BISP holds moot to share successes and evolution

Islamabad

To share successes, experiences and evolution of National Socio-Economic Registry (NSER), an international conference was held at Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) headquarter here on Wednesday.

The mega event featured presentations on different phases of NSER since 2008 and before, evolution of NSER from static to dynamic registry in Pakistan, sharing of national and international experiences, targeting and selection mechanism, Management Information (MIS). The conference also highlighted models of data sharing, partnerships on usage of NSER with different public and private institutions for targeted subsidies, employment generation, skill development, disaster management and welfare planning.

The conference was attended by parliamentarians, diplomats, development partners, academicians, researchers, social activists, bureaucrats, national and international experts and a large number of students from NUST, NUML, COMSATS, Quaid-i-Azam University and other institutions.

The first of the four sessions of the conference was inaugurated by Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and the last session was concluded by Advisor to PM, Mr. Sartaj Aziz. Second and third sessions were chaired by Ms. Shahnaz Wazir Ali and National Security Advisor, Gen. Nasir Janjua respectively.

In his inaugural address, the Speaker appreciated the targeting methodology of BISP, which allowed the diversion of funds to the real needy and poor, irrespective of their political, religious or any other affiliations. He added that it was heartening to know that BISP was now moving towards another phase of targeting, with improved design and dynamic approach towards targeting keeping in view the transient nature of poverty. He also assured his full support to BISP management in its operations and initiatives on behalf of the Government.

During his concluding address, Sartaj Aziz said that huge budget of BISP reflects the present government’s commitment to social protection in the country. Congratulating the Chairperson BISP for taking the initiative of updating the NSER, he added that NSER not only provided accurate and transparent information on potential beneficiaries for social assistance programs, but also allowed linkages among multiple programs for which the potential beneficiaries could be eligible.

Minister of State and BISP Chairperson MNA Marvi Memon said that NSER, a national asset bigger than BISP, is being shared with all the public and private sector organizations for the poverty reduction and development programs. Currently at number five in the world, BISP, under the PML (N) Government, commits to become number one in the field of targeting.

Country Director DFID Joanna Reed stated that UK government supports BISP because it takes the aid to the ones who need it the most. She mentioned that UK watchdog Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) in its recent report had appreciated the coverage of BISP and added that the shifting of payments to Biometric Verification System (BVS) and NSER update would make BISP world leader striving for better lives.

Country Director World Bank, Illango Machapattu stated that BISP is recognized internationally as a successful social safety net program. Many countries including Ghana, Nigeria, Afghanistan and others have learned from BISP and World Bank looks forward towards expansion of pro-poor and financial inclusion agenda of BISP.

Briefing on the NSER update through resurvey, DG BISP Dr. Tahir Noor stated that door to door survey in 12 pilot districts would be completed by August 2017 followed by national roll out in September 2017 and it would be completed by early 2018. Desk registration in Naseerabad, Sukkar, Haripur and Bahawalpur had shown tremendous results. This is the third phase of NSER update after 2010-11 survey and registration through parliamentarians in 2008/09.

It was informed that to register the number one NSER in the world, Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) approach has been adopted instead of Paper Assisted Personal Interviewing (PAPI). The registration application has in built checks and controls capable of identifying errors. Blue tooth based synchronization of the enumerators and supervisors, is a quality control feature that will ensure error free registration. In order to ensure complete coverage of the population, computer based enlisting with the help of Google maps would also be utilized.  The addition of new questions in questionnaire related to rural/urban distribution, agro climatic zones, transgender, chronic diseases, access to justice, vocational training will enhance the quality of data.

The second session titled “Towards Creating the World’s Best NSER” discussed the various phases of NSER development, evolution of BISP MIS and international experience towards dynamic NSER for Pakistan.  The session highlighted the importance of dynamic registry capable of reflecting the demographic changes with the passage of time.