Chile introduces new integrated social data system

Brasília, April 5, 2016 – Aiming to boost the efficiency of its national social protection network, Chile has been working since the start of the year on overhauling the new Integrated Social Information System. The Social Household Registry (Registro Social de Hogares, RSH) will be the new tool for beneficiaries to qualify for government programs. The RSH will be replacing the old social protection data sheets (Fichas de Protección Social, FPS), regarded by many as “unfair” and “not transparent,” according to Chilean officials who participated in the International Seminar on Database Integration and Information Systems for Pubic Policy Improvement, held on April 5 and 6 in Brasília.

When citizen data kept by the State becomes available to search online, people gain the opportunity to understand the socioeconomic evaluation of each household and how the system prioritizes the recipients of benefits.

The new registry now has information about 12.4 million Chilean people, or 71.7% of the population. The system unites administrative data from various public agencies, such as health and education, with the information from the old social protection data sheets that date back to 1977.

Learn more about the Chilean social protection system from a presentation given by government officials (in Spanish)

This immense database will be exclusively managed by the Chilean Social Development Ministry, and will require close attention to citizens’ rights, as set forth in laws related to the protection of the private life (n°19.628, 1999) and transparency (n° 20.285, 2008).

“We receive transparency requests every day. We try to strike a balance between disclosing information obtained with public resources and protecting family information,” stated Veronica Acha, head of the Social Information Analysis Department.

From an operational perspective, the legal framework and measures adopted by the government are a positive step forward, according to the officials. The Ministry is legally entitled to request from all public institutions any information necessary to identify potential or current beneficiaries of social programs (Law n° 20.530, 2011), which helps facilitate the negotiations.

Moreover, the Executive Committee that oversees and administers some communication-related and policy aspects is not an inter-ministerial body, as it is in other countries. Rather, in the case of Chile, it acts under the auspices of the Social Development Ministry.

The municipalities are responsible for implementing federal social policies. However, in order to expand the scope of the programs, they are given access to online training platforms and support for municipal officials, as well as telephone service numbers. There are also information kiosks available to families that want to learn more about these programs in over 200 cities.

According to government representatives, it is through outreach at the municipal level that people become informed about their eligibility for other benefits, some of which offer automatic enrollment, and others of which require pre-selection and are available to a limited number of beneficiaries.

Despite the fact that the initiative has achieved widespread coverage, reaching the entire population excluded by the formal market will continue to be a challenge.

“In developing countries, a high percentage of the adult population is simply invisible to administrative records. There will always be gaps to close to better serve households in accessing social benefits,” acknowledged Luis Díaz, Head of the Social Policy Division of the Ministry, during the seminar given by the Brazilian National Secretariat for Citizenship Income (Senarc), belonging to the Ministry of Social Development and Hunger Alleviation (MDS), in partnership with the Brazil Learning Initiative for a World Without Poverty (WWP).