Bangladesh was a global leader in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and shaping the discourse for the Post 2015 development, resilience, urban poverty reduction and social protection agendas. In the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) era, UNDP Bangladesh (UNDP) looks to continue to act on its portfolio of programs to achieve the national objectives of Bangladesh and eliminate poverty. It has originated many of the most exciting and innovative solutions to development challenges. UNDP’s mission is to help create open and inclusive civic spaces, within which the government and people are empowered to realize national development goals and fully engage in global sustainable development efforts.

In the area of improved governance, UNDP and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT: Australia) is partnering with the Government of Bangladesh in significant ways, particularly in improved institutional development in social protection and aid effectiveness. Specifically, Social Protection Policy Support (SPPS) Programme, through expert, evidence-based support, is working with the government to reconfigure the current social security system so that economic growth is achieved in a more inclusive manner, with economic opportunities reaching the rural and urban poor and the protection of vulnerable groups against shocks. The programme is supporting the government in two areas namely better governance of social security and strengthening the delivery of social security of systems.

This work includes supporting the development of a national ‘Single Registry Management Information System’ (as defined within the National Social Security Strategy, NSSS) to improve social protection delivery. Undertaking a scoping study is a prerequisite to this output to identify requirements and to ensure that the proposed MIS does not duplicate any existing GoB MIS.

To achieve this objective, UNDP has outsourced the services of Maxwell Stamp Limited (MSL) to perform the assessments of GoB Social Safety Net MISs and other databases that are used in Social Safety Net programs.  MSL recognises that the overall objective of this UNDP sponsored assignment is to undertake a comprehensive study of the main existing GoB databases as a prerequisite to development of the National Social Protection Management Information System (NSP MIS).