BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE St. Christopher and Nevis Social Security Board (SCNSSB) came in for high recognition from the 2008-2010 International Social Security Association (ISSA) Good Practise Awards.

The ISSA awards are given on a regional basis over a three-year cycle at each ISSA Regional Social Security Forum and were designed to recognise good practices in the administration of social security. One award is given at each forum as well as Certificates of Merit as decided by the Jury.

For the cycle 2008-2010, the ISSA Good Practise Awards placed much emphasis on the governance of social security, risk management and change management and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a strategic management tool. Other focal areas included compliance and contribution collection, extension of social security coverage and responding to demographic changes.

The competition, held from December 2008 to March 2009, saw some 26 entries of a total 29 which met competition criteria. In this three-year cycle, the Jury awarded the National Institute of Social Security (Brazil) and the Mexican Social Security Institute for excellence in the areas of using ICT as a strategic management tool and Governance of Social Security respectively.

The Jury also gave 24 Certificates of Merit, seven of which received special mention. Although the St. Christopher and Nevis Social Security Board did not receive the winning award, it not only received a Certificate of Merit but also the Jury’s special mention for its “broad-based strategy for the management of the Social Security Board”. The other countries to receive this award include Anguilla, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and the United States of America.

According to the summary given by the Jury, “The Social Security Fund has introduced a range of strategies, including performance management systems. An important element of this approach lies in its capacity to build a broad-based ownership outlook in which all parties share in the success and rewards of the enterprise. The Social Security Board intends to implement other innovative mechanisms to optimize its performance.”

Speaking exclusively to SKNVibes, Public Relations Officer SCNSSB Chesil Hamilton said the organisation is proud and has attributed its success to its “proactive approaches” in its administration and public relations.

“We have had radio programmes, television appearances and speeches which put us in a position to share information with the public. It’s a broad-based strategy of inclusion; we don’t shy away from giving out information. It’s a definitive approach taken from the Board level right down to the day-to-day-operation,” Hamilton noted.

The operations of the Social Security Board, according to Hamilton, are always very challenging because people have high expectations in terms of getting their needs met. He added that having such international recognition demonstrates the Board’s balanced and broad-based initiative to enhance stakeholders’ ownership and to increase compliance.