Single Window Service: Building integrated management and IT systems
The Single Window Service is an integrated information system, using the latest technology available, (e.g. finger-prints, smart cards, internet-based platforms) that assists with the management of each beneficiary’s case, monitors coverage and progressive inclusion in the labour market and assesses the impact of the programmes on poverty reduction. It also contributes to building a coherent system, limiting overlaps and fragmentation among the schemes, improving their efficiency. Data is entered at local level and transferred to an integrated management of information system at national level.
Source: ILO Office in Bangkok, 2012
Cadastro Unico: a single registry for social protection in Brazil
A good example of a Single Registry is the Cadastro Único in Brazil. The registry contains 6 basic sets of data: person identification, family identification, household characteristics, schooling information and work and income information. Before its creation, there was a great variety of databases, with basically the same data, no quality monitoring and scarce communication between them. In 2001, the registry intended to unify, in a single database, the target beneficiaries, minimizing data collection effort. Today Cadastro Único is recognized as a legitimate and good quality database, it is practically a census of low income populations. A power point presentation that outlines some innovative approaches as potential scenarios when designing an integrated management and IT system can be found here.
Source: Cadastro Unico, Brazil