The ISSA is proud to announce the winner of the ISSA Good Practice Award for the Americas 2020. The ESDC won the competition for its entry entitled Service transformation: Design-thinking and the Acceleration Hub. The initiative takes a holistic approach to improving service delivery to Canadians. It uses immersive design-thinking processes and agile, repeatable design methods that enable the ESDC to gather innovative ideas from employees, clients and partners, and ultimately translate these into client-centred service solutions. “I congratulate the Employment and Social Development Canada on winning the ISSA Good Practice Award for the Americas in a competition with many outstanding good practice entries of the highest quality from across the region”, said Marcelo Abi-Ramia Caetano, Secretary General of the ISSA.

The initial results of the initiative were so ground-breaking that the ESDC created a physical space for it – the Acceleration Hub. To date, the in-person and virtual environment of the hub is enabling the ESDC to conceive service improvements in record-breaking time.

Record participation in a challenging context

Altogether 30 social security institutions from 18 countries across the continent participated in the competition, and the results were announced during today’s ISSA Social Security Virtual Summit for the Americas. There were contributions from all parts of the continent: Central, North and South America, as well as the Caribbean. All the 138 entries are available in the online ISSA Good Practice Database, which now counts over 1,000 good practices from across the world. “We are proud of the record participation in the ISSA Good Practice Award for the Americas. These good practices will serve us all in further developing social security, not only in the Americas, but worldwide”, said Mr Caetano.

The high participation is a reflection of the strong dedication of social security institutions across the region to innovate, share good practices and promote the value of social security, particularly in the current challenging context of COVID-19. Large parts of the Americas have been hard hit by the pandemic, and social security institutions have made major efforts to ensure business continuity, reach out to difficult-to-cover groups and take on new programmes in order to deliver social security to those affected by the crisis. Many of the good practices submitted to the competition reflect the commitment of social security institutions to tackle the social and economic consequences of COVID-19.

Dynamic social security developments across the region

The good practices submitted to the competition provide unique insights into the decisive role of social security institutions in promoting social security improvements in the region. A series of ISSA articles analyses these dynamic developments, including as regards the extension of coverage to difficult-to-cover groups, efforts to enhance gender-sensitive approaches in social security, and the effective combination of human skills and digital technologies in administration. A comprehensive report on social security developments in the region will be produced for the ISSA Regional Social Security Forum for the Americas, to take place in San José, Costa Rica, from 1 to 3 December 2021.

Participants to the ISSA Good Practice Award for the Americas 2020 competition

Anguilla

• Anguilla Social Security Board

Argentina

• Federal Administration of Public Resources
• Federal Social Insurance Council
• Mutual Association for the Protection of the Family
• National Social Security Administration
• Secretariat for Social Security
• Superintendency of Occupational Risks

Bahamas

• The National Insurance Board

Brazil

• DATAPREV - Social Security Information and Technology Enterprise
• Ministry of Finance – Secretariat for Social Insurance
• National Social Security Institute

Canada

• Employment and Social Development Canada

Chile

• Mutual for Safety CChC

Colombia

• Colombian Pension Administrator
• COLSUBSIDIO - Colombian Family Allowances Fund

Costa Rica

• Social Insurance Fund of Costa Rica

Curaçao

• Social Insurance Bank

Dominican Republic

• Superintendence of Pensions

Ecuador

• Ecuadorian Social Security Institute

Grenada

• National Insurance Board

Guatemala

• Social Security Institute of Guatemala

Mexico

• Mexican Social Security Institute
• State Employees' Social Security and Social Services Institute

Panama

• Social Insurance Fund

Paraguay

• Social Insurance Institute

Peru

• Derrama Magisterial
• EsSalud - Social Health Insurance Institute

Uruguay

• Bank Employees' Pension Fund
• Catholic Workers' Circle of the Uruguay Mutual Fund
• Social Insurance Bank