Conceptually, the comprehensiveness of social protection systems can be considered from two standpoints: that of policies, plans and programmes (supply) and that of individuals, families and communities (demand). As regards the supply of policies and programmes, there are two axes of integration that should be given special consideration during the design, implementation and operation of social protection systems: horizontal (or sectoral) integration and vertical integration (according to the administrative levels at which policies and programmes are implemented) (see diagram IV.2).
Diagram IV.2
AXES OF SOCIAL PROTECTION INTEGRATION Supply (policies, plans and programmes) Demand (families, individuals and communities) Social protection Horizontal
(sectors) (population groups)Crosswise
Ve rtic al (a dministrativ e le ve l) Longitudinal (lif e cy cl e)
Source: Prepared by the authors.
The horizontal axis represents coordination between the different sectors of social policy action (such as social development, work, health and education), which has become necessary as a result of the role played by social protection policies in forging links with sectoral and social promotion policies (such as education and health or labour-intermediation services and active labour market policies). The vertical axis represents coordination between the different administrative levels (from central level down to States, provinces or departments (depending on the country) and, lastly, municipalities) and may or may not incorporate components of coordination with other stakeholders (private sector and civil society). With regard to the vertical axis, there has been a significant increase in the participation of different jurisdictions in the region’s policy formulation and implementation as a result of institutional reforms leading to greater decentralization
and regionalization (Franco, 2010; Martínez Nogueira, 2010; Ramírez and Peñaloza, 2007) (see the case of Colombia in box IV.1). However, the importance of the different levels of jurisdiction varies greatly depending on country size and the actual degree of decentralization achieved.
Box IV.1
CHALLENGES OF INTEGRATING COLOMBIA’S SOCIAL POLICY The Colombian experience provides a good example of the challenges in integrating social policy across different administrative levels (Zapata, 2009). In Colombia, every department and each municipality within it has the autonomy to define its own social programmes alongside national policies, allocating own funds and prioritizing social investment in line with its own specific needs and interests. Wide capacity disparities between the various departments and municipalities, coupled with differing visions by authorities at the two levels, can lead to completely different situations from one area to another. For instance, the department of Antioquia has successfully pursued its own social plans and programmes focusing on housing and food security, by deploying a policy strategy based on the principle of universality and on the development of a social policy institutional framework that has even transcended changes in national government (Zapata, 2009). Departments in a totally opposite situation include Santander and Cundinamarca, which are both more dependent on national funding and where there are marked disparities between the municipalities within them, forcing these departments to target investment and prioritize the poorest areas.
Although the flexibility with which these Colombian departments operate is auspicious in terms of tailoring social policy to the requirements of citizens of a local area, there are obvious challenges in terms of vertical and horizontal coordination. According to Zapata (2009), there are few linkages between peer institutions (municipalities). In addition, policies defined at central level (sectoral policies) and those defined at local level are not coordinated seamlessly. Cunill (2008) also points to a deficit in the linkage between social programmes and services. Even though programmes such as co- responsibility transfer programmes are gradually incorporating a rights-based approach providing guaranteed access to social services, they are not always available in practice because local social services have little or no funding.
Source: N. Cunill, “Contraloría y derechos sociales: el desafío de la igualdad”, Gestión y
política pública, vol. XVIII, No. 1, 2008; J. Zapata, “Coordinación y gestión territorial de la
política social en Colombia”, Políticas sociales series, No. 148 (LC/L.3101-P), Santiago, Chile, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), 2009. United Nations publication, Sales No. S.09.II.G.83.
Social protection systems must also ensure that social policies and programmes —coordinated with one another in the two dimensions described— meet in full the requirements identified after analysing demand from individuals, families and communities. To do this, they must take into account the needs of both “crosswise” integration and “longitudinal” integration (see diagram IV.2). Crosswise integration relates to the requirement to provide and coordinate differentiated benefits to
meet the differing social protection and promotion needs of extremely heterogeneous population groups. These groups may be defined in different ways, depending on such factors as area of residence, income, activity, type of employment or ethnicity. Crosswise integration therefore refers to the incorporation of families into social protection system through participation in various specific programmes, as well as to the management aspects associated with building the institutional capability to coordinate such interventions across sectors. In the case of poor families, this type of integration has been promoted fairly successfully through a number of co-responsibility transfer programmes (CTPs).
Longitudinal integration takes into account the requirements that arise throughout the life cycle of individuals and families —from early childhood to old age— and draws attention to the need to follow social protection interventions through the various programmes. This gives prominence to the pathways by which families and individuals reinforce their rights and their ability to access areas of contributory social protection or, where this is not possible, non-contributory social protection mechanisms to cover these needs with differentiated actions tailored to their profile.
So, for a protection system to be truly comprehensive there must be a sustainable linkage over time between demand and supply, as well as between the axes in which demand and supply are integrated.