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Tenders are invited for Strengthening the Capacity of the Department of Social Security of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq for Social Security Administration Business Process Closing Date: 31 Mar 2025 Type: Consultancy SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND In 2012 the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) passed Law No. 4 which amending Iraq Law No. 39 of 1971 on Pension and Social Security. The amended law provided for pension, disability and survivor benefits to workers in the private sector. As of 31 December 2022, there were 38,491 employers registered in the KRI and 138,092 persons had had at least one contribution made for them in 2022 of which 22,543 were women. Just under 20,000 were migrant workers and just under 2,800 migrant women workers. KRI has prepared a new draft law on Pensions and Social Security aligning with ILO Convention No. 102 on Minimum Standards of Social Security. It is expected to be discussed in the next parliamentary session after legislative elections take place. In support to the governments efforts, the International Labour Organization (ILO), as part of the Joint UN Programme on Social Protection co-implemented by the ILO, UNICEF and the World Food Programme (WFP) supported by the European Union, developed a legal assessment of the draft law and worked with partners to ensure compliance with International Social Security Standards of the ILO and international best practices. Parallelly, the ILO is committed to supporting the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and partners in their efforts to upgrade the institutional capacity that allows for more efficient delivery of services within the ministry (social security, social protection, employment) and readiness to respond to the plans for extending social security in the informal sector. As part of these efforts, the ILO commissioned an institutional capacity assessment that identified supply-side bottlenecks relating to institutional capacity that constrains the Department of Social Security (DSS)s ability to deliver services more efficiently and identify areas of improvement to ensure readiness to respond to the plans to implement short-term benefits (maternity, unemployment) for the first time and extend coverage to hard-to-reach groups of workers in unstable forms of wage employment and the self-employed. In order to streamline business processes in the Social Security Administration, the ILO commissioned the mapping of current business processes including suggestions for streamlined processes. The mapping exercise identified bottlenecks, loopholes and potential areas of improvements and match the mapped business processes with actual user experiences. It then concluded with recommendations on enhancing business processes that make social security services more efficient and accountable to beneficiaries. In parallel, the ILO supported the development of a job matching platform for the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA) in the KRI. Another important initiative which should be noted is the development of a Single Registry for Social Protection in coordination with THE Ministry of Planning (MOP) and MoLSA with the support of WFP. The results of these developments, and particularly of the institutional capacity assessment and the mapping exercise set the grounds for the assignment described in these terms of reference, particularly for proceeding with a more detailed digital enterprise architecture for Social Security Administration in the KRI. SECTION 2: ICT AND BUSINESS PROCESS ASSESSMENT SNAPSHOT Note: The section below provides a summary of the findings derived from the institutional assessment conducted in 2023, and may be subject to revision following a more in- depth assessment. The service provider will conduct a more thorough review of the ICT infrastructure, architecture and business processes during the first phase of the assignment, and will also benefit from the business process mapping documentation. We encourage a flexible approach to allow for adjustments based on the insights gained from the initial assessments. 2.1 Overview Of Main Issues in Business Processes Social security officials around the KRI were interviewed to understand the current business process from an employer registration to participate in social security through to a contributor receiving a benefit under the scheme. This allowed to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the current scheme administration and to identify the possible enhancements. The scheme in the KRI is currently paper based. There is no digitalization of scheme business processes in KRI. Employers reported frustration with the existing processes both with the level of administrative burden imposed upon them and the time that their staff spend dealing with social security administration on registration and enrollment of both the business and employers. There are difficulties when registering a new employer to participate in social security. Registration is not effective until the Inspections department has travelled to a prospective employers premises and approved its application to participate. This is meant to be done in conjunction with Trade Union and Employer Association Representatives but on occasions social security administration alone travels to employers. Delays in registering a new employer can lead to non-compliance with social security rules and regulations by the employer. Social Security administration has been known to penalise employers who were not able to fulfil the registration process due to delays at social security administration. The theory related to the payment of benefits is well grounded although the lack of access to contribution data is slowing the payment process down. Some claimants need to travel to a social security office to complete their claims. Some also need to travel to Head Office. Employers in KRI whose monthly contribution exceeds IQD 500,000 must make their payment electronically. However, they are subject to a fee of IQD 3,000 for each IQD millions of cheque value (a 0.3% charge) plus 1,000 as a fixed fee for printing bank cheques by Federal Bank. There appears to be no charge on employers by social security administration in KRI. 2.2 ICT assessment ICT assessment was based on the institutions assessment and progress towards digital maturity. We evaluated across the organization, culture, governance, technology, and human capital dimensions. Digitization in FI is much more pronounced than KRI where the operations are effectively paper based. There is some record management system, but its efficiency and usability are questionable. There was a mismatch between the procedure and tools used for the completion of a process from submission to notification of results, generally available with integrated ICT systems designed for social security. The IT personnel and some of the business (operational) users were digitally literate, but a lack of training, skills development and the existing environment and systems were hampering their ability to use the tools at hand in order to enhance the efficiency of operations. Customers (employees, beneficiaries, and other agencies) perceive the operations as manual and inefficient. The interactions between social security administration personnel and customers were constant and ineffective. Moving from a paper-based to a digitized operational environment requires a transitional roadmap and the alignment of operational steps with technology and personnel. The tenants of change generally include people, processes, and technology while the theory of change can be driven by the processes embedded in the new ICT system to be developed or procured or by re-engineering existing processes within operations and then defining the functionality and features of the future ICT system. Hand in hand, the tools and skills needed to transform and operate a digital social security environment are inseparable. A capable, flexible, and secure infrastructure was not detected in KRI. SECTION 3: ASSIGNMENT AND OBJECTIVES / SCOPE OF WORK 3.1 Objectives and scope Incorporating the findings of the institutional assessments and the mapping exercise mentioned above, the overarching objective of this assignment is to develop and integrate modern technologies for the DSS to streamline its operations and improve its efficiency, effectiveness, and people-centered service delivery. The scope of the project will include a holistic business process re-engineering (BPR) followed by updating and/or introducing new open-source IT solutions and systems for all relevant social security administration functions across organizational, legal, technological, and financial systems, and ensuring effective handover of developed systems to the DSS through hands on training, comprehensive documentation, maintenance and a follow-up. The assignment will cover all existing and envisioned branches of social security for private-sector workers in Iraq (as anchored in Laws No. No. 39 of 1971, No. 4 of 2012 and new draft social security law) including an adaptable function allowing the system to integrate the premises of the new law. The assignment will cover all business processes within the administration of social security in Iraq, with common processes across all and end-to-end service requirement specifications, including: Registration and updating of projects (employers) and contributors (workers): Developing an electronic system that embeds the reengineered and streamlined processes at the users and end-user fronts. Interoperability with the job-matching platform and the single registry would be important to account in the design. Activities under registration of projects and contributors include workflows related to first-time registration of projects under social security provisions and establishing structured profi Tender Link : https://reliefweb.int/job/4139097/strengthening-capacity-department-social-security-kurdistan-region-iraq-social-security-administration-business-process
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