The document discusses building social protection and labor systems through a harmonized approach. It outlines the World Bank's strategy to move from fragmented programs to coherent systems. These systems are portfolios of programs that communicate, often share administrative systems, and work together to provide resilience, equity and opportunity. Two pillars support this agenda: ASPIRE, a global database for benchmarking social protection programs, and SPARCS, an assessment tool to evaluate country systems and guide development. SPARCS uses common methodologies to generate assessments that can be shared, facilitating global learning. The document provides examples of operationalizing a systems approach at both administrative and program levels in various countries.

1. Building Social Protection and Labor
Systems
HD Learning Week
February 5, 2013
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2. The World Bank’s 2012-2022
Social Protection and Labor Strategy
calls for
Moving
From f r a g m e n t e d approaches
to harmonized systems
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3. What are SPL Systems?
Portfolios of coherent programs
that
• communicate with each other,
• often share administrative sub-
systems,
• work together to deliver
resilience, equity and opportunity
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4. Two Pillars to support the Social
Protection and Labor Systems Agenda
ASPIRE
Atlas of Social
Protection
Compilation of
global data
SPARCS
Social Protection
Assessment of
Results and
Country Systems
Assessment tool

5. What is ASPIRE?
• A data project creating harmonized, comprehensive
database of SPL programs across countries and over time to
allow benchmarking comparisons of country results
• Data platform providing open, accessible and comparable
indicators of SPL program design and performance based
on different data sources
– Household survey data: SP ADePT indicators for 57 countries
online now
– Administrative data: Efforts to harmonize key indicators
– New ASPIRE portal to be launched soon to access data
• Data, training and parnerships 5

6. What is SPARCS?
 “Open source” instruments to assess and guide SPL
systems development
– Develops a common methodology for assessment of SPL
systems based on available evidence and practice
– Generates “open source” assessments that can be
developed and used by other organizations
– Facilitates coherent global learning - knowledge sharing
Suite of instruments applied using a ‘menu’ approach at
the program and administrative levels: “What Matters”
guidance notes, assessment tools with
benchmarks, country reports
• Platform for partnerships and engagement
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7. Operationalizing a systems approach
Administrative level: Applying common administrative tools
across programs
• Pakistan
• Georgia
Program level: Coordination of multiple SPL programs
• Chile
• Ethiopia
Policy level: Developing overall approaches to
administration, implementation and financing
• Rwanda
• Philippines 7