The Rosani Cunha Social Development Award recognized four successful practices undertaken in Brazil based on Unified Registry data 

One of the winners of the evening, Regina Rocha speaks during the ceremony of the award, which recognized the best Unified Registry practices by Brazilian states and municpalities. Photo: Patrick Grosner and Rafael Zart/MDSA

Brasilia, December 16, 2016 – Last Thursday (15), the Ministry of Social and Agrarian Development (MDSA) announced the winners of the Rosani Cunha Social Development Award – Special Edition: Unified Registry for Federal Government’s Social Programs. At the ceremony held in Brasilia, awards were granted to four successful and innovative practices related to Unified Registry (CadÚnico) management. The winners were selected among 12 finalists out of 150 candidates. A Register interviewer was also acknowledged for his outstanding performance. The winners will join the MDSA team in an international mission in 2017 (learn more about each of them at the end of this report).

The state of Alagoas was the winner in the category of Good Practices in State Government Unified Registry Management, for implementing a practice entitled Visibility to Families in Traditional and Specific Groups in Alagoas – Learning More to Ensure Rights. With a focus on assisting indigenous and quilombola families, the  initiative is aimed at raising awareness of state and municipal managers as to the existence of traditional and specific population groups and teaching people about their rights.

The winner in the category of Good Practices in the Federal District and Municipal Government Unified Registry Management, subcategory of Qualification and Strengthening Strategies for the Unified Registry, was the city of of Santarém, in the state of Pará, for its Social Service Center. This initiative brings together a number of services offered by the Unified Registry in one single place, making it easier for people to access several public policy benefits.

The city of Porto Seguro, state of Bahia, won the category of Use of the Unified Registry for Public Policy Development, with a practice called Worker’s House and the Municipal Program for Professional Qualification (Qualifica Porto). Through this project, the local administration develops training activities, carries out labor mediation and fosters income generation for those enrolled in the Unified Registry.

The city of Muaná, state of Pará, took the prize in the category of Unified Registry and Social Diversity, for the project Mobile Team: May 28th in the Water Territory. The city was able to expand social protection policies by taking several actions to people in remote areas. In order to do this, the team traveled by boat. Among the activities are courses, lectures, training sessions and an active search for Unified Registry enrollment and update.

Ceremony
At the award ceremony, the Country Director for Brazil of the World Bank, Martin Raiser, said the Unified Registry “has been one of the best practices shared by us internationally and one of the main topics of the World without Poverty (WWP) initiative in terms of exchanging experiences with countries in Africa and elsewhere in the world”.

He also noted that, for most Brazilians, the CadÚnico is the main gateway to social programs, providing subsidies for more than 40 actions, which improve the effectiveness of the social protection system by exchanging information between programs and allowing for the interoperable management of databases.

“This award shows our appreciation for the important work you undertake, which allows us to know the Brazilian reality and change it” said the Minister of Social and Agrarian Development, Osmar Terra, during his speech. For Terra, the success achieved by Brazilian public policies have been possible thanks to the excellent work in putting the Unified Registry into practice.

The national secretary for citizenship income at the MDSA, Tiago Falcão, also stressed that the Unified Registry has made significant progress over the years and is today a role model for other countries. “The Register is now the best instrument for learning about a part of the population that was previously unknown in Brazil. This has aroused international interest. Today, countries interested in learning about the Unified Registry outnumber those who want to know more about the Bolsa Família Program”, he noted.

The Rosani Cunha Award was created in 2009 as a tribute to the former national secretary for citizenship income. Rosani Cunha was responsible for managing important programs at the ministry, such as Bolsa Família. She was killed in a car accident in 2008.

Learn more about the winning projects:

Good Practices in State Government Unified Registry Management
Visibility to Families in Traditional and Specific Groups in Alagoas – Learning More to Ensure Rights (state of Alagoas)
Started in 2007, this practice promotes awareness of state and municipal managers as to the existence of Traditional and Specific Population Groups (GPTEs). The work highlights the specific characteristics of each group, especially those in need of government support. This initiative also teaches GPTE families about their rights, so they can reach out to managers and enroll in the Unified Registry and access different public policies, such as the Bolsa Família Program, the Continuous Cash Benefit (BPC), the Social Tariff for Energy, the unemployment insurance for artisanal fishermen (seguro defeso) etc.

Good Practices in the Federal District and Municipal Government Unified Registry Management
Category: Qualification and Strengthening Strategies for the Unified Registry
Social Service Center (Santarém, state of Pará)
In order to provide the low-income population with access to the Unified Registry and other services, the city of Santarém created the Social Care Center in 2014, which brings together several initiatives in a single space. These include the issuance of the Senior Citizen Card, other documentation, and the inclusion in the Food Purchase Program (PAA), as well as in the Social Tariff for Energy program. This initiative has improved work processes and the provision of services and has expanded daily service for about 400 beneficiaries. Professionals involved in this work seek to provide quality service and ensure the rights of low-income population.

Use of the Unified Registry for Public Policy Development
Worker’s House and the Municipal Program for Professional Qualification – Qualifica Porto (Porto Seguro, state of Bahia)
Aimed at promoting policies for training, employment and income generation for the Unified Registry population, the local administration created the Worker’s House and the Municipal Program for Professional Qualification (Qualifica Porto) in 2015. This program offers courses and workshops on professional training, vocational guidance and access to microcredit, fostering the formalization of Individual Microentrepreneurs and solidarity economy actions. Students and relatives who attend the courses also get meals purchased through the Food Purchase Program (PAA). Approximately about 600 students were already trained.

Unified Registry and Social Diversity
Mobile Team: May 28th in the Water Territory (Muaná, state of Pará)
Developed since 2014, this initiative aims to expand social protection policies based on guidelines for a territorial approach to social assistance. The team has prepared a diagnosis of every city locality through socio-territorial georeferenced mapping, and has developed actions designed for each community profile, such as courses, training sessions, services, lectures, income generation actions and educational campaigns. Another core activity is the active search aimed at reviewing, assessing, expanding and updating the Unified Registry database. These actions have allowed, for example, the socio-territorial diagnosis of 7 hubs and led to visits to all regions of the city, reaching 100% coverage of the territory.

All information provided by MDSA