LocationsThe Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare and UNDP in Montenegro organised a presentation "SWIS (e-Social) - Analysis of user experience in Social Welfare Centres”
Social workers highly satisfied with the e-Social (SWIS)
October 9, 2023
The satisfaction survey conducted by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, proved a high level of satisfaction with the Social Welfare Information System (SWIS) - e-Social.
More than two-thirds (66.6%) of professionals from Social Welfare Centres believe that SWIS has improved the overall social and child protection in Montenegro, ensuring transparency and compliance with the laws and regulations, and it has minimised errors in their work. In terms of percentages, 80% are satisfied with ease of use of SWIS, indicating that it is designed with special care to facilitate and enhance the work of professionals in the centres.
Even 90% the respondents believe that the System makes it easier to access data and information about each individual beneficiary. Over 68% of them trust that SWIS contribute to a better work quality, while 83.6% believe that it has ensured greater accountability in their work.
The Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Admir Adrović, and the UNDP Montenegro Resident Representative, Ekaterina Paniklova, addressed the participants, followed by a presentation on the key findings.
Minister Adrović highlighted that in a year of intensive work on new strategic documents, including the Strategy for Social and Child Protection and new legislative frameworks, it is crucial to have a high-quality information system to ensure their implementation in practice. Minister pointed out, that without e-Social an optimal legislative framework enforcement would not be possible.
"Without the e-Social, which was introduced in 2015, it would be practically impossible to imagine the operation of Social Welfare Centres. Besides contributing to the quality of the Centres’ work, e-Social has also made it easier for citizens to get their social entitlements. Let me remind you, prior to e-Social introduction, a four-member family had to collect as many as 36 documents from various state institutions for eligibility determination. Subsequently, they had to renew their documentation every six months. Now, monthly System automatically reviews the eligibility, ensuring citizens ease of access to cash transfers",the Minister emphasized.
Recalling that the project represents the social protection system backbone, the UNDP Montenegro Resident Representative, Ekaterina Paniklova, noted that the SWIS is going to be further expanded and optimised in the years to come.
"Today, we see how much progress is achieved, as evidenced by the Satisfaction Survey results. Unfortunately, social workers’ job is often mistakenly seen only through the lenses of cash transfers while they actually make decisions on life matters on everyday basis. These issues include, for example, parental rights, guardianship, cases of violence, placement in families, foster care, and placement in institutions. Therefore, I want to sincerely thank professionals from the centres for their dedicated work. Rest assured that UNDP will continue to support the social reform for the benefit of all, including the elderly, persons with disabilities, children, youth and others in need of social support",Paniklova said.
SWIS, also known as the Social Card and e-Social, is a flagship project of the Montenegrin Government, implemented by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, in partnership with UNDP. It has enforced the social protection reform for provision of high-quality social protection to those in need.
Almost all social and child protection entitlements are processed through SWIS, including the cash transfers (19 types), war veteran protection transfers and social services. SWIS is responsible for over 200,000 individual payments to citizens monthly, totalling around 230 million euros annually.
Considerable resources of the Ministry and UNDP, as well as of numerous state entities with which data are exchanged automatically, are invested in this complex and long-term project. Social Welfare Centres are reformed and modernized, cash transfers misuses are minimized, and the budget savings are made.
The Ministry and UNDP continue their work hand in hand toward better social protection for all Montenegrin citizens.
Results of the survey are available for download here. Presentation is available for download here.