders, the International consultant will provide the global experience, international best practices and knowledge that will add to the body of knowledge in the sector. As mentioned, the National Consultant shall be reporting to the International consultant who shall be acting as the Component Team Leader for the assignment.

All deliverables and reports including conducting the workshop shall be performed jointly by the two consultants under the guidance of the Team Leader of SPFMSP project.

The international consultant who shall be acting as the Component Team Leader for the assignment and will be responsible for and accountable for achieving the deliverables set out in this ToR. During the inception phase, the team will need to propose more defined ToRs outlined for both consultants with clear roles and responsibilities.

5. Scope of Services Specifically, this would include 1.

2.

3.

4.

Review the relevant literature and documents including assessment and evaluation reports, scheme legislation, regulations, guidelines etc. to get an understanding of the current systems, operating procedures and overall governance of the scheme.

Review different characteristic features of the scheme including its objectives, product features such as eligibility criteria; methods of targeting and selection of beneficiaries; maintenance of their data base, exclusion and inclusion errors, intra / inter scheme duplications if any; size, timelines, frequency and volume of benefits; budgetary allocations versus expenditure analysis and provide recommendations for improvement in the product so that it ensures value for money by improvements in allocation of resources.

Review and discuss with implementing agencies / committees at union and upazila leve l, and discuss with select beneficiaries as well as eligible but excluded persons to get their views on demand perspectives, improvement in selection processes, challenges and scope for further improvements so as to bring in transparency and accountability.

Review the delivery system in terms of reliability, financial inclusion, timeliness and efficiency (or lack of) and provide recommendations for improvement of the system so that it ensures an efficient, reliable and timely delivery of benefits.

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TOR - Diagnostic Study and Recommendations on Allowance to the Husband Deserted Destitute Women and the Widow (WA) Implemented by Ministry of Social Welfare (MOSW), Government of Republic of Bangladesh 5.

Review existing financial management practices, reporting and monitoring systems including the tracking of expenditure (or lack of) and recommend improvements.

Recommendations so provided should be further bifurcated into Short Term Implementation Plans (Within One Year) as well as Long Term recommendations. The recommendations so provided from the Diagnostic study shall be such that it could be used to develop costed programme reform plans.

6. Deliverables and Output The consultants shall be reporting to the Team Leader of SPFMSP Project at Dhaka office and shall be required to perform various tasks in order to deliver the following: 1.

First Deliverable – Short Inception Report including Understanding of Tasks, Work Plan and Timelines. A Research Methodology including the application of different tools and techniques shall also be a part of this deliverable. (5 Days).

This shall include but not limited to, orientation on assignment with SPBMU and MSP; literature review and briefing; pre-arranged meetings with Finance Ministry, Line Ministry, Line Directorate and development partner agencies; designing a research plan including tools and techniques; discussion and finalization of the work plan.  Second Deliverable – Draft Report on Findings and Recommendations (20 Days)  This shall include field visits to two districts/upazila including meetings at district, upazila and union Level and with those of Beneficiaries. Data and information gathering and processing; further discussions and fact findings if any and submission of Draft Report to the SPFMSP project Team Leader.  There shall be a gap of time before the next activity. This time period shall be utilized by the SPFMSP project and Government stakeholders to provide comments and opinions on the draft report.  Third Deliverable – Conduct Half Day Stakeholders’ Workshop on Findings and Recommendations (2.5 Days)  Consultants shall be responding/incorporating the suggestions received from the SPFMSP project, and conduct a Stakeholders’ Workshop in Dhaka. This shall involve the second travel to Dhaka.  Fourth Deliverable – Submission of Draft Final Report based on opinions/comments/recommendations from the Workshop within the next three days.

(2.5 Days) Final Draft Report should also carry a Two Pager ‘Policy Note’ in Engli sh and Bengali that could be circulated by the Ministry to the district officials towards implementation.

Main Body of all reports should be limited to 30 Pages.

Schedule of Deliverables and Outputs Deliverable 

 



Deliverables No. of Days

Detailed Joint briefing with Executive Director, Project Team Leader and other team members’ Literature Review of Available Documents and Reports.

Meetings with Ministry of Finance (MoF), Line Ministry and Line Directors in consultation with the Project Team Leader.

Prepare a Research Plan and Tools & Techniques. Discuss and finalize the Inception Report

45

05 (Dhaka)

Output Inception Report Submitted

Deadline

TOR - Diagnostic Study and Recommendations on Allowance to the Husband Deserted Destitute Women and the Widow (WA) Implemented by Ministry of Social Welfare (MOSW), Government of Republic of Bangladesh 

  



Field Visit to Two Districts Upazilas, Unions and Meetings with Service Providers and Beneficiaries Data and Information Processing and Submission of Draft Report

20

Incorporation of Suggestions and Presentation of Findings and Recommendations to Stakeholders at Dhaka

5

(Field in Bangladesh and Dhaka)

(Dhaka)

Workshop Conducted

Final Report Submitted

Draft Final Report to the Project Team Leader & DFID Bangladesh Total Days

Draft Report Submitted

30

Note: 1.

The consultants shall be required to work in Dhaka / Bangladesh for a total period of 30 Days of which 25 days shall be spent during the first tenure and 5 Days in the second tenure.

7. Indicative Sources of information for Desk Review The consultant will review the following indicative literature of the project as a part of desk review: a.

b. c. d. e. f. g. h.

An Assessment of Widow Allowance Programme in Bangladesh – the Supply Side Perspectives by Nilufar Jesmin Khan, Department of General and Continuing Education North South U niversity, Bangladesh Small Scale Old Age and Widow Allowance for the Poor in Rural Bangladesh: An Evaluation Research Monograph Series No. 36-by The Research and Evaluation Division (RED) Improving the Targeting Effectiveness of Social Safety Nets in Bangladesh- Professor Abul Barkat, Ph.D Department of Economics, University of Dhaka Implementation Manual for allowances to the Husband Deserted Destitute Women and Widow (Revised)- GoB Implementation Manual for the Allowances Program of Insolvent Persons with Disabilities ( Revised)-GoB Implementation Manual for allowances for Old Age Allowance Program (Revised) - GoB Implementation manual of other schemes implementing by MoSW Bangladesh Rana Plaza Compensation Scheme - A Technical report on the scheme design, and operationalization, and lessons learnt, International Labour Office, Public Finance, Actuarial and Statistics Services Branch (SOC/PFACTS), Social Protection Department.

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TOR - Diagnostic Study and Recommendations on Allowance to the Husband Deserted Destitute Women and the Widow (WA) Implemented by Ministry of Social Welfare (MOSW), Government of Republic of Bangladesh Indicative list of Stakeholder for meetings and interviews: Following is an indicative list of government officials and other stakeholders that consultant shall be required to meet.

E.

In Dhaka a) At the Ministry Level: Secretary / Additional Secretary (WA) / Relevant Joint Secretary / Other Key Officials b) At the Line Directorate Level: Director General Social Welfare Affairs (DGSW), Director WA and Other Key Officials. c) Relevant Officials of DFID d) Key Officials of WA and other relevant Development Partners e) Civil Societies / Banks / Postal department associated with WA Programme f) Other relevant experts / knowledgeable persons in WA programme F. At District Level a) Deputy Commissioner, District Social Welfare Officer etc b) Civil Societies / Banks associated with WA Programme G. Upazila and Union Level a) Upazila Chairman / Vice Chairman b) Upazila Nirbahi officer c) Upazila Bank Manager and Upazila Social Welfare Officer d) WA Selection Committees H. Field Level a) Meeting with a few selected beneficiaries b) Non beneficiaries who were eligible for WA but not included

8. Initial Briefing and Field Visit It is expected that the consultant shall begin their work with a short orientation on the programs and tasks and shall meet the SPFMSP team and its members within the first week. a.

Dhaka (Inception Phase) o Orientation on Assignment with SPFMSP and Literature Review o Meetings with Officials of Line Ministry and their Directorate o Formulating Methodology including Tools and Techniques o Preparing Work Plan o Presentation on the Inception Report o Finalization of the Inception Report.

At the end of the Inception Phase, the service provider is supposed to be ready with the knowledge and information on the policy as well as strategy perspective. After his / her meetings with relevant government officials and MSP team as well as secondary literature review would equip h er / him with the objectives and questions as well as an approach to be adopted for the study.

Field Visit: The service provider is expected to be in the field and would begin from the district headquarter meeting the relevant officials including district officials of the line directorate. The consultant will also discuss with the relevant officials of the upazila and union level. They will also have consultations with the beneficiaries and other important stakeholders as indicated above. Field visit shall be undertaken where two or more Upazilas (to be decided later) should be covered by the service provider.

Depending on the work requirement as agreed between the service provider and the Team Leader of the SPFMSP, only one district could be chosen and program modified accordingly.

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TOR - Diagnostic Study and Recommendations on Allowance to the Husband Deserted Destitute Women and the Widow (WA) Implemented by Ministry of Social Welfare (MOSW), Government of Republic of Bangladesh

9. Counterpart Staff Availability The service provider shall be reporting to the Team Leader of the SPFMSP project as well as the Project Manager and Project Director of Maxwell Stamp. All deliverables are required to be essentially approved by the Project Team Leader. If necessary, the counterpart staff shall also be accompanying the service provider during the field visits and shall facilitate meetings and discussions. The service provider shall be provided a working space at the office of the SPFMSP in Dhaka, however they are expected to have their own laptops and / or other equipment to perform their tasks.

10. Location of Assignment The consultant will undertake work in Dhaka and at least two selected Upazilas / Unions as the case may be, where the WA scheme is being implemented.

Essential Qualification of the Service Provider International Consultant: a. b.

Master’s or higher degree in Social Sciences / Social Works or in a relevant field.

Substantial, relevant work experience in Government Social Protection including experience of program / project review. Previous work on diagnostic studies of social protection schemes in general and Old Age Allowance issues in particular will be an advantage. Experience in Asian region in general and Bangladesh in particular shall be an added advantage Fluent in spoken, written, and reading abilities in English; Speaking and understanding Bangla will be an additional qualification; National Consultant:

a. b. c. d.

Post- graduate or Graduate in Social Science or relevant field Substantial, relevant experience of working in social protection in general and Old Age / Pension development in particular with familiarization in GOB’s Social Protection Systems.

Familiarization with GoB’s Public Financial Management (PFM) systems will be an advantage.

Strong oral and written communication in Bangla and English

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Annex VI: ToR for Research Study on Payment Systems

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Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) - Bangladesh

Terms of Reference Project Title: Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) - Bangladesh Position / Role: Short-Term Payment System Specialist / Consultant

1. Background to the Project / Assignment Maxwell Stamp PLC (MSP) has joined together with the Economic Policy Research Institute (South Africa), HelpAge International (UK), Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (Bangladesh) and Maxwell Stamp Ltd (Bangladesh) to support the Government of Ban gladesh to reform their social protection schemes and provide a way out of poverty for millions of its citizens.

The objective of SPFMSP is to improve social protection policy-making, strategic planning, financing, implementation and monitoring and to build individual and organisational capacity. This support is being provided mainly to the Finance Division, MoF, where a new Social Protection Budget Management Unit (SPBMU) is being established, and also includes six other implementing Line Ministries - the Ministry of Social Welfare (MSW), the Ministry of Primary Education (MOPME), the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOWCA), the Ministry of Education (MoE), the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR).

Overall, SPFMSP aims to ensure that the MoF and implementing line ministries are equipped to deliver their roles in the reform of the social protection programmes in Bangladesh. The underlying objective therefore is to transfer skills and capacity to these organisations.

The SPFMSP project is one component of a larger five-component DFID-funded Strengthening Government Social Protection Systems for the Poor (SGSP) Programme which began in October 2013.

The aim of the overall SGSP Programme is to support the GoB establish policies, budgets and plans for a more effective and efficient social protection system. Other components of SGSP are being delivered by four implementing partners: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Bank (WB) and the Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF), a local Bangladeshi NGO. The specific objectives of the SPFMSP Project are summarised in the following four outputs:    

Output 1: Improved GoB capacity to develop social protection policy and budgets and coordinate and monitor the implementation of the social protection system; Output 2: Ministry and Departments of the GoB are able to access and use a strengthened evidence base on poverty, vulnerability, nutrition and social protection; Output 3: Costed plans developed for the reform of priority social protection schemes; Output 4: Ensuring that effective programme management arrangements are established to achieve programme outputs and objective.

2. Payment System Overview Globally, developing countries are implementing large-scale Cash Transfer (CT) programmes aiming at offering comprehensive access to social security. There is significant evidence of the positive impacts of these programmes on human, social and economic development. Increasing attention is being paid now to issues of service delivery quality, value-for-money (VfM), risk management, and accountability within these schemes, which are particularly important when governments seek to scale -up small, successful programmes or reform under-performing large-scale schemes.

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Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) - Bangladesh

Bangladesh is on the path to digitizing a large share of its government flows to people and wishes to attain Digital Bangladesh 3 with Vision 20214. Different Ministries have multiple schemes where social protection transfer programmes have been playing a key role in reducing poverty and inequality. Most social protection programmes are now increasingly banking on CTs and are increasingly recognized as an important tool for tackling poverty and inequality.

CTs, however, unless efficiently managed, are liable to leakages, ghost beneficiaries, high transacting costs, double dipping, and become heavy burden on the exchequer. Similarly, unless the cash transfers are accompanied with financial literacy and inclusion as well as social accountability mechanism, it would fail the purpose and may not be a win-win situation for the government and beneficiaries alike. Bangladesh currently lacks a unified and centralized payment system of Government to Person (G2P) which can be instrumental in efficiently transferring cash to individuals who, as of now receive payments through multiple agencies (Government Departments / Accounts Offices / NGOs / Banks / Hard Cash etc.) involving multiple channels that are liable to blockages and leakages in the payment system.

The Government of Bangladesh (GoB) has partially improved the cash delivery systems in some of the Social Security schemes so that transfers are delivered through financial institutions. However, most cash transfers are still decentralized and the database of the beneficiaries are mostly scattered. The transfers are also not linked to a single unique identifier such as the National Identification (NID) and hence duplicate payments cannot be ruled out. The GoB is placing emphasis on strengthening payment mechanisms to minimize corruption and leakages and to use the Social Security system to promote financial inclusion, in particular among poor and vulnerable families. The strategy identifies a key reform to be introduced in an initiative to transform the G2P payment systems so that they promote financial inclusivity and prevent leakages.

The National Social Security Strategy (NSSS) of Bangladesh mandates the Ministry of Finance to take this G2P initiative by undertaking a comprehensive review of the current G2P payment mechanisms, as well as international experience. The review will make recommendations on how to transform the current payment systems to ensure that they promote and permit greater financial inclusion of recipients. The recommendations of the review will be assessed by the Government and a plan will be developed by the Ministry of Finance – in collaboration with key delivery Ministries – to transform the G2P payment system so that it maximizes financial inclusion. Similarly, an MIS is being developed by the SPFMSP Project for the MOF that would be linked with the MIS of different line ministries.

3. Current Status and Need for Intervention The GoB has many social schemes that transfer cash to the poor. While in most cases, where the money is transferred through cash, there are different mechanisms where money is disbursed by banks and other agencies to the eligible beneficiaries in the form of direct cash. Often, t here are intermediaries who also have their cost for transmitting the money. However, there is also a need to explore the modalities of the money that could be transferred into the individual bank account from a centralized Government account using the Government Treasury mechanism. While many of the social protection schemes have partly or fully developed their database, they have not been able to transfer funds using the database into the individual accounts at many instances.

The NSSS has mandated the Finance Division to design an effective payment system and accordingly the SPFMSP project has been requested to commission a research study towards identifying best practices, recommend a design for a payment system catering to G2P and the Cash Transfers for pension etc. in the most effective and at most efficient cost that promotes value for money. Most of Digital Bangladesh is an Idea that includes the IT use for management, administration and governance to ensure transparency, accountability and answerability at all levels of society and stat e.

4 Vision 2021 is the political manifesto of the Bangladesh Government and stands as a political vision of Bangladesh for the year 2021, the golden jubilee of the nation.

3

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Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) - Bangladesh

the payments that are currently taking place are either scattered or even decentralized without even having any unique ID numbers to transfer. The model that is envisaged by the Finance Division is where the money could be transferred through a central source using the Government Treasury mechanism, while the pay points could be multiple using different channels.

The Government of Bangladesh has been in the process of designing and collecting the data for employee and pensioners and has made positive progress in its efforts. However, there still exists a gap in combining the database with that of transfer of benefits using the database. Moreover, capacity development too has been a constraint in taking forward the plan.

4. Overall Objective The purpose of this research study is to bring together existing evidence, recommend and generate new approaches to the effectiveness of cash transfers as part of the paym ent system that could be designed in the Bangladesh context facilitating social accountability mechanisms on the delivery of social protection programmes and systems.

The objective of the study is to provide background information and analysis of how a cen tralized payment system should be implemented in context of G2P in Bangladesh and evaluate designs and implementation approaches including identifying the institutional arrangements and mandates and roles of key officials with a road map of their capacity development.

It shall largely involve a study and recommendations on the design of a central processing, accounting and payment system that could be located at the office of the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) and can be used by different line ministries to transfer cash (G2P) using different payment mechanisms such as using individual banking accounts, mobile banking accounts, mobile money, postal transfer etc., to a number of beneficiaries with low value but high volume transactions.

5. Scope of Work Specifically, this would include: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Briefly analyse the current procedures for G2P payments in Bangladesh, different models, channels and stages used and recommend feasibility of improved payment approaches including electronic payment options, current payments providers and other financial service providers in Bangladesh.

Provide background information on the best practices of payment system (G2P) in comparable countries with similar social protection schemes of cash transfers.

Visit of the Ministry of Finance, Central Bank, NIDA, CGA in Bangladesh and One Line Ministry and understand the processing, recordkeeping, accounting and payment system of CGA with respect to understanding on iBAS ++ with a view to integrate it with payment system for SP G2P Visit of Agency Banks, Mobile Money Transfer Agencies, and other disbursement points that are currently doing large scale cash transfers and Understand the Perspectives on the Money Transfers and Payment / Remittance Systems in Bangladesh with a view to Integrate with G2P Visit to one selected District Accounts Office and understand the Government Payment Procedures for Social Protection Briefly review the existing disbursement system including relevant literature and documents, assessment and evaluation reports if any, to formulate an understanding of the present management and administration of delivery system for transferring benefits of social protection schemes through cash transfer.

Review the legal and regulatory environment (enabling environment) for G2P p ayments in Bangladesh, the financial sector’s experience of mobile and branchless banking, the extent of the communications infrastructure and beneficiary needs.

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Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) - Bangladesh

8.

Briefly review the NID system and identify the feasibility and advantages of using the same i n creating transfers to individuals through the proposed payment system.

9. Make recommendations on a Central Payment System that can provide to low value, large volume transactions and is capable of direct benefit transfer using several decentralized channe ls and payment points.

10. Facilitate Stakeholders’ Workshop on Information Dissemination and Recommendations on Payment System and Follow up of Comments / Suggestions 11. Provide recommendations on how to transform the current payment systems to ensure that they promote VfM in G2P and permit greater financial inclusion of recipients. On the basis of the recommendations, assist the SPBMU (Social Protection Budget Management Unit), Finance, to develop a roadmap in collaboration with key delivery ministries to tran sform the G2P payment system so that it also synchronizes with the likely MIS and that it maximizes VfM

6. Deliverables A total of three consultants (hereafter called Service Providers) shall be required to conduct the study.

One of the Service Providers shall essentially be an International consultant who will act as the Group Team Leader, while the others shall be National (Bangladeshi) consultants, one of them NAT 1 shall essentially have skill sets, knowledge and experience in the Government Payment system such as the CGA, iBAS++ etc. while the other, NAT 2 shall hold skills, knowledge and experience in payment system in Bangladesh including G2P. Together the three of them would form a consultancy team.

The Team of the Payment System Specialist will provide a detailed work plan and key tasks to be delivered for studying and recommending the initial system and capacity requirements for a sound and robust payment system that could be used in Bangladesh towards establishing a G2P system.

While there are no separate deliverables for the International and two National consultants, it may be distinctly understood that the International consultant (Team Leader for study) shall bring in the global perspective and knowledge about payment systems and the National consultants shall bring knowledge and experience from accounting and payment background such as working with the office of the Controller General of Accounts and Payment systems such as EFT, Mobile banking, Mobile Money etc., being operated in Bangladesh as mentioned above.

An indicative set of tasks for each of the three is provided below with the deliverables and outputs that contribute to the overall objective.

53

Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) - Bangladesh Sl

Deliverables

Inter

NAT 1

NAT 2

1

Detailed briefing with Team Leader (and other team members’ as required) on the assignment and key deliverables with an agreed work plan developed for the timeframe of the assignment.

3

3

3

2

Literature Review of international and local Best Practices on Payment System

2

1

1

3

Undertake a familiarisation tour of the MoF, NIDA, One Line Ministry and Central Bank and understand their Operations and Systems on payment System

3

3

3

4

Undertake a detailed tour on Operations of the CGA in Bangladesh and One Line Ministry and understand the processing, recordkeeping, accounting and payment system of CGA with respect to understanding on iBAS ++ with a view to integrate it with payment system for SP G2P

4

1

5

Undertake a Field Trip to one of the District Accounts Office and understand the Government Payment Procedures for Social Protection

2

2

6

Undertake a detailed visit of Agency Banks, Mobile Money Transfer Agencies, and other disbursement points that are currently doing large scale cash transfers and Understand the Perspectives on the Money Transfers and Payment / Remittance Systems in Bangladesh with a view to Integrate with G2P

1

4

7

Writing the Findings of the Field Visits and Providing Recommendations to the International Consultant to Contribute for the Main Report

3

3

8

Briefing from National Consultants to International Consultant on Existing Payment Systems in Bangladesh, Recommendations for Improvement / New Design etc.

2

1

1

9

Compare and contrast existing Payment System in Bangladesh and international best practices under different models, channels and schemes including cash, mobile transfers, mobile banking, postal banking etc. and assess their capabilities for unification under a centralized payment system using the NID

4

2

2

10

Recommendations on a Central Payment System that can cater to low value, large volume transactions and is capable of direct benefit transfer using several decentralized channels and payment points

2

1

1

11

Report Writing - Draft Report on Recommendations

3

1

1

54

Output Work plan and schedule prepared and agreed with Team Leader.

A draft report comparing existing payment systems in Bangladesh and international best practices.

A Draft report on Recommendations for a Central Payment System that ensures Value for Money in G2P and greater financial inclusion of recipients.

Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) - Bangladesh Sl

Deliverables

Inter

NAT 1

NAT 2

12 13

Stakeholders’ Workshop on Information Dissemination and Recommendations on Payment System and Follow up of Comments / Suggestions

3

3

3

Workshop Conducted with Noting of Opinions and Suggestions

Final Draft Report (Combined and Single) after incorporating suggestions and opinions from workshop, to be submitted to the Team Leader summarizing context, existing structures and system, issues, recommendations, measures to mitigate risks, and next steps

4

3

3

Final Draft Report

TOTAL

26

28

28

Note 1

Nat 1 is the National Consultant with skill sets on Government CGA Payment System

2

Nat 2 is the National Consultant with skill sets on Payment System in Bangladesh

3

International Consultant shall be required to be in Dhaka for 9 Days as Highlighted in Column for Inter

55

Output

Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) - Bangladesh

7. Reporting The team shall be reporting to the Team Leader, SPFMSP Project. Under the overall supervision of MSP, s/he also will maintain good working relations with the client and GoB, and represent MSP and the project in a professional and positive manner.

8. Location Inputs will be provided in Dhaka, Bangladesh, unless otherwise indicated. The timing and coordination of these inputs will be done in written agreement with the MSP Project Manager at all times. When in Bangladesh, the Consultant’s attendance in the project office is required during the normal office working hours of the Beneficiaries, or as discussed and agreed with the MSP Project Manager.

Weekend work may be required subject to prior approval by the Project Manager.

56

Annex VII: Programme for Sensitization Workshop

57

Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) Project

Sensitization Workshop 17 May 2016 Programme: 11.00 - 11.30

Arrival of Guests, Registration and Tea

11.30 - 11.40

Opening of the Sensitization Workshop by Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury, Additional Secretary, Finance Division & National Project Director, SPFMSP Project

11.40-11.50

Inauguration of the Sensitization Workshop by Mr. Mahbub Ahmed, Senior Secretary, Finance Division

11.50 -12.05

Overview of the SPFMSP Project, Goals, Objectives and Work Streams by Dan Wartonick, Team Leader, SPFMSP Project

12.05 - 12.15

Presentation by Ms. Naheed Sultana, Social Protection Specialist for Capacity Development and Institutional Building, SPFMSP Project

12-15 - 12.30

Presentation on Development of an MIS for the SPBMU and the Social Protection Line Ministries by Mr. Justus Oguna, MIS Specialist, SPFMSP Project

12.30 -12.45

Presentation on Diagnostic Studies and Research Framework by Dr. Kavim Bhatnagar, Social Protection Economist, SPFMSP Project

12.45 -13.15

Open Discussion and Questions from the Floor

13.15 -13.25

Remarks by Mr. Naved Chowdhury, Poverty and Social Protection Advisor, Department for International Development (DFID), British High Commission

13.25 -13.35

Remarks by Mr. Tom Nettleton, First Secretary, Development and Cooperation, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Australian High Commission Remarks by Mr. Jalal Ahmed, Additional Secretary (Budget & EC), Finance Division

13.35 -13.50 13.50 -13.55

Vote of Thanks, Mr. Manzoor Alam Bhuiyan, Executive Director, SPBMU and SPFMSP Project, Finance Division

13.55

Closing and Lunch

58

Annex VIII: Minutes of the PIC Meeting

59

Minutes of the Second Meeting of the Project Implementation Committee (PIC) of ‘Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection’ (under SGSP)

Chair:

Date: Venue: Attendance:

Mr. Muslim Chowdhury, Additional Secretary, (Budget 1) and National Project Director (NPD), SPFMSP Project 17th May, 2016, 10:15 – 11:45 am Room 225, Level 3, Building 7, Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka – 1000 Appendix ‘A’

The Chair welcomed the representatives of different line ministries /divisions, members of PIC and representatives of DFID and DFAT and introduced the purpose and agenda for the meeting. The Chair also mentioned that this part of the year is extremely busy for the Finance Division (FD) due to Budget preparation and that there is also a Sensitization Workshop following the PIC meeting, this meeting should be brief and to the point. He requested the Team Leader to 1. Agenda – 1. Review of Advancement of Project Activities Discussion: A presentation to that effect was made by Mr. Dan Wartonick, Team Leader SPFMSP project who covered the activities from the last PIC till now. He described that on the Capacity Development area, the project had conducted one National/International course on PFM for Social Protection Programmes in Dhaka, one study tour on Pensions for Poor to India and one participation in the Social Safety Nets course of the World Bank in Washington, D.C. On the Diagnostic side, he apprised that the two diagnostic studies were prioritized and their Terms of References approved. Currently the project is in the process of hiring the consultants after which the study could be commissioned at the earliest.

On Research, he mentioned that the project has received a request from the FD on ‘Payment Systems for Social Benefits’ for which the procurement process for hiring consultants has started. On the MIS methodology side, he mentioned that the Project has progressed substantially and that there shall be a separate presentation on the MIS by the MIS Specialist. There was also mentioned that the Independent Commission for Aid Impact, a body reporting to a Parliamentary Committee would visit at the end of the month to undertake a review of DIFD programmes focused on cash transfers including the SGSP Programme and, in particular, the SPFMSP Project. The TL and DFID explained the purpose and mandate for their visit including the proposed interviews with the NPD and the ED of the Project.

At the end of the presentation, Mr. Naved Chowdhury from DFID raised the issue of a greater commitment from the side of the Government that was also a prerequisite for an extension of the GBP 18 million SGSP Programme. He raised the issue of staffing at the SPBMU and a low uptake on the Diagnostic and Research studies. He also identified areas of concern such as a low demand for Research from the line ministries and showed his fear that the Capacity Development budget may remain under-utilized.

Mr. Md. Habib ur Rahman, Joint Secretary of the FD pointed out that there is poor coordination between the Project Office, Finance Division and the Donor Office to which DFID representative referred that all information and data could be had from the office of the Executive Director, SPFMSP.

60

Mr. Md. Tohurul Hasan from a2i (Access to Information) pointed out that a2i in collaboration with C GAP has commissioned a project to Price Waterhouse Coopers India towards designing a Payment System for G2P. Hence it would be necessary to have a look at what a2i is doing in Payment System so that there is no duplication by the SPFMSP. The NPD also pointed out that there should be a presentation on the India Study Tour by the team that had visited India on ‘Pensions for the Poor’. Another presentation was expected from Mr. Aziz, Joint Secretary on his learning and uptake of the Training on Social Safety Nets organized by the World Bank.

Decision: SPFMSP Project would coordinate with a2i and ensure that there is no duplication efforts in their study on ‘Payment System for Social Benefits’. An improved coordination shall be required between all the agencies and a proactive measure shall be taken up by the ED, SPFMSP. 2. Agenda – 2. MIS Methodology Report Discussion Mr. Justus Oguna, MIS Specialist for the Project presented the MIS Methodology report, a copy of the presentation of which was provided to all the participants. The presentation brought out the objective, proposed methodology and the roadmap for pilot testing and implementation.

Mr. Naved of DFID wanted to confirm with the NPD if the ‘Bottom Top’ approach as suggested by the MIS Specialist was acceptable to the FD, for a lot of resources shall be put into designing this approach which is different from the ‘Top Bottom’ approach as envisaged earlier. The approach is supported by the FD. He also pointed out that timeline for implementation of August 2017 was not acceptable since the project would end in August 2017 for MSP and DFID / DFAT. He insisted that the rollout should be scheduled for few months before the end of the project. Mr. Dan Wartonick pointed out that the rollout was not originally planned and only a pilot testing was planned which would be piloted with two schemes of two Line Ministries before the end of the project.

The NPD also pointed out that time lost in the project should be covered with a quicker pilot testing while the rollout could be planned after August 2017 for which both the FD and the development partners should be working together.

Decision The MIS Methodology report is approved herewith. The pilot rollout shall be done after the pilot has tested successfully. The GoB and Development Partners shall coordinate towards a complete rollout of the MIS post pilot phase.

3. Agenda – 3. Demand Driven Fund and Research Fund Discussion The Team Leader pointed out that the Flexible Fund in the project is a ring-fenced fund meant exclusively for Research, Capacity Development including Training Courses, Study Tours etc., and communications. He also pointed out that the demand for research and other related activities was low. The NPD mentioned that there is a need for sensitizing the LMs as on their own, they would never be able to create a demand. It was also discussed that there is a gap between the LMs and the SPFMSP Project and that a greater coordination would be required between the two. It was also decided that the office of the Executive Director shall play a proactive role in bringing the two with

61

closer coordination. A letter to that effect shall be issued by the FD that would be addressed to all LMs towards achieving this objective.

Decision The FD shall issue letters to the line ministries providing several research topics and elicit the LMs’ ideas on research and inviting their proposals on capacity development. The SPFMSP LM specialists shall follow up with their counterparts and shall hold meetings to sensitize on these issues and generate demand for research and capacity development activities.

4. Agenda – 4. Establishment of Project Office and Staffing Discussion DFID made it clear that it would allow further resources to be put into furbishing the office, if and only if, the office is made available for a longer duration to the staff of the MSP consulting team. The office has been provided for with one more room and hence modalities of shifting from Gulshan to project office should be checked. It was also decided that it would be checked if additional rooms could be made available to the SPFMSP project staff team.

Decision The Executive Director and the Team Leader shall assess the situation of the availability of space and try and identify if more space can be made available so that the project staff could be shifted to the project office.

5. Agenda – 5 Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) Team Leader and DFID representative had already discussed the upcoming visit of ICAI and hence no further discussion took place on the agenda.

6. Agenda – 6. Discussion on Review of Project Expenditure Discussion The Team Leader informed that as this agenda was not known to the project earlier, there was no preparation or statement on the expenditure that was available. The NPD mentioned that this is one of the key points of agenda and should be made available at every PIC meeting. The FD officials also pointed out there was a mandatory requirement for the expenditure statement to be submitted to the CAO of the FD every month and hence from now onwards, the project office should be submitting these statements to the FD. It was decided that the reporting system shall constitute statements to be provided by the office of the Executive Director, SPFMSP to the CAO of the FD. Decisions The SPFMSP Project shall be submitting the monthly expenditure statements in the prescribed format.

The project shall make available the expenditure statements for every PIC Meeting.

7. Agenda – 7. Miscellaneous It was pointed out that the project has had poor visibility so far and many of the ministries and departments are not even aware of the fact that the FD has a project on SPFMSP. It was therefore suggested that a greater coordinating role be played by the project and improve its visibility among the line ministries and departments.

62

Annexure 1. List of Attendees Not in the order of Seniority SL.

Name

Designation

Department

1

Md. Muslim Choudhury

National Project Director

SPFMSP Project

2

Azizul Alam

Joint Secretary

Finance Division, Ministry of Finance

3 4 5

Manzoor Alam Bhuiyan Ataur Rahman Dr. Md. Atiqur Rahman

Executive Director Deputy Director Joint Secretary

6

Md. Tohurul Hasan

Programme Coordinator

SPFMSP Project SPFMSP Project Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief a2i

7

Md. Jalal Habibur Rahman

Assistant Chief

Ministry of Primary and Mass Education

8

Md. Abdul Mannan

Senior Asst. Secretary

Ministry of Education

9 10

Suleman Khan Nurul Kabir

Director Joint Secretary

Ministry of Social Welfare

11

Mehedi Masuduzzaman

Senior Asst. Secretary

Finance Division, Ministry of Finance

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Naved Chowdhury Farzana Mustafa Shashwata Biplob Talukder Tom Nettletan Dan Wartonick Justus Oguna Kavim V. Bhatnagar Naheed Sultana

Adviser Program Manager Sr. Program Manager First Secretary Team Leader MIS Specialist, SP Economist Social Protection Specialist-Capacity Development

DFID DFID DFAT DFAT SPFMSP Project SPFMSP Project SPFMSP Project SPFMSP Project

20

Jahan Ara Begum

Joint Secretary

Ministry of Women and Children Affairs

21

Md. Habibur Rahman

Joint Secretary

Finance Division, Ministry of Finance

63

Annex IX: Indian Study Tour Workshop Programme

64

Dissemination Workshop on Pension Reforms – Learnings from India Study Tour At Conference Room 225, Ministry of Finance 23 June, 2016 Workshop Agenda Time

11.00 am – 11.10 am

Activity Welcome of Participants “Timely Necessity of Studying Pension Reforms through India Study Tour”

Institution

Ministry of Finance

By Mr. Muslim Chowdhury, Additional Secretary & National Project Director, SPFMSP

11:10 am – 11:20 am

“Objectives of Capacity Development Strategy under SPFMSP”

By Mr. Dan Wartonick, Team Leader. SPFMSP Project

Maxwell Stamp Plc

11:20 am – 11:30 am

“Setting the Tone for Pensions for Poor in Indian Perspective”

by Dr. Kavim Bhatnagar, Coordinator for IST and Social Protection Economist-SPFMSP Project

SPFMSP Project

11:30 am – 12:10 pm

Presentation on Objectives, Key Findings and Lesson for Bangladesh from India Study Tour on Pension Reforms

by IST Team

Finance Division

“Conclusions and Way Forward in Bangladesh” 12:10 pm – 12:20 pm by Mr. ARM Nazmus Sakib, Additional Secretary and Team Leader for IST

Finance Division

Open House Discussion : Question & Answer 12:20 pm – 12:40 pm Session DFID’s Perspective on Study Tour and Capacity Development under the SPFMSP Project :

by Mr. Naved Chowdhury, Poverty & Social 12:40 pm – 01:00 pm Protection Advisor, DFID Remarks by Mr. Tom Nettleton, First Secretary, Australian High Commission Remarks on Pension Reforms 01:00 pm – 01:10 pm by Mr. Jalal Ahmed, Additional Secretary, Finance Division Summing up & Concluding Remarks by Mr. Mahbub Ahmed,Senior Secretary, Finance 01:10 pm – 01:20 pm Division Ministry of Finance

65

DFID DFAT Ministry of Finance Ministry of Finance

Annex X: Risk Assessment and Management Matrix

66

10-Jun-15

C

Political situation deteriorates

2

10-Jun-15

C

3

10-Jun-15

G

Other SGSP components perform poorly Sustainability

4

10-Jun-15

G

5

10-Jun-15

6

MITIGATION

PRIORITY AND RISK OWNERSHIP Risk Holders Target Deadline for mitigating action: (DD/MM/YYYY)

Status Update

UPDATE Updated by (Name)

COMMENTS Additional Comments (Initials, comments)

Low

SPFMSP-Team

30-Sep-16

11

On Schedule

Dan Wartonick

11-Apr-16

-200.00%

Medium

SPFMSP - SMG

30-Sep-16

11

On Schedule

Dan Wartonick

11-Apr-16

2

4

8

M

46.67%

Very High

SPFMSP - SMG

30-Sep-16

11

On Schedule

Dan Wartonick

11-Apr-16

2

3

6

L

40.00%

High

SPFMSP-Team

30-Sep-16

11

On Schedule

Dan Wartonick

11-Apr-16

2

4

8

M

46.67%

High

SPFMSP-Team

30-Sep-16

11

Not Started

Dan Wartonick

11-Apr-16

3

3

9

M

40.00%

Medium

SPFMSP-Team

30-Sep-16

Not Started

Dan Wartonick

11-Apr-16

L

To keep engagement and buy-in from the MoF and the LMs in the SPBMU activities and agenda.

· The SPFMSP will introduce a balanced approach to work with the Central Strategic Agencies (MoF, Cabinet Division, Planning Commission) and the Implementing LM.

2

4

8

M

-60.00%

High

SPFMSP - SMG

30-Sep-16

Not Started

Dan Wartonick

11-Apr-16 During the Second Quarter of Implementation, the Project saw good cooperation among the M

5

L

To ensure the GoB sees the Value for Money in the reform programme and stays invested in the agenda.

3

3

9

M

-80.00%

High

SPFMSP-Team

30-Sep-16

On Schedule

Dan Wartonick

11-Apr-16 Increased cooperation among the LMs and the Project in Project activities.

3

9

M

· Capacity building design choices will be based on the Inception Phase diagnostics at each Ministry so that gaps are identified from early on; · GoB will be continuously appraised about the pilot/implementation progress and informed about lessons learnt via workshops and other dissemination activities.

To maintain the importance of gender- · Work closely with government officials to ensure that based issues and the value to society of gender related constraints are understood and addressed; improvements in vulnerabilities of · Research evidence demonstrating the benefits of women and girls in SP programmes considering gender vulnerabilities and risks.

4

2

8

M

11.11%

High

SPFMSP-Team

30-Sep-16

Not Started

Dan Wartonick

11-Apr-16

3

4

12

H

To ensure well-coordinated activities, understanding of the importance and ownership at all levels from central and decentralized levels of government

· It is expected that the SPFMSP begins implementation of the MIS during 2016 to properly manage and monitor expenditures and evaluate VfM for the SP programmes; · Evidence-based studies along with study of local level implementation, and dissemination of findings and recommendation at the workshops will help mitigate the impact.

4

2

8

M

33.33%

High

SPFMSP-Team

30-Sep-16

On Schedule

Dan Wartonick

11-Apr-16

3

3

9

M

To ensure that the poor benefit from the SP reforms and accountability mechanisms are in place to assist in this area.

· Provide a matrix with different options of what is needed for each scheme to be scaled up and meet its expectations at the decentralised level; · Sound G2P system, developed as result of the research study on payment systems, could mitigate the risk of the poor not benefitting; · The SPFMSP’s approach will be geared towards systemic change, including more focused strategic leadership at the GoB level with greater coordination across Ministries.

4

4 16

H

-77.78%

High

SPFMSP - SMG

30-Sep-16

Not Started

Dan Wartonick

11-Apr-16

Not all schemes will be considered equally efficient or effective and the SPFMSP will need to find a way to balance the expectations from each Ministry and potential tensions.

The MoF senior staff will be resistant to increase SP budget allocations.

2

5

10

M

To encourage change and reform with evidence-based findings and recommendations that support increased budget allocations.

3

3

9

M

10.00%

Very High

SPFMSP-Team

30-Sep-16

Not Started

Dan Wartonick

11-Apr-16

Availability of data

The LM are resistant towards the diagnostics exercise and data is not available.

2

5

10

M

· The completed diagnostics should assess the viability of each of the schemes under the SPFMSP and what is needed in terms of financial and human resources for each scheme becoming operational and efficient at the field level; · Work with the GoB to introduce systematic changes so that the SP spending is optimised; · The timely provision of experienced technical, managerial, and logistical backstopping and quality assurance support from all consortium partners. · Work closely with LM on the diagnostics to strengthen their capabilities and build their commitment for reform.

3

3

9

M

10.00%

High

SPFMSP-Team

30-Sep-16

On Schedule

Dan Wartonick

Delays due to unstable political situation and security threats

The current unstable political scenario may cause delays in project work and also lead to increased security concerns for consultants.

3

5

15

H

To ensure that accurate and wellsourced data support the findings and conclusions of the diagnostic and research studies To accomplish project tasks in a timely · Although careful monitoring is being implemented, manner in a safe and secure operating especially in terms of security issues and potential delays environment. in project implementation, the potential risks caused by the political unrest are beyond the scope of potential mitigation strategies proposed at the project level. Thus, updates and the residual risk reflect the current situation.

1

3

3

VL

80.00%

Medium

SPFMSP - SMG

30-Sep-16

On Schedule

Dan Wartonick

11-Apr-16 During the Second Quarter, the LMs should strong support for undertaking the 11-Apr-16

3

5

15

H

1

2

2

VL

To ensure the safety and security of the SPFMSP staff while keeping track of the political situation and be in a position To be well-informed of components activities and progress.

SPBMU implementation is delayed and the GoB will not be able to effectively adapt and operate the SPBMU once DFID exits in 2017.

3

5

15

H

Resistance to change The SPFMSP Project does not have and lack of ownership full ownership and buy in from the GoB and any evidence generated by the project, is not used to improve policy on SP.

2

5

10

M

G

High level coordination issues

DFID and DFAT do not engage with the GoB and other development partners to advocate for aligning their technical assistance to the NSSS – SPFMSP works in isolation from the overall SP policy context and its impact is decreased, leading to funds dispersion, overlapping and duplication of efforts.

3

5

15

H

10-Jun-15

G

High level turnover

Key high level civil servants that support the project across ministries – in particular in MoF – are replaced by civil servants who have little understanding of and working on social protection programmes.

3

5

15

H

7

10-Jun-15

G

There are potential tensions between the MoF and key LM on the role of the SPBMU.

1

5

5

8

10-Jun-15

G

Political situation and potential tensions at the Ministry level Capacity-depletion

Government does not demonstrate enough willingness to invest its own finances and human resources in strengthening SP reforms.

1

5

9

10-Jun-15

G

Social protection reforms do not address gender related constraints

Government does not address risks and vulnerabilities of women and girls

3

10

10-Jun-15

G

Inadequate investment in GoB management and administration

11

10-Jun-15

G

Accountability

Weak administrative system of SP (lack of MIS, M&E, cash and asset transfer systems, grievance systems, etc) in Bangladesh brings the risk that the TA provided at central level under the SPFMSP does not reflect the changes at the decentralised level.

Reforming the SP schemes does not guarantee that the poor will benefit from the transfers that are expected under the SPFMSP.

12

10-Jun-15

I

Working across different GoB entities and potential resistance to change

13

10-Jun-15

I

14

10-Jun-15

I

67

Mitigation Effectiveness 46.67%

L

Political and social unrest impact on travel and working arrangements impacts Loss of SGSP credibility with GoB

Mitigating Action

Impact

M

6

Objective, Goal or Strategy

Probability

8

3

Score

4

2

Risk level

2

Impact

· Monitor the situation and liaise closely with GoB and DFID to review the potential impact on the provision of TA and, factor that into the long-term planning process · Continuous liaison with component contacts at UNDP, WFP, WB, MJF, holding meetings on activities, setting up working groups and keeping DFID/DFAT briefed.

To be closely involved in the process of · On-going structured communication and SP reform, providing useful, evidencecommunication with the GoB throughout the programme based findings and recommendations, lifespan to ensure buy-in from key government officials working closely with the Executive and alignment with relevant GoB strategies and Director (ED) of the SPBMU and associated work plans in the SP Sector; demonstrating the importance of a · Coordinate with DFID to ensure that the GoB maintains solid, policy analyzing and the SGSP agenda seriously and mobilises sufficient implementing body at the MoF. financial and human resources for a successful and efficient takeover; · The majority of the proposed staff are national experts, ensuring that the know-how and expertise will remain in the country.

To keep a close working relationship · Coordinate with GoB to make sure that strategies are in with the Executive Director (ED), the place to build awareness and understanding of the ED and Line Ministries and other GoB the staff (when appointed) in the SPBMU about their role orgnaizations in supporting LM; · Continuous engagement and sensitization to reform issues with LMs. To be continually informed of SP issues · Coordinate with DFID and other partners (UNDP, WFP, and developments in other sectors of WB, MJF) to ensure a joint GoB vision on SP with sufficient government and civil society and in mobilisation of financial and human resources for a line with the overall SP reform successful and efficient takeover; programme. · Establish links with key donors and other donor-funded projects in the SP sector to identify synergies and common objectives for advancing coordination/harmonisation between projects, and achieving VfM through effective collaboration; · Engage into dialogue with the Cabinet, the MoF as well as the LM on a common vision towards the SP agenda.

Communications will play an important role in the programme to bring all together and facilitate an open discussion and avoid working in silos.

To have a strong working relationship · All of our consultants will be working with the SPBMU with the ED and buy-in and engagement and the Line Ministries and much of their work will be with the MoF, the Line Ministries and building capacity; other government organizations and · The SPFMSP Communication Specialist will ensure that development partners.

SP awareness raising/communication strategies are in place to build awareness and understanding of staff in SPBMU; · Focus on establishing a long-term and fruitful relation, such as designating a wing/cell, with LMs leaving the ownership and responsibility with them. Additionally, the Project would engage with the GoB to explore the potential of creating a communication counterpart so that the momentum of transparent communication on SP is maintained once the SPFMSP support ceases.

Probability

Score

1

RISK Consequence

Residual Risk

Risk Area

Risk

Sr.- Risk Entered (Date No DD/MM/YYYY)

Priority

Remaining weeks till deadline

Update on (Date DD/MM/YYYY)

Annex XI: Fourth Quarter Work Plan

68

Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) - Bangladesh

Work Plan for Fourth Quarter (July to September) Year

2016

th

4 Quarter July -September Weeks

July 1

2

Outputs and deliverables Output 1: Improved GoB capacity to develop social protection policy and budgets and coordinate and monitor the implementation of the social protection system 1.1 Study Tour 1 (India) Submission of report on key findings/outcomes from study tour to India.

Engagement with key stakeholders on presenting key lessons learning/findings at a dissemination workshop 1.2 Study Tour 2 to Indonesia Prepare ToR for Study Tour to Indonesia Procurement of Service Provider Prepare Programme, List of Participants, Clearances, etc.

Deliver Study Tour 1.3 Social Protection Public Finance Management National Course (Third Course) Prepare activity proposal on national training course, finalize the ToR with International Provider Joint workplan between SPFMSP/SPBMU, national partner and international provider Develop course modules, finalize course design Logistical coordination and mobilisation of course participants Course delivery Evaluation Report

69

3

August 4

5

6

7

8

9

September 11 12 10

13

Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) - Bangladesh Year

2016

th

4 Quarter July -September Weeks

July 1

2

Outputs and deliverables 1.4 Study Tours 3-4 1.5 Social Protection Public Finance Management Courses 4-7 (as per the sequence above) 1.7 Global Course in Cape Town Finalize ToR and Receive DFID Approval

Request Participants and Finalize Preparations Delivery of Global Course 1.8 Global Course in Chang Mai Finalize ToR and Receive DFID Approval Request Participants and Finalize Preparations Delivery of Global Course 1.9 Other Capacity Building Activities 1.9 Ongoing discussions and engagement with Line Ministries 1.10 Review and Revision of Capacity Development Framework 1.11 Tender process for MIS HW, SW development, Services 1.12 MIS Design and Development Concurrent Phasing 1.13 PILOT MIS software unit, functional and performance testing 1.14 Preparation of Training Courseware and Documentation for MIS 1.15 Start-up of System Prototype 1.16 Post Implementation Review; MIS Report submitted

70

3

August 4

5

6

7

8

9

September 11 12 10

13

Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) - Bangladesh Year

2016

th

4 Quarter July -September Weeks

July 1

2

Outputs and deliverables 1.17 MIS-focussed awareness raising and communication activities (CAS) 1.18 Facilitating ED to convene Project Implementation Committee (PIC) 1.19 Working with key stakeholders for the preparation and convening of Project Steering Committee (PSC) 1.20 Help SPBMU design and deliver their Communication and Advocacy Strategy Output 2: Ministry and Departments of the GoB are able to access and use a strengthened evidence base on poverty, vulnerability, nutrition and social protection 2.1 Conduct Research Study on Payments Systems for Social Benefits Invite Proposals Select & Contract Service Provider Conduct Research Study Presentation of findings/results from research study 2.2 Engaging with key stakeholders to determining research issues Preparation for workshop on agreeing research agenda 2.3 Research results disseminated.

2.4 Supporting policy dialogue through communication and advocacy support (CAS)

71

3

August 4

5

6

7

8

9

September 11 12 10

13

Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) - Bangladesh Year

2016

th

4 Quarter July -September Weeks

July 1

2

Outputs and deliverables Output 3: Costed plans developed for the reform of priority social protection schemes 3.1 Diagnostic of Schemes 1 (Vulnerable Group Development) Selection of Service Provider (completed) Orientation and Meetings with LM/LD (completed) Research Design and Tools & Techniques (completed) Field Visit to District 1 (completed) Field Visit to District 2 (completed) Data and Information Processing (completed) Submission of Draft Report (completed) Feedback and comments on draft report Submission of Final Draft Presentation of Findings to key stakeholders and Final Report 3.2 Workshop disseminating pilot results and lessons learnt 3.3 Diagnostic of Schemes OAA & WA (Next Phase) Develop TORs for scheme diagnostics OAA & WA (completed) Request for Proposal (Response Time) Selection of Service Provider Orientation and Meetings with LM/LD

72

3

August 4

5

6

7

8

9

September 11 12 10

13

Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) - Bangladesh Year

2016

th

4 Quarter July -September Weeks

July 1

2

Outputs and deliverables 3.4 Phased Delivery of remaining diagnostic studies (as per the above sequence)5 Diagnostic of Schemes PESP & MA + LA (Next Phase) Develop TORs for scheme diagnostics PESP & MA + LA 3.5 Development of Costed Reforms based on Results of Findings 3.6 Submission of draft costed reform plans per scheme developed with LMs 3.7 Advocating for the diagnostic work and reform agenda (CAS) Output 4: Programme Management 4.1 Reporting to DFID Financial reporting Quarterly reporting Risk management and mitigation 4.2 Meeting and secretarial support services (Comm WG) 4.3 Annual Review Process.

Preparation for annual review Annual review

5

Detailed activity planning can be found in the Methodology for Diagnostic Studies

73

3

August 4

5

6

7

8

9

September 11 12 10

13

Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) - Bangladesh Year

2016

th

4 Quarter July -September Weeks

July 1

2

Outputs and deliverables Management response to AR 4.4 Social Protection Budget Unit Preparations for relocating to SPBU Moving to and establishing the SPBU 4.5 New Programme Coordinator in place 4.6 International MIS Specialist in place 4.7 Recruitment process for National MIS Specialist Selection and contracting of National MIS specialist 4.7 Preparing annual report

74

3

August 4

5

6

7

8

9

September 11 12 10

13

Annex XII: Implementation to End of Project Work Plan

75

Implementation Work Plan for Activities Until End of Project (1 July 2016 to 31 August 2017) 2016

YEAR MONTH

Jul

Aug

Outputs and Deliverables Output 1: Improved GoB capacity to develop social protection policy and budgets and coordinate and monitor the implementation of the social protection system 1.1 Study Tour 1 Submission of report on key findings/outcomes from study tour to India.

Engagement with key stakeholders on presenting key lessons learning/findings at a dissemination workshop 1.2 Study Tour 2 to Indonesia Prepare ToR for Study Tour to Indonesia Procurement of Service Provider Prepare Programme, List of Participants, Clearances, etc.

Deliver Study Tour Submission of report on key findings/outcomes from study tour to Indonesia.

Engagement with key stakeholders on presenting key lessons learning/findings at a dissemination workshop 1.3 Study Tour 3 (same process as above) 1.4 Study Tour 4 (same process as above) 1.5 Social Protection Public Finance Management Course (Third Course) Prepare activity proposal on national training course, finalize the ToR with International Provider

76

Sep

Oct

2017 Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

2016

YEAR MONTH

Jul

Aug

Outputs and Deliverables Joint work plan between SPFMSP/SPBMU, national partner and international provider Develop course modules and finalize course design and preparation Logistical coordination and mobilisation of course participants Course delivery Evaluation Report 1.6 Social Protection Public Financial Management Courses 4 (as per the sequence above) 1.7 Social Protection Public Financial Management Courses 5 (as per the sequence above) 1.8 Social Protection Public Financial Management Courses 6 (as per the sequence above) 1.9 Social Protection Public Financial Management Courses 7 (as per the sequence above) 1.10 Global Course in Capetown Finalize ToR and Receive DFID Approval Request Participants and Finalize Preparations Delivery of Global Course 1.11 Global Course in Chiang Mai (as per the sequence above) 1.12 Global Course in Mauritius (as per the sequence above) 1.13 Other Capacity Building Activities

77

Sep

Oct

2017 Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

2016

YEAR MONTH

Jul

Aug

Outputs and Deliverables Ongoing discussions /engagement with Line Ministries 1.14 Review and Revision of Capacity Development Framework 1.15 Pilot MIS Software Procurement, Development, Testing, Training and Sign-off Tender process for MIS HW, SW development, Services Requirements Gathering, Review and Development of the MIS according to Software Design Documents PILOT MIS software unit, end-to-end functional and performance testing Deploy the system on the live server at Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) SPBMU MIS Training of MoF, MoSW and MoWCA staff Pilot Sign-off 1.16 MIS-focused awareness raising and communication activities (CAS) 1.17 Facilitating Executive Director (ED) to convene Project Implementation Committee (PIC) (on an asneeded-basis) 1.18 Preparation for and Convening of Project Steering Committee (PSC) 1.19 Help SPBMU design and deliver their Communication and Advocacy Strategy

78

Sep

Oct

2017 Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

2016

YEAR MONTH

Jul

Aug

Outputs and Deliverables

Output 2: Ministry and Departments of the GoB are able to access and use a strengthened evidence base on poverty, vulnerability, nutrition and social protection 2.1 Conduct Research Study on Payment System for Social Benefits Consultation and engagement with LM / LD (completed) Design TOR for research study (completed) Invite Proposals (underway) Select & Contract Service Provider Conduct Research Study Hold Workshop on Results of Research Research results disseminated (including conferences, workshops) 2.2 Conduct Further Research Studies (new research topics to be identified as per sequence above) 2.3 Engaging with key stakeholders to determining research issues Preparation and workshop on agreeing research agenda 2.4 Research results disseminated.

2.5 Supporting policy dialogue through communication and advocacy support (CAS)

79

Sep

Oct

2017 Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

2016

YEAR MONTH

Jul

Aug

Outputs and Deliverables

Output 3: Costed plans developed for the reform of priority social protection schemes 3.1 Diagnostic of Schemes (1-VGD, 2-OAA, 3-WA, 4PESP, 5-MA+LA & 6-DSF) Develop and approval TORs for scheme diagnostics Request for Proposal Selection of Service Provider Orientation and Meetings with LM/LD Research Design and Tools & Techniques Field Visits to Districts Data and Information Processing Submission of Draft Report Feedback, comments and revisions on draft reports Submission of Final Draft Presentation of Findings and Final Report Workshop disseminating pilot results and lessons learn from diagnostic studies 3.2 Development of 1st Costed Reform Plan Concept Paper for costed reforms plans Develop framework and engagement with Line Ministries, Departments and Finance Dept.

Design of ToR & selecting consultants Assignment activities

80

Sep

Oct

2017 Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

2016

YEAR MONTH

Jul

Aug

Outputs and Deliverables Report 3.3 Development of 2nd & 3rd Costed Reform Plans (as per above sequence) 3.4 Advocating for the diagnostic work and reform agenda (CAS) Output 4: Programme Management

4.1 Reporting to DFID Financial Reporting Quarterly Reporting Risk Management and Mitigation 4.2 Meeting & Secretarial support services (CommWG) 4.3 Annual Review Preparation 4.4 Annual Review 4.4 Social Protection Budget Management Unit (SPBMU) Relocation 4.7 New Programme Coordinator in place 4.8 MIS Specialist in place 4.9 Recruitment Process for National MIS Specialist 4.10 Preparation for Annual Report 4.11 Final report

81

Sep

Oct

2017 Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug