Parliament Supports Digitalization of the Social Sector: Draft Law on the Unified Social Sector Information System is Adopted as a Basis
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine supported in the first reading the draft law No. 11377.
on the Unified Information System of the Social Sphere (UISSS), which was developed by the Ministry of Social Policy. "252 MPs voted in favor.
"It is about simplifying and combining data: instead of complex, disparate registers, there will be a single database covering all types of social support. Convenience for citizens is also important: support will be available faster, both online and in person.
Facilitating the work of professionals: new, modern programs will allow them to serve everyone who needs help more effectively.
This reform will simplify access to support, especially for IDPs and those in need of emergency assistance, bringing Ukraine closer to convenient and modern social services," said Oksana Zholnovych, Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine.
Thus, among the innovations are
- consolidation of all registers and databases of the social sphere into the UISSS and building information exchanges with all other registers and databases of the country to easily and timely verify a person and provide him or her with social support
- development of the Unified Social Register (USR), which is the core of the UISSS.
This will allow to form a single "social history" of a person, as an analog of a medical record, which will collect complete information about the social support provided to a particular person by the community and the state. The person will be able to track how the service is provided and subsequently assess its quality. At the same time, this approach makes it impossible to avoid situations with "doubling" of social assistance or, on the contrary, cases when it is not provided to those who need it;
- social sector specialists and all verified users will work in one modern system - outdated resources created in the 2000s will cease to exist altogether;
- minimization of corruption risks and local abuses in the process of applying for social benefits and services.
Important: the draft law provides for multi-stage protection of personal data and its storage in the cloud.
The adoption of the draft law, in particular, will allow the development of the Unified Social Information System in accordance with the principles:
- Data standardization: The UISSS will help to introduce common standards for data collection and processing that comply with European norms. This will facilitate the exchange of information between government agencies and EU bodies.
- Transparency and accountability: the system will ensure transparency in the spending of budget funds on social programs, which will allow citizens to more easily control the activities of the state.
- Improving the quality of social services: by integrating data from various institutions, social services will become even more accessible and of higher quality.
- Adaptation to European standards: the system will take into account EU requirements for data protection and human rights, and thus contribute to better adaptation of Ukrainian legislation to European standards.
- Monitoring and evaluation capabilities: the system will allow for effective monitoring of social policy and evaluation of its impact, which will help in decision-making at all levels.
- Cooperation with international partners: The unified system will create a platform for cooperation with international organizations and foundations working in the social sphere, attracting additional resources and expertise.
Read more about how draft law No. 11377 will change the social support system here.
For reference.
The development of the Unified Social Sector Information System is possible with the support of international partners - the UN World Food Program (WFP), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN Development Program (UNDP), and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the E-Governance for Accountability and Participation (EGAP) program implemented by the Eastern Europe Foundation, DT4UA, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the Digital Transformation Support project funded by USAID and UK Dev.