Under the project “Supporting the definition and extension of social protection floors (SPF) in Vanuatu and Solomon Islands” the ILO uses the Assessment Based National Dialogue (ABND) approach to assist Vanuatu and Solomon Islands kickstart the process of developing nationally defined social protection floors.

The broad strategy to extend the social protection floor in the Pacific Island Countries can be considered to comprise of three phases, as shown schematically below:

Phase 1 includes activities such as:

• Consultation meetings with stakeholder to discuss social protection issues relevant to their respective organisations
• Workshops and seminars on the Social Protection Floor at national or local level
• Analysis of capacity and assessment of need with regards to social protection in the respective countries

Phase 2 covers:

• Assessment of the country’s existing social protection system including a stocktake of existing schemes, and identification of policy gaps and implementation issues within the national social protection system.
• Formulation of specific policy options to extend social protection.
• Finalization and national endorsement of a policy paper or report providing detailed account of social protection realities in the countries and policy recommendations.

The assessment applies a participatory approach where relevant stakeholders are involved and consulted in every step.

Phase 3 builds on the national decisions that were made at the end of Phase 2, about which social protection schemes can be expanded and/or established. Activities conducted under this phase would typically include:

• Feasibility studies to assess the viability of the proposed schemes
• Technical capacity building to provide the necessary skills and knowledge to implement the schemes.
• Drafting of new legislation and/or amendment of existing legislation as required for the successful implementation of the proposed schemes

A Modified Assessment Based National Dialogue Activity

Though a series of consultations, it was decided that a modified and simpler Assessment Based National Dialogue (ABND) exercise is more suitable. The activities focused on dialogues to increase awareness of the Social Protection Floor and  and agreeing on key (most urgent and most doable) priority areas, whereas more detailed assessments such as costing exercises are left for follow-up stages in the future. Summary of existing social protection schemes, identified gaps and issues as well as key recommendations are reflected in Solomon Islands' SPF assessment matrix. 

The Solomon Islands have very limited formal social protection provisions and over the years the country has made little progress in this field. Through consultations and dialogues conducted under the current project, the lack of (common) understanding of social protection and the government’s responsibility in providing social protection to the population has been identified as a contributing factor to the limited progress. It was therefore agreed that mainstreaming social protection through awareness-raising activities should be the first step before moving towards developing a broad social protection strategy.

Following social protection dialogue activities, stakeholders expressed high interest in exploring the possibility of providing social assistance, particularly to the elderly. It was agreed that cash transfer for elderly would be politically and socially suitable policy for the country. Further discussion and feasibility assessment should be the next step.

Review of the Workers' Compensation Scheme 

Stakeholders also agreed that attention should be given to a specific aspect of social protection that is seen as urgent and familiar, which can also be an entry point for broader social protection discussions. Corresponding to this, a review was conducted to the workers’ compensation scheme (regulated by the Workmen’s Compensation Act 1952), which is deemed outdated and in need of reform. The review consists of desk study, consultations, and formulation of recommendations for reform. Click here for the review.

National Social Protection Floor Workshop

A Social Protection Workshop was conducted in Honiara on the 11-12 February 2015 with the following objectives:

1. awareness-raising of the Social Protection Floor and analysing Solomon Islands’ social protection provision with the framework of SPF
2. Presenting the review of Solomon Islands’ workers compensation

Solomon Islands are in the early stages of developing formal social protection system. Continuous support from the ILO is essential to ensure that the country acquire the necessary technical capacity to follow up on this important work.