SEVENTH QUARTERLY REPORT: 1 st September 2017 – 31 December 2017 Prepared for Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) Project December 2017
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SEVENTH
QUARTERLY
REPORT:
1st September
2017 – 31
December 2017
Prepared for
Strengthening
Public
Financial
Management
for Social
Protection
(SPFMSP)
Project
December
2017
Table of Contents Acronyms ................................................................................................................................................................ 3
Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 5
Background and Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 6
Progress Under All Outputs ..................................................................................................................................... 7
Output 1: Improved mechanisms within SP sector of GoB. ................................................................................. 7
1.1. A fully functional Social Protection Budget Management Unit (SPBMU) at the Finance Division..... 7
Output 2: Improved GoB capacity to manage, implement and monitor social protection programmes .............. 8
2.1 Institutalisation of SP-PFM courses in selected training institutes and trainers trained. ................... 8
Output 3: Ministries and Departments of the Government of Bangladesh have access to a strengthened
evidence base on social protection ...................................................................................................................... 9
3.1: Diagnostic studies on 7 SP schemes under taken ............................................................................... 9
Output 4: Mechanisms in place that contribute to better targeting and monitoring in SP schemes ................ 10
4.1: A fully functional MIS at the SPBMU linked with 6 LMs to improve targeting of programmes,
timely delivery of transfers and monitoring of SP expenditure ..................................................................... 10
4.2 Costed plans for SP reform developed ............................................................................................ 14
Annex 1 ................................................................................................................................................................. 17
Annex 2 ................................................................................................................................................................. 19
Annex 3 ................................................................................................................................................................. 24
Annex 4 ................................................................................................................................................................. 25
Annex 5 ................................................................................................................................................................. 30
Acronyms
a2i Access to Information Project
BBC Bangladesh Computer Council
BBS Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics
DD Deputy Director
DfID Department for International Development
DFAT Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
DGHS Directorate General of Health Services
DSF-MHVS Demand-Side Financing- Maternal Health Voucher Scheme
DSS Department of Social Services
ED Executive Director
FD Finance Division
G2P Government to People
GoB Government of Bangladesh
HDWWA Husband-Deserted Women and Widow’s Allowance
iBAS integrated Budgeting and Accounting System
IPF Institute of Public Finance Bangladesh
LM Line Ministry
LMA/MA Lactating Mothers Allowance and Maternity Allowance
MIS Management Information System
MJF Manusher Jonno Foundation
MoDMR Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief
MoE Ministry of Education
MoF Ministry of Finance
MoHFW Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
MoPME Ministry of Primary and Mass Education
MoSW Ministry of Social Welfare
MoWCA Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs
MSP Maxwell Stamp PLC
NID National ID
NPD National Project Director
OAA Old Age Allowance
PESP Primary Education Stipend Programme
PD Project Director
PFM of SP Public Financial Management of Social Protection
PIC Project Implementation Committee
PSC Project Steering Committee
Executive Summary
This Quarterly Report covers the implementation period from 1 September 2017 to 31 December 2017 of
SPFMSP project.
Progress has been made in all major work streams. All the targets in the Annual Work Plan (Annex 1) relevant to
this quarter have been met and work continues at a good pace. This is in part due to a strong commitment and
ownership from the Government of Bangladesh (GoB), specifically the Finance Division (FD) of the Ministry of
Finance (MoF), towards SPFMSP. The active participation of GoB officials from FD, Social Protection Budget
Management Unit (SPBMU), and the six associated Line Ministries (LMs) in various activities of the Project
continues to contribute to all the accomplishments of the SPFMSP Project.
FD has already started the process of integrating SPBMU into regular set up of FD. Organogram, Duties and
Responsibilities of SPBMU and its staff, Recruitment Rules and other related documents have been drafted and
are being processed for approval. Other necessary actions are also underway to ensure SPBMU, as a regular unit
of FD, is established before the start of the 2018-2019 budget. Capacity and necessary skills of GoB Officials are
being developed through their active engagement in the implementation of various SPFMSP project activities.
Monthly Coordination meetings of the Project are being held regularly, chaired by the NPD and participated by
the officials of the FD and the Project. Two such meetings were held during the reporting period. The second
Project Steering Committee (PSC) meeting chaired by the Secretary of Finance was held in November 2017
where some very important decisions on the sustainability of the Project were taken.
The FD has started implementing the Communication Strategy developed by the Project. FD has distributed
200,000 copies of flyers in Bengali with information about the Project. These were distributed at the
Development Fair organised by the GoB in December 2017 throughout Bangladesh. The SPFMSP website has
been maintained by the Project and all knowledge documents developed and produced by the Project have been
made available on the website.
The Project initiated discussions for institutionalising SP-PFM training courses in the selected training institutes
of the relevant ministries. Meetings were held with National Academy for Primary Education (NAPE) of Ministry
of Primary and Mass Education (MOPME), National Academy for Educational Management (NAEM), Secondary
and Higher Education Division, Ministry of Education, National Academy of Social Services Academy (NASS),
Ministry of Social Welfare (MoSW) and Institute of Public Finance (IPF), Ministry of Finance, and all these
institutes have agreed to continue hosting the course after June 2018 when the Project has ended.
After the successful design of the SPBMU MIS and piloting of two schemes i.e. Maternity Allowance (MA)
programme of Ministry of Women and Children Affairs (MoWCA) and Old Age Allowance (OAA) programme of
Ministry of Social Welfare (MoSW), the project has initiated the process of extending the linkage of the SPBMU
MIS to other line ministries namely Ministry of Social Welfare (MoSW), Ministry of Women and Children Affairs
(MoWCA), Ministry of Education (MoE), Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MoPME) and Ministry of
Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR). During the reporting period, the project conducted an assessment
on the digitisation status of the schemes in the six LMs. The outcome of the assessment guided the design of
linkage between SPBMU MIS and six schemes of five Line Ministries in place of six ministries planned earlier.
Demand Side Financing (DSF) scheme of MoHFW could not be included in the design of linkage with SPBMU MIS
because its data has not been digitised and it would not be feasible to digitise the data and configure linkage to
SPBMU MIS before June 2018. The report on design of linkage was submitted to DFID in December 2017.
The project was mandated to perform diagnostic studies of seven existing programs of various line ministries.
With the completion of the PESP Diagnostic study in the quarter under review, the project has met a 100%
target of completing all the diagnostic studies. The Ministries and departments of the Government of
Bangladesh (GoB) have already started accessing the evidence based recommendations on social protection.
While the MoHFW has incorporated some of the recommendations from the diagnostic study of DSF – MHVS
into their operational plan, other ministries too are in the process of using these studies to improve their
program design and delivery. More recently, the MoWCA has used the evidences and recommendations of the
reform plan and have accordingly put forward their budgetary proposals to the FD for the 2018–19 fiscal year,
the deliberations and approvals for which are expected by June 2018.
On the side of reform plans, the quarter witnessed initiating the development of the third reform plan namely
OAA HDDWA. A team of national and international consultants was deployed during the quarter who started the
work, conducted meetings and performed field visits along with the SPFMSP team, SPBMU team, and other
stakeholders. A draft report on this reform plan was prepared and submitted to DFID in December 2017 and the
final version is scheduled to be submitted after the dissemination workshop likely to be held in March 2018.
Developing the last and final reform plan on VGD shall begin in the next quarter (January 2018-March 2018).
The preliminary task such as drafting the ToR on the basis of agreed recommendations and selection of team of
consultants have been accomplished in the current quarter.
Background and Introduction Strengthening Public Financial Management for Social Protection (SPFMSP) Project is a complex technical
assistance intervention that works closely with the Finance Division of the Government of Bangladesh (GoB)
Ministry of Finance(MoF), and six implementing LMs including the Ministry of Social Welfare (MoSW), the
Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MoPME), 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). The Project is co-financed by UK Aid through (DFID) and Australian Aid
through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and is managed by Maxwell Stamp PLC (MSP).
SPFMSP is one component of the DFID-funded Strengthening Government Social Protection Systems for the
Poor Programme (SGSP). The aim of the five-component SGSP Programme was to support the GoB to establish
policies, budgets and plans for a more effective and efficient social protection system. The other four
components of SGSP were delivered by four implementing partners: The United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), the World Food Programme (WFP), WB, and the Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF), a local
Bangladeshi NGO. However, funding for these four components finished in August 2017 whereas the SPFMSP
was given a ten month extension to June 30th 2018
The Technical Assistance Project Proforma (TAPP) of the SPFMSP Project was approved by the Government in
August 2015. The Project is being implemented by the Social Protection Budget Management Unit (SPBMU) of
the FD under the overall supervision of the Additional Finance Secretary (Budget) who also acts as the National
Project Director (NPD) for the Project.
SPFMSP has two governance structures:1) The Project Steering Committee (PSC) oversees the Project and is
chaired by the Finance Secretary with representation from six LMs, DFID, DFAT and other government relevant
ministries/agencies; and 2) the Project Implementation Committee (PIC), chaired by the NPD with representation
from six LMs, DFID, DFAT, monitors the timely implementation of the Project.
Progress Under All Outputs The activities and key achievements are described below under the three major outputs.
Output 1: Improved mechanisms within SP sector of GoB.
1.1. A fully functional Social Protection Budget Management Unit (SPBMU) at the Finance
Division
1.1.1 Integrating SPBMU into the regular setup of FD with defined roles & responsibilities and its expenditure is
included in GoB revenue budget
A fully functional SPBMU is expected to sustain the various Project outputs and assist the different budget
sections of the FD in drawing evidence based budget for social protection expenditure, manage the SPBMU MIS
and oversee the implementation of the G2P payment system developed by the Project. Important decisions were
taken to ensure that each quarter sees the necessary steps that have to be taken so that the Unit becomes fully
functional by the end of the Project in June 2018. In the reporting quarter progress has been made to attain this
output.
The Project’s Steering Committee (PSC) (Annex 2) headed by the Secretary, FD, in November 2017, with
representation from SPFMSP related six Line Ministries, Planning Commission, ERD and Development Partners
(DFID, DFAT) approved the setting up of SPBMU as a regular outfit of the FD. Meetings were held subsequently
in the FD to discuss steps needed and initiatives have, since then, been taken to ensure institutionalising of the
SPBMU in the regular setup of the FD and its expenditure is included in the revenue budget. Organogram, Duties
and Responsibilities of SPBMU and its staff, Recruitment Rules and other related documents drafted and under
process for approval which is expected to be completed before start of the 2018-2019 budget. Capacity and
necessary skills of GoB Officials are being developed through their active engagement in the implementation of
various SPFMSP project activities.
Incumbent NPD Mr Muslim was promoted to the post of Secretary Finance, in October 2017 and Mr Abdur Rouf Talukder, the Additional Secretary of the Finance Division, was subsequently appointed as the NPD of the Project in addition to his duties at the Finance Division. The Project also saw another change in staffing during this reporting period as the Executive Director of the Project retired from the Project in November 2017. This position has been filled by the Deputy Director who is working in the capacity of Executive Director In-charge.
1.1.2 Implementation of SPBMU communications strategy
A Communication Strategy which was developed in 2017 and was handed over to the FD, the FD has initiated
steps to implement the strategy. A flyer (Annex 3) depicting various activities and progress of the Project was
designed and developed by FD with the assistance of the Project. FD has distributed 200,000 copies of the flyer
at the Development Fair organised by the GoB in December 2017 throughout Bangladesh down to Upazila level.
The fair was visited by people from all strata of the society. The activities and progress of the project continues
to be disseminated through several meetings, workshops, field visits held during the reporting quarter on the
various issues relating to the implementation of the Project. Those meetings, workshops were attended by
officials of GoB, DPS, and other stakeholders including local government representatives and beneficiaries. The
SPFMSP website (www.spfmsp.org) has been maintained by the Project and all knowledge documents developed
and produced by the Project have been made available on the website. Initial discussions have taken place to
hand over the website to the FD before the end of the Project.
Output 2: Improved GoB capacity to manage, implement and monitor social protection
programmes
2.1 Institutalisation of SP-PFM courses in selected training institutes and trainers trained.
2.1.1 Strengthening of selected departmental training institutes by integrating SP Public Financial Management
courses in their regular training program
As per the Capacity Building Strategy, the Project has initiated discussions to institutionalise the training courses
on SP-PFM within the core training programmes of the relevant ministries. Steps are being taken to ensure that
the incorporation of the training course content happens in a manner that is implementable by all training
institutes. Time, cost and resource persons are issues that the Project and the training institutions are discussing
to best ensure the smooth adoption of the SP-PFM course in the regular ongoing training courses.
Meetings have been held with National Academy for Primary Education (NAPE) of Ministry of Primary and Mass
Education (MOPME), National Academy for Educational Management (NAEM), Secondary and Higher Education
Division, Ministry of Education, National Social Services Academy (NSSA), Ministry of Social Welfare (MoSW) and
Institute of Public Finance Management Bangladesh (IPFB), Ministry of Finance, who will continue conducting
the course after June 2018 when the Project has ended. Before the end of the Project, SPFMSP will provide all
the institutions mentioned with the course content and layout to safeguard the smooth transition of ownership
of the courses.
2.1.2 Training of Trainers through National/Global courses
The Project’s capacity development initiative providing National Courses on Public Financial Management for
Social Protection (PFM for SP) in Bangladesh in an attempt to create a pool of trainers to ensure sustainability is
ahead on schedule and a Training of Trainer courses proposal has been drafted and is being discussed with FD
and IPF. A rigorous 3 to 5-day training of trainers (ToT) course has been planned which will include advanced
training on delivery of training, intensive coaching, on effective teaching strategies for engaging future course
participants, targeted instruction and practice in training others to deliver the SP-PFM curriculum.
This ToT will train selected individuals at a further advanced level on SP-PFM as well, in order to enhance their
ability to answer questions and solve problems that may arise at the implementation stage in the future.
Participants will be selected from the officials of FD and LMs who previously participated in the national courses
on SP-PFM organised by the SPFMSP. Preference will be given to those officials who worked as facilitators for
the national courses and are associated with the departmental trainings or trainings of similar nature.
The number of participants per ToT course will be limited to 30. So far all the trainings on SP-PFM have been
organised and hosted by the SPFMSP project but in future that the training courses are planned to be
institutionalised to ensure the sustainability and accomplishment of the goals set by the FD. The expected
outcome of this course is the development of confident and competent trainers with the skills and latest
techniques required to help design and implement future training courses when and where needed without
dependency on externals.
Output 3: Ministries and Departments of the Government of Bangladesh have access
to a strengthened evidence base on social protection
3.1: Diagnostic studies on 7 SP schemes under taken
With the completion of the PESP Diagnostic study in the quarter under review, the project has met a 100%
target of completing all the diagnostic studies. The Project was mandated to perform diagnostic studies on 7
existing SP schemes belonging to various line ministries.
3.1.1 Conducting diagnostic study on stipend programs including disability stipend (as the 7th scheme)
The diagnostic study on stipend programmes was undertaken in the extension phase as a part of the mandated
activities of SPFMSP Project being implemented by the Finance Division in association with 6 Line Ministries
including MoPME, MoE and MoSW. The diagnostic study was initiated in October 2017 and was completed well
within the stipulated timeline of December 25th, 2018. The study that was focussed on Primary Education
Stipend Program (PESP) of the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MoPME) also captured the other stipend
programmes in the country including the ones for secondary students and students with disability.
The diagnostic study presented an independent and comprehensive analysis of the stipend programmes in
Bangladesh with a focus on Primary Education Stipend Project (PESP) being implemented by the Ministry of
Primary and Mass Education. The other stipend programmes are being implemented by the Ministry of Education
and Ministry of Social Welfare. The purpose of performing the diagnostic was to conduct an operational and
financial analysis of the three programmes with central focus on identification of issues and challenges on the
processes adopted for money flows from Ministry of Finance to the end beneficiaries under the PESP through
multiple operational level and any challenges in transfer of money at different levels. The study provided
evidence-based concrete recommendations to improve design, eligibility, features, database of beneficiaries,
delivery system, beneficiary selection if any, and efficiency of resource utilization that maximize Value for
Money (VfM). Study focused at exploring how financial allocations can be more meaningful and useful for the
primary students’ stipend programme. Specifically, it focused on the delivery mechanism including the payment
system and how the beneficiary data could be used more efficiently to generate MIS and integrate into the
Payment System.
The methodology for the diagnostic study comprised a combination of primary and secondary surveys. On the
primary side, it ranged from a wide variety institutional interviews to focused group discussions with the
beneficiaries while on the secondary side, a literature / desk review of the existing documents and reports was
performed for the stipend programmes. Field visits to different Upazila was performed to understand the field
perspectives.
To discuss the findings and recommendations made in the diagnostic study, a dissemination workshop (Annex 4)
was held at the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education on Thursday, 14th of December at the Ministry of
Primary Education and was chaired by the Secretary, MoPME. The dissemination workshop was also attended by
officials of the Finance Division as well as three-line ministries (MoPME, MoE and MoSW) and their departments
/ projects engaged in the implementation of various stipend programs. The Workshop agreed broadly with the
findings and recommendations of the study. The comments and suggestions made in the workshop have been
appropriately addressed in the final version of the report that was submitted to the DFID by the end of
December 2017. The Workshop also recommended to the Government for considering the suggestions made in
the report for implementation. The final report will also be sent to Finance Division shortly so that the FD can
take up further deliberations with the Ministry.
With the completion of the PESP Diagnostic study, the project has met a 100% target of completing the
diagnostic studies. As mentioned earlier, the Ministries and Departments of the Government of Bangladesh have
already started accessing the evidence based recommendations on social protection. More recently, the MoWCA
has used the evidences and recommendations and have accordingly put forward their budgetary proposals to the
FD for the 2018 – 19 fiscal year, the deliberations and approvals for which are expected in this quarter.
Output 4: Mechanisms in place that contribute to better targeting and monitoring in
SP schemes
4.1: A fully functional MIS at the SPBMU linked with 6 LMs to improve targeting of
programmes, timely delivery of transfers and monitoring of SP expenditure
As envisaged in the TAPP, one of the core functions of the SPFMSP project in the first phase of the project which
ended in August 2017 was to develop a MIS for SPBMU of Finance Division (FD) that ensures efficient and
effective social transfers to the poor, monitor and control fiduciary risks, and to increase value for money (VfM)
in delivery of social protection programs. What was achieved in the first phase that ended in August 2017 was
designing and setting up the SPBMU MIS and then setting up automatic transfer of data from the MIS databases
of two schemes namely Maternity Allowance (MA) program of Ministry of Women and Children Affairs (MoWCA)
and Old Age Allowance (OAA) program of Ministry of Social Welfare (MoSW) to the central SPBMU MIS.
In the current phase of the project which runs from 1st September 2017 to 30th June 2018, SPFMSP is required
to establish auto linkages between the SPBMU MIS to a minimum of one scheme of the six Line Ministries
namely: Ministry of Social Welfare (MoSW), Ministry of Women and Children Affairs (MoWCA), Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Ministry of Education (MoE), Ministry of Primary and Mass Education
(MoPME) and Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR).The SPFMSP Project team have been
working on modalities of realising this objective as evident in the progress in the MIS work stream over the past
4 months running from September 2017 to December 2017.
Described below is the brief analysis of some of the key activities that the SPFMSP MIS team have undertaken
during this Quarter under each of the deliverables below.
4.1.1 Designing of linkages between SPBMU MIS and Line Ministries
In order to link the schemes of the 6 Line Ministries to the SPBMU MIS, several inception activities were carried
out to determine the anticipated scope of work. Some of the key inception activities listed below were
undertaken before the design of the linkage and further development of the SPBMU MIS:
Assessment of MoE, MoPME, MoDMR and MoHFW MISs and digitization status of schemes. Several
meetings were conducted with the Directorates of these Ministries responsible for the
management of the various Cash Transfer programs with main focus on Primary Education Stipend
Program (PESP), Employment Generation Program for the Poorest (EGPP), Secondary Education
Stipend Program (SESP) and Demand Side Financing (DSF).
Assessment of MoWCA, MoSW MISs and digitization status of schemes which have not been linked
to SPBMU MIS. The focus was on Lactating Mothers schemes of MOWCA which is almost similar to
already linked MA, Disability Allowance (DA) and Widows Allowance of MoSW.
Technical Assessment of linking of iBAS++ and SPBMU MIS in readiness for piloting of proposed
payments system in OAA and MA schemes in selected Upazila.
Preparation of assessment report and TOR for Linkage of SPBMU MIS with the 6 Line Ministries and
further development of SPBMU MIS.
The findings from the assessment of the status of data digitisation in 6 Line Ministries is summarised below
Ministry and scheme Digitisation Status
Ministry of Health-DSF MIS does not exist and therefore data is stored in paper form and excel sheets at
Upazila level.
Beneficiaries’ data are not stored at Directorate level apart from summary
reports on number of Beneficiaries
Ministry of Education-SESP SESP program has a digital database of beneficiaries but it is maintained by a
private firm at their premises.
Though they have a database maintained by the private, they do not have a
proper MIS which can be used at the Directorate, therefore data cannot be
accessed by the Directorate online.
SESP program depend entirely on the private firm on access of data like for
every payment cycle they depend on payrolls generated by the firm before
sharing with Dutch Bangla Bank.
Ministry of Primary and Mass
Education-PESP
PESP around 1 crore data is digitized but currently stored and maintained by
SureCash vendors of Rupali Bank.
The Directorate does not keep any copy of the database even though it is
mentioned in the contract signed between Rupali Bank and MoPME that they
should own a backup of the database.
Ministry of Disaster
Management and Relief-EGPP
EGPP data has been digitized and stored at BCC
The program also has a very well design and functional MIS
The MIS is to be upgraded by March 2018 from using Microsoft SQL Server
database to Oracle database and other schemes of the Directorate included.
Ministry of Women and
Children Affairs-LMA
LMA data has not been digitised and is currently stored on paper forms.
Ministry of Social Welfare-
Disability Allowance and
Widows Allowance
Data for Disability Allowance and Widows Allowance are being digitised using
the DSS MIS.
The digitised data of the two schemes are hosted in the DSS MIS which also
keeps the OAA data.
The design of SPBMU MIS Linkage to the Line Ministries was based on recommendations made after the
assessment of the digitisation status of the schemes.
The recommendations are outline in the Table below:
Ministry and scheme Recommendations Remarks
Ministry of Health-DSF In order to link this scheme to the SPBMU MIS the Ministry will be
required to digitise the current DSF data and build a MIS for
maintaining the data.
It was not therefore feasible to digitise the data for DSF and
develop the MIS within the extension period which ends in June
2018.
Linking not
feasible.
Ministry of Education-
SESP
It was recommended that for linking of SESP with SPBMU MIS, the
database of SESP which is currently hosted by the private firm
should be migrated to BCC to ensure full ownership of the
database by the Directorate. SPFMSP Project will provide the
technical assistance during the migration process.
SPFMSP will also help Directorate and SESP develop a MIS that will
enable them to perform continuous update of the database.
To be linked
depending on the
completion of
recommended
activities
Ministry of Primary and
Mass Education-PESP
SPFMSP has advised the Directorate to have full ownership of the
database by either migrating the database from SureCash servers
to BCC or request Rupali Bank to create a backup copy of the
database which can be updated automatically.
After migrating the database to BCC or creating the backup copy,
the SPFMSP Project will link the PESP database and MIS to SPBMU
MIS.
To be linked
depending on the
completion of
recommended
activities
Ministry of Disaster
Management and Relief-
EGPP
Linking of EGPP certainly be done since the database and MIS
already hosted in BCC.
To be linked
Ministry of Women and
Children Affairs-LMA
Since MA MIS has already been developed and the fact that LMA
processes are almost similar to MA, the recommendation is to
modify the existing MA MIS so that it can be used to capture data
for LMA.
After modifying the MA MIS, LMA scheme data can be digitised
and thereafter linked with SPBMU MIS with minimum changes.
To be linked after
modification
Ministry of Social
Welfare-Disability
Allowance and Widows
Allowance
Since the digitisation of these two schemes is in progress using the
DSS MIS, linking them to SPBMU MIS is feasible.
The recommendation is to link the two schemes in order to achieve
Value for Money.
To be linked
Based on the assessment and the recommendations, SPFMSP Project completed broad designing of linkages
(Annex 5) of SPBMU MIS to 6 new schemes of 5 Line Ministries. By the end of June 2018 the project anticipates
to have a total of 8 schemes (6 new +2 done earlier) linked with SPBMU MIS.
4.1.4 Furthering MIS development in areas such as payment system, linkage with iBAS++ etc.
On the other front, the project has managed to collect all the requirements on linkage between SPBMU MIS and
Integrated Budget and Accounting System (iBAS++) which is needed for the piloting of the proposed payment
system. These have been documented by the contracted firm ISTL and will be presented in the Software
Requirements Specification (SRS) document in the second quarter. The SRS document contains detailed design
of the SPBMU MIS linkage and further development and will be used as the guiding document during the MIS
development phase which will start in the second quarter.
On the other front, the project has managed to collect all the requirements on linkage between SPBMU MIS and
Integrated Budget and Accounting System (iBAS++) which is needed for the piloting of the proposed payment
system. These have been documented and will be presented in the Software Requirements Specification (SRS)
document in the second quarter. The SRS document contains detailed design of the SPBMU MIS linkage and
further development and will be used as the guiding document during the MIS development phase which will
start in the second quarter.
The project developed TORs for SPBMU MIS development work and used it to contract software development
firms in November 2017 following the processes proposed by MSP and agreed to by DFID. The contracted firms
were involved in the successful development of SPBMU MIS during the first phase of the project and were
separately contracted in the extension phase to work on SPBMU MIS linkage, further development of SPBMU
MIS and modification of already existing MoWCA MA MIS to incorporate the features for handling digitisation
of Lactating Mothers Allowance data as recommended in the assessment report.
Inception Report of MIS Development Firms
SPBMU MIS Inception reports prepared by the two firms were submitted as scheduled in the contract on the 19 th
of December 2017. This was the first deliverable in the contract signed between the firms and MSP.
The reports provide detailed account of how the proposed MIS activities will be undertaken as summarised
below:
PROPOSED METHODOLOGY: This provides an overview of the solution including scope of work and the
architectural overview of the system.
PROJECT PLAN: Includes the work breakdown of the project in terms of different tasks and milestones,
weekly milestones deliverable list and an activity-by-activity project plan including the time needed
for each of the activities.
RISK MANAGEMENT AND QUALITY ASSURANCE: includes the risk management procedure that needs to
be in place for a successful implementation of the project, since global statistics show two thirds of all
software projects fails, risk management is the single most important factor to consider.
PROJECT TEAM: Shows the positions of the team members, their organisation within the project
development and support team, with suitable range of skills and experience to successfully deliver all
the MIS Development project objectives.
TECHNICAL PLATFORM: includes a comprehensive list of the key tools and technologies for frontend,
backend and business logic- stating from system analysis and design to the end of operational and
acceptance testing, deployment and project handover.
Training of SPBMU MIS Staff
The two programmers of SPBMU MIS and the maintenance engineer have been attending Java programming and
Linux Operating System courses from the last quarter. These courses will provide the SPBMU MIS officers with
the necessary skills for maintaining the SPBMU MIS even after the end of the SPFMSP project.
4.2 Costed plans for SP reform developed
4.2.1 Developing Costed Reform Plan-3 (VGD/ OAA)
As a backdrop to developing the reform, two diagnostic studies on the Old Age Allowance (OAA) and Husband
Deserted and Destitute Women and Widow’s Allowance (HDDWW) were performed as part of these efforts.
Findings of the study were discussed in a dissemination workshop and recommendations were agreed upon. It
was also agreed upon that a costed reform plan be developed so that the recommendations could be
implemented by the Ministry. The quarter in review witnessed the start of the third reform plan on Old Age
Allowance (OAA) and Husband Deserted Destitute Women and Widow Allowance (HDDWWA) Program.
The project designed the ToR for developing the reform plan and discussed this with the Ministry of Social
Welfare (MoSW) for their agreement. Based on the agreed ToR, one International and one National consultant
were hired for developing the reform plan.
The objective of developing the reform plan was to provide the contours of an improved programme in terms of
economy, efficiency, effectiveness and work out an implementation blueprint for the proposed reform
programme on OAA and HDDWWA based on the agreed / recommended design, product features, processes,
improved payment system, implementation arrangements, monitoring, MIS etc. The plan will provide an
estimated additional cost needed for implementing the reform and assess the capacity requirement of the
government agencies as well as an assessment of IT infrastructure that would be needed for implementing the
proposed reform plan.
Based on the timelines of the reform plan, the study was initiated in November 2017 and a draft reform plan
was submitted by the consultants in December, 2017. However, the draft has been reviewed by the project and is
likely to be submitted to the DFID by first week of January, 20181. Going forward, the final draft report on
developing the costed reform plans for the two schemes shall be submitted by early February, 2018. This shall be
followed by a dissemination workshop with all relevant stakeholders and a final report is expected to be
submitted to the DFID by end of February, 2018.
The fourth and final reform plan is likely to be developed for the MoWCA’s program on Vulnerable Group
Development (VGD). The project has already identified the team of consultants during the quarter in review and
has drafted the Terms of Reference for the study. The ToR shall be discussed and agreed upon with the MoWCA
and the team of consultants is expected to start the study by end of January 2018.
1 The same was subsequently submitted to the DFID on January, 8th, 2018.
Status of Diagnostic and Reform Plans
Sector Name of
Scheme
Name of
Line
Ministry
Diagnostic
Study
Current
Status
Reform Plan
Status of
TOR
Agreement
by LM
Current Status of
Reform Plan Remarks
Vu
lner
abilit
y Sec
tor VGD MOWCA Completed
and
Submitted
to DFID
ToR
Prepared. To
be Discussed
with MoWCA
Consultants and ToR
in Place. Reform Yet
to Start
(Likely Start –
January 2018)
Likely Completion
April 2018
VGF MODMR Completed NA NA No Further Action
Required
Hea
lth
Sec
tor
DSF-
MHVS
MOHFW Completed
and
Submitted
to DFID
NA NA MoHFW Adopted
Recommendations
from Diagnostic
MA /
LMA
MOWCA Completed
and
Submitted
to DFID
Agreed Completed and
Submitted to DFID
MoWCA in Process of
Implementing
Reforms
Saf
ety
Net
Sec
tor
OAA MOSW Completed
and
Submitted
to DFID
Agreed
Draft Report to be
Submitted to DFID
in First Week of
January 2018
Likely Completion by
March 2018 HDDWA MOSW
Edu
cati
on
Sec
tor
PESP MOPME Completed
and
Submitted
to DFID
NA NA Meeting between FD
and MoPME to take it
further
Paym
ent
Sys
tem
NA
NA
(initiative
of FD)
Research
Study
Completed
and
Submitted
to DFID
Agreed with
FD
Completed and
Submitted to DFID
Assisting FD and
other LMs in Piloting
the Payment System
4.2.3 Supporting FD and other Line Ministries in implementing already designed reform plan on Payment
Systems (including piloting of the plan in 2 SP schemes)
The project is in the process of supporting the FD and two other line ministries, namely MoWCA and MoSW in
piloting the payment system in few Upazila. Preliminary meetings on piloting payment system has already taken
place at the project involving the SPBMU and the FD. One meeting at the Secretary and DG level was held at the
Finance Division which was headed by the Secretary, Finance Division and attended by the Secretary as well as
the Director General, MoSW and other senior officials.
As part of the support to the MoSW, one round of Training and other Capacity Development was held at the
project office for the DSS Officials who are currently in the process of piloting the payment system under an
agreement with the a2i of the Prime Minister’s Office.
4.2.4 Supporting FD and relevant Line Ministries in implementing already developed reform plan-2 on health
cluster schemes (MA, LMA and DSF-MHVS)
The FD is likely to convene meeting with the MoWCA in order to take stock of the current situation. Meanwhile,
based on the recommendations of the reform plans developed by the project, the MoWCA has requisitioned for
additional funding in their budgetary support for 2018–19 which the FD is likely to agree.
Annex 1
Work plan for the period September 1, 2017 – June 30, 2018
LogFrame Outcome: The Government of Bangladesh has established a more effective and efficient Social Protection
system, including policies, budget and plans.
Year 2017 2018
Month Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
Output and Activities
LogFrame Output 1: Improved mechanisms within SP sector of GoB.
1.1: A fully functional Social Protection Budget Management Unit (SPBMU) at the Finance Division (FD)
1.1.1 Integrating
SPBMU into the regular
setup of FD with
defined roles &
responsibilities and its
expenditure is included
in GoB revenue budget
September October November December January February March April May June
1.1.2 Implementation
of SPBMU
communications
strategy
September October November December
LogFrame Output 2: Improved GoB capacity to manage, implement and monitor social protection programmes
2.1: Institutalisation of SP-PFM courses in selected training institutes and trainers trained
2.1.1 Strengthening of
selected departmental
training institutes by
integrating SP Public
Financial Management
courses in their regular
training program
September October November December January February March April May
2.1.2 Training of
Trainers through
National/Global courses
September October November December January February March April May
LogFrame Output 3: Ministries and Departments of the Government of Bangladesh have access to a strengthened
evidence base on social protection
3.1: Diagnostic studies on 7 SP schemes under taken
3.1.1 Conducting
diagnostic study on
stipend programs
including Disability
stipend (as the 7th
scheme):
September October November December
LogFrame Output 4: Mechanisms in place that contribute to better targeting and monitoring in SP schemes
Output 4.1: A fully functional MIS at the SPBMU linked with 6 LMs to improve targeting of programmes, timely delivery
of transfers and monitoring of SP expenditure
4.1.1 Designing of
linkages between September October November
SPBMU MIS and 6 Line
Ministries
4.1.2 Establishing
linkages between
SPBMU MIS and 6 Line
Ministries
December January February March April May
4.1.3 Developing plans
for SPBMU MIS roll out
to other ministries
May June
4.1.4 Furthering MIS
development in areas
such as payment
system, linkage with
iBAS++ etc.
September October November December January February March April May June
4.1.4 Training on
further SPBMU MIS
development and on
SPBMU MIS linkage
with Line Ministries
January February March April May
Output 4.2 Costed plans for SP reform developed
4.2.1 Developing
Costed Reform Plan-3
(VGD/ OAA)
September October November December
4.2.2 Developing
Costed Reform Plan-4
(VGD/ OAA)
January February March April
4.2.3 Supporting FD
and other Line
Ministries in
implementing already
designed reform plan
on Payment Systems
(including piloting of
the plan in 2 SP
schemes)
September October November December January February March April May June
4.2.4 Supporting FD
and relevant Line
Ministries in
implementing already
developed reform plan-
2 on health cluster
schemes (MA, LMA and
DSF-MHVS)
September October November December
4.2.5 Training on
reformed payment
system through
National courses
November December January February March April May
4.2.6 Training on
implementation of
reform plans 2, 3 and 4
through National
courses
November December January February March April May
Annex 2
Annex 3
Annex 4
Annex 5
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