Technical Assistance Report Project Number: 51135-001 Knowledge and Support Technical Assistance (KSTA) September 2017 Mongolia: Improved Registry System to Strengthen the Delivery of Social Services This document is being disclosed to the public in accordance with ADB s Public Communications The views expressed herein are those of the consultant and do not necessarily represent those of ADB s Policy 2011. members, Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature.
CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (as of 8 August 2017) Currency unit togrog (MNT) MNT1.00 = $0.00041 $1.00 = MNT2,452 ABBREVIATIONS ADB Asian Development Bank GAIPSR General Authority for Intellectual Property and State Registration NDC PIU SRS TA National Data Center project implementation unit State Registration System technical assistance NOTE In this report, "$" refers to United States dollars. Vice-President S. Groff, Operations 2 Director General A. Konishi, East Asia Department (EARD) Director Y. Fernandez Lommen, Country Director, Mongolia Resident Mission (MNRM), EARD Team leader Team members D. Magee, Senior Country Economist, MNRM, EARD B. Enkhbaatar, Operations Assistant, MNRM, EARD T. Galsanchoimbol, Project Analyst, MNRM, EARD A. Lkhagvasuren, Economics Officer, MNRM, EARD X. Zhao, Information Technology Specialist, Office of Information Systems and Technology In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area.
CONTENTS KNOWLEDGE AND SUPPORT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AT A GLANCE Page I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. ISSUES 1 III. THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 2 A. Impact and Outcome 2 B. Outputs, Methods, and Activities 2 C. Cost and Financing 3 D. Implementation Arrangements 3 IV. THE PRESIDENT'S DECISION 5 APPENDIXES 1. Design and Monitoring Framework 6 2. Cost Estimates and Financing Plan 9 3. List of Linked Documents 10
Project Classification Information Status: Complete KNOWLEDGE AND SUPPORT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AT A GLANCE 1. Basic Data Project Number: 51135-001 Project Name Improved Registry System to Department EARD/MNRM Strengthen the Delivery of Social /Division Services Nature of Activity Capacity Development Executing General Authority for Intellectual Property Agency and State Registration Modality Regular Country Mongolia 2. Sector Subsector(s) ADB Financing ($ million) Public sector Public administration 0.50 management Social protection initiatives 0.25 Information and communication technology ICT strategy and policy, and capacity development 0.75 Total 1.50 qq 3. Strategic Agenda Subcomponents Climate Change Information Inclusive economic growth (IEG) Pillar 2: Access to economic opportunities, including jobs, made more inclusive Pillar 3: Extreme deprivation prevented and effects of shocks reduced (Social Protection) Climate Change impact on the Project qq 4. Drivers of Change Components Gender Equity and Mainstreaming Governance and Institutional development No gender elements (NGE) capacity development (GCD) Knowledge solutions (KNS) Application and use of new knowledge solutions in key operational areas qq 5. Poverty and SDG Targeting Location Impact Geographic Targeting Yes Household Targeting Yes Nation-wide SDG Targeting Yes SDG Goals SDG8, SDG16 Qq 6. Risk Categorization Low Qq 7. Safeguard Categorization Safeguard Policy Statement does not apply qq 8. Financing Modality and Sources Amount ($ million) ADB 1.50 Knowledge and Support technical assistance: Technical Assistance 1.50 Special Fund Cofinancing 0.00 None 0.00 Counterpart 0.00 None 0.00 Total 1.50 qq Qq Low High Source: Asian Development Bank This document must only be generated in eops. 08062017153951033587 Generated Date: 29-Sep-2017 9:20:54 AM
I. INTRODUCTION 1. The Government of Mongolia has requested knowledge and support technical assistance (TA) from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to support the General Authority for Intellectual Property and State Registration (GAIPSR) in strengthening Mongolia s State Registration System (SRS). The TA will improve the accessibility and quality of state registration services in Mongolia and help establish the One Citizen One Registration Program. 1 Improving the SRS is important for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. The TA is consistent with achieving the objectives of the Mongolia Sustainable Development Vision 2030 2 and the Government Action Plan, 2016 2020. 3 The TA will strengthen the SRS by improving the interconnectedness of state agencies that handle state registry information, supporting the shift from manual to electronic systems, reducing discrepancies in data, and improving overall data quality. This will result in equitable access to registry services for all citizens. The TA 4 is included in ADB s country operations business plan, 2017 2019 for Mongolia. 5 II. ISSUES 2. GAIPSR is responsible for overseeing the state registry. It provides civil registration services for citizens to open bank accounts; vote; and access important state services such as health, education, and social services, property rights registration services, legal entities registration services, and archive services. GAIPSR aims to make state registration services more accessible and of higher quality, which is important in ensuring that citizens can fully use essential government services, register businesses or property, set up bank accounts, or vote. This TA will help Mongolia fulfill its regional objectives by contributing to the regional action framework on civil registration and vital statistics for 2014 2025. This framework was included as part of the approved Ministerial Declaration Get everyone in the picture launched by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific in 2014. 6 3. Mongolia has managed to achieve basic online registration services, such as online registration of property and legal entities, as well as an electronic archive database and a system that allows citizens to obtain state registration verification from state service electronic points. Despite these achievements, the intergovernmental exchange of information remains limited because registration units have not been fully connected to the SRS and consequently the SRS does not have timely access to all the information it needs. Further, the lack of financial and technical resources has made it difficult to implement international good practices, such as coordinating civil registration databases with other organizations 7 that collect and use state registry data, introducing technology solutions, and providing capacity building to government officers. These issues have created problems for GAIPSR in fulfilling its mandate. 4. This TA is also important in the current country context. Falling commodity prices and a lack of fiscal discipline have significantly worsened Mongolia s fiscal position and undermined the sustainability of its debt. This resulted in the negotiation of an International Monetary Fund-led 1 This program is part of the government action plan, 2016 2020 and is officially part of GAIPSR s mandate. It aims to link the main registry databases through the use of a single registration number for each citizen. 2 Government of Mongolia. 2016. Mongolia Sustainable Development Vision 2030. Ulaanbaatar. 3 Government of Mongolia. 2016. Action Plan for 2016 2020. Ulaanbaatar. 4 The TA first appeared in the business opportunities section of ADB s website on 14 July 2017. 5 ADB. 2017. Country Operations Business Plan: Mongolia, 2017 2019. Manila. 6 United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. 2015. Get everyone in the picture. Bangkok. 7 There are 16 government and 8 non-government organizations that either receive state registry information from GAIPSR or collect registry information.
2 program, backed by ADB and other development partners, 8 which will enhance medium-term growth prospects. However, implementing this program will require needs-based targeting of government services to improve social development under a more constrained fiscal environment. This includes government services related to civil registration and those that draw on civil registration information, such as social welfare, an area where ADB is heavily involved. This underlines the importance of improving the quality of data produced by the SRS, which is an essential input into designing social welfare policies and allocating resources accordingly. III. THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE A. Impact and Outcome 5. The TA will help the government implement the One Citizen One Registration Program by improving the accuracy of the existing state registry database and by removing or minimizing any discrepancies between other databases containing registry information, as well as strengthening the soft infrastructure that underpins the system and building government staff capacity. 6. The TA is aligned with the following impact: improved state civil registry services and information for social welfare policies. The TA will have the following outcome: strengthened connectivity between inputters of SRS information, government users of SRS information, and citizens accessing SRS services. 9 B. Outputs, Methods, and Activities 7. Output 1: Soum (county) access to online state registration strengthened. Currently, 305 of 331 soums are not connected to the online state registration system. This means that they can provide only 8 of 14 civil registration services and no services for property registration, legal entity registration, or archive use. Thus, citizens must travel significant distances to the aimag (province) center or to the capital, Ulaanbaatar, to access some services. These 305 soums function in an offline manner, whereby a citizen visits the local state registry office and the relevant information is saved onto an offline system, which is transferred as a compact disk by post to the nearest aimag center or to Ulaanbaatar. This creates important delays and discrepancies between local offline information and the online civil registry database. GAIPSR has recently connected Bayangol and Saikhan soums in Selenge aimag. The TA will help connect these soums to existing fiber-optic cables by providing connection equipment and training. 8. Output 2: System enabling electronic registration services in hospitals created. Hospitals provide birth and death registrations, which are important inputs into the SRS. In addition, hospitals are important consumers of SRS data, which they use to administer the state health insurance system. The existing system is plagued by several inefficiencies. When a child is born, the birth is registered in the hospital system, but often a delay of up to 30 days occurs before the parents register the child at the local registry office. This delay causes discrepancies between the databases. These are accentuated when it comes to infant mortality, since often neither the birth nor the death are registered in the SRS. Similar challenges surround death registration. The Ministry of Health, the National Statistics Office, and GAIPSR have signed a memorandum of understanding with which they have agreed to try to rectify these discrepancies by enabling registration numbers to be issued at hospitals and by better synchronizing their 8 The International Monetary Fund program was approved on 24 May 2017. 9 The design and monitoring framework is in Appendix 1.
3 databases. All institutions have agreed to use the government network hosted by the National Data Center (NDC) to facilitate this process. The TA will upgrade GAIPSR s software, enabling it to issue registration numbers in hospitals at birth. It will update the user interface to make it easier to input and access data. It will work with the Ministry of Health and the National Statistics Office to produce a software system that synchronizes the different databases. Training will be provided to ensure that relevant personnel can use and operate the system. 9. Output 3: Single shared database platform for all state registry information created. The NDC provides hosting and server services across national government offices. GAIPSR already provides eight of its services through this platform and represents about 80% of all data in NDC servers. The TA aims to build on the existing relationship by upgrading the GAIPSR software system to enable it to more effectively link in with the system used by the NDC. The TA will also strengthen GAIPSR s encryption software so that it can more easily meet the requirements of the NDC. These two steps will enable the GAIPSR system to be fully connected to the NDC. 10. Output 4: Support for effective implementation of laws and regulations related to state civil registration provided. GAIPSR has already drafted four laws: the General Law on State Registration, the Legal Entity Registration Law, the Property Rights Registration Law, and the Civil Registration Law. These laws will be discussed in the fourth session of the Parliament for 2017. The TA will support GAIPSR with a plan for the preparation of bylaws and regulations to successfully implement these laws once they are approved. Executing these legal changes will enable GAIPSR to overcome some underlying problems in the system. C. Cost and Financing 11. The TA is estimated to cost $1,624,000, of which $1,500,000 will be financed on a grant basis by ADB s Technical Assistance Special Fund (TASF 6). The government will provide counterpart support in the form of counterpart staff, office and housing accommodation, office supplies, secretarial assistance, domestic transportation, and other in-kind contributions. D. Implementation Arrangements 12. The TA will be implemented from 1 October 2017 to 31 December 2020. GAIPSR will be the executing agency. ADB will engage a TA project implementation unit (PIU) composed of a full-time TA coordinator, a part-time information technology specialist, a part-time procurement expert, a part-time legal expert, a part-time monitoring and evaluation expert, and a part-time finance and administrative officer to oversee the TA and help manage the consulting firm. ADB will also engage a consulting firm to develop online and offline systems for the SRS, develop the intermediate database, and strengthen database coding. 13. GAIPSR will form a TA steering group composed of senior officials from the pertinent government departments and agencies to ensure strong institutional coordination and effective dissemination. The deputy chairman of GAIPSR will chair the group. The composition of the group will be sent to ADB for no-objection approval prior to the formation of the group. The TA coordinator will act as secretary to the steering group and the steering group s purpose will be to guide the TA. In addition, the TA coordinator will form, participate in, and lead a working group composed of the PIU members and one full-time GAIPSR staff officer, and other GAIPSR staff members as appropriate. This working group will be responsible for managing the TA on a dayto-day basis and liaising with staff of GAIPSR and other agencies. Training on data input, platform and interface use, maintenance of the system, and anything else deemed necessary to
4 successfully maintain and use any software or systems developed will be part of the consulting firm s contract. The firm will also be responsible for formulating a capacity development plan. An inception workshop, a midterm workshop, and a final closing workshop will be held. In addition, one study tour will be organized for a select number of GAIPSR staff to a country in the region with a strong SRS. 14. TA support for workshops may include costs related to venue, equipment rental, translation, printing and copying, meals, transportation, lodging, logistics and administrative support, and other expenditures with prior agreement from ADB. In line with standard ADB procedures, the TA will not support the executing agency s management fees or related costs, such as staff salaries and allowances, and use of executing agency resources such as office accommodation, which will be provided as part of the counterpart contribution. 15. The executing agency will meet government staff costs and provide office and meeting space. It will also supply data and documents required under the TA and cover the cost of office utilities for consultants. The executing agency will designate a TA focal point with strong English speaking and writing skills, and will facilitate all TA activities and links to local government representatives and providers to ensure the effective implementation of TA activities. 16. The PIU will establish a separate advance payment facility in United States dollars at a commercial bank acceptable to ADB in coordination with the Ministry of Finance and in line with ADB s Technical Assistance Disbursement Handbook (2010, as amended from time to time). Table 1: Implementation Arrangements Aspects Arrangements Indicative implementation period 1 October 2017 31 December 2020 Executing agency Implementing agency Consultants Procurement General Authority for Intellectual Property and State Registration General Authority for Intellectual Property and State Registration To be selected and engaged by ADB TA coordinator 36 person-months $120,000 IT specialist 24 person-months $95,000 Procurement specialist 12 person-months $35,000 Finance and administrative officer 25 person-months $40,000 Legal expert 6 person-months $30,000 M&E expert 6 person-months $30,000 Consulting firm: online and offline software for citizen s registration; intermediate database development; and database coding improvement To be procured by consultants 100 person-months $510,000 Shopping Servers $75,000 Shopping Data storage $35,000
5 Aspects Disbursement Arrangements Shopping Other essential office and computing equipment $50,000 The TA resources will be disbursed following ADB's Technical Assistance Disbursement Handbook (2010, as amended from time to time). ADB = Asian Development Bank, IT = information technology, M&E = monitoring and evaluation, TA = technical assistance. Source: Asian Development Bank. 17. Consulting services. In dialogue with the executing agency, ADB will recruit the following individual national experts: (i) TA coordinator and team leader (36 person-months), (ii) information technology specialist (24 person-months), (iii) procurement specialist (12 person-months), (iv) finance and administrative officer (25 person-months), (v) legal expert (6 person-months), and (vi) monitoring and evaluation expert (6 person-months). The consulting firm package (100 personmonths in total: online and offline software packages for citizen s registration, intermediate database development, and database coding improvement) will be selected by ADB using qualityand cost-based selection. Lump-sum payments and output-based contracts for consulting services will be considered in line with ADB s Midterm Review of Strategy 2020 Action Plan nos. 2.9.2. and 2.10.2. 10 The PIU members will provide inputs to the recruitment of the consulting firm. ADB will engage the consulting firm and individual consultants, and all TA-financed goods shall be procured in accordance with ADB s Procurement Policy (2017, as amended from time to time) and the associated project administration and TA instructions. 18. The PIU will be responsible for producing the TA outputs and deliverables in a timely and effective manner, and for organizing and carrying out all TA activities. The PIU will report to the ADB project officer. The progress of the TA will be evaluated during review missions, and midterm and final workshops based on the performance targets and indicators defined in the design and monitoring framework (Appendix 1). GAIPSR will provide baseline data and verify the data with other government authorities. 19. Social media and websites. GAIPSR agrees to cover the maintenance of the database platform, the rental of fiber-optic cables, the underlying databases, and the web-based interface (including website) upon completion of the project. This will be budgeted and accounted for in GAIPSR s annual budget allocation. IV. THE PRESIDENT'S DECISION 20. The President, acting under the authority delegated by the Board, has approved the provision of technical assistance not exceeding the equivalent of $1,500,000 on a grant basis to the Government of Mongolia for Improved Registry System to Strengthen the Delivery of Social Services, and hereby reports this action to the Board. 10 ADB. 2014. Midterm Review of Strategy 2020: Action Plan. Manila.
6 Appendix 1 DESIGN AND MONITORING FRAMEWORK Impact the Technical Assistance is Aligned with State civil registry services and information for social welfare policies improved. a (Sustainable Development Vision, 2030) Results Chain Outcome Connectivity between inputters of SRS information, government users of SRS information, and citizens accessing SRS services strengthened Performance Indicators with Targets and Baselines a. Discrepancies in birth and mortality registration data reduced (2015 baseline: difference of 1,572 between births registered at the Ministry of Health and civil registration database) b. One Citizen One Registration Program on track (2016 baseline: not applicable) Data Sources and Reporting Mechanisms a. Government s biannual reviews of Sustainable Development Goals implementation b. ADB s internal reports and documents in line with project reporting Risks Change in key government personnel in GAIPSR or in other state registry agencies undermines support for project objectives. Legal issues, particularly those relating to information sharing, are not adequately managed. Outputs 1. Soum (county) access to online state civil registration strengthened 1a. Training and equipment provided to 50 newly connected soums to enable them to provide full range of registration services (2016 baseline: 0) 1b. Report detailing lessons from connecting these 50 soums produced and taken forward to the connection of more soums (2016 baseline: 0) 1a., 1b., 2a., 2b., 2c., 3a., 3b., and 4a. Periodic TA progress reports in line with project reporting 1a., 1b., 2a., 2b., 2c., 3a., 3b., and 4a. Accomplishment reports from consultants in line with project reporting Lack of progress in the sharing of data underlying software system and/or approval of necessary legislation in Parliament undermines achievement of outputs. 2. System enabling electronic registration services in hospitals created 2a. Software program that enables maternity wards to issue registration numbers and submit electronically to the National Data Center and enables GAIPSR to access this data from the National Data Center created (2016 baseline: 0) 1a., 1b., 2a., 2b., 2c., 3a., 3b., and 4a. Minutes of meetings between the government and ADB during review missions and other ad hoc meetings 2b. Training provided to GAIPSR and Ministry of Health staff to enable them to
Appendix 1 7 Results Chain Performance Indicators with Targets and Baselines use and operate the system (2016 baseline: 0) Data Sources and Reporting Mechanisms Risks 2c. State registrar equipment renewed (2016 baseline: not applicable) 3. Single shared database platform for all state registry information created 3a. Portal system that enables information exchange developed (2016 baseline: 0) 3b. Software to create family information system based on SRS created (2016 baseline: 0) 3c. GAIPSR software including encryption software upgraded (2016 baseline: not applicable) 4. Support to effective implementation of laws and regulations related to state civil registration provided 4a. Plans for the preparation of regulations and bylaws to four laws pending parliamentary approval delivered to GAIPSR for implementation upon approval (2016 baseline: 0) 4b. Public discussion event based on new laws and regulations held (2016 baseline: 0) 4a. Government gazette 4b. Feedback from event participants and media reports 4c. Survey on citizen address conflict (identified as a necessary action in lawdrafting process) completed (2016 baseline: 0) 4c. Survey publication, periodic TA reports, and consultancy reports
8 Appendix 1 Key Activities with Milestones 1. Soum (county) access to online state civil registration strengthened 1.1 Recruit project coordinator by Q4 2017 and rest of project implementation unit by Q1 2018. 1.2 Complete procurement plan for equipment and training plan by Q4 2018. 1.3 Complete equipment procurement and deliver training by Q4 2020. 2. System enabling electronic registration services in hospitals created 2.1 Recruit project coordinator by Q4 2017 and rest of project implementation unit by Q1 2018. 2.2 Complete firm recruitment by Q4 2018. 2.3 Complete software development and IT operationalization and training by the end of 2020. 3. Single shared database platform for all state registry information created 3.1 Recruit project coordinator by Q4 2017 and rest of project implementation unit by Q1 2018. 3.2 Complete firm recruitment by Q4 2018. 3.3 Complete software development and IT operationalization and training by the end of 2020. 4. Support to effective implementation of laws and regulations related to state civil registration provided 4.1 Complete plan for legal framework implementation and any associated terms of reference by Q2 2018. 4.2 Complete any necessary recruitments by Q4 2018. 4.3 Complete implementation of legal framework by the end of 2020. Additional government staff training needs not defined in firm contracts Complete training needs assessment by Q3 2018. Conduct study tour in Q2 2019. Roll out and complete training program alongside software operationalization by the end of 2020. TA Management Activities Establish project steering committee composed of GAIPSR and other relevant ministries. The project coordinator will also participate in the steering committee, either as a member or as secretary of the steering committee. Prepare inception (Q4 2017), annual (Q4 2018, Q4 2019, and Q4 2020), and completion (Q2 2021) reports. Inputs ADB Technical Assistance Special Fund (TASF 6): $1,500,000 Note: The government will provide counterpart support in the form of counterpart staff, office and housing accommodation, office supplies, secretarial assistance, domestic transportation, and other in-kind contributions. Assumptions for Partner Financing Not applicable ADB = Asian Development Bank, GAIPSR = General Authority for Intellectual Property and State Registration, IT = information technology, Q = quarter, SRS = State Registration System, TA = technical assistance a Government of Mongolia. 2016. Sustainable Development Vision, 2030. Ulaanbaatar; and Government of Mongolia. 2016. Action Plan, 2016-2020. Ulaanbaatar. Source: Asian Development Bank.
Appendix 2 9 COST ESTIMATES AND FINANCING PLAN ($ 000) Item Amount Asian Development Bank a 1. Consultants a. Remuneration and per diem i. National consultants (209 person-months) 860.0 b. Out-of-pocket expenditures i. Local travel 30.0 ii. Surveys b 120.0 iii. Translation, reports, and communications c 50.0 iv. Miscellaneous administration and support costs d 50.0 2. Equipment (rental or purchase) e 160.0 3. Workshops and training costs f a. Workshops (inception, midterm, and final) 45.0 b. Training workshops, seminars, and study tour g 130.0 4. Contingencies 55.0 Total 1,500.0 Note: The technical assistance (TA) is estimated to cost $1,624,000, of which contributions from the Asian Development Bank are presented in the table above. The government will provide counterpart support in the form of counterpart staff, office and housing accommodation, office supplies, secretarial assistance, domestic transportation, and other in-kind contributions. The value of the government s contribution is estimated to account for 10% of the total TA cost. a Financed by the Asian Development Bank s Technical Assistance Special Fund (TASF 6). b Includes research and survey materials. c Includes all translation activities, necessary policy documents for desk review, production of technical reports for the main TA report, workshop reports, executive summary of the TA findings and policy note, and interpretation of workshops and conferences as needed. d Includes report editing, printing, and dissemination. Includes any other staff support costs. e Equipment purchased under the TA will be turned over to the executing agency upon completion of TA activities. f In addition to the inception, midterm, and final workshops, the TA expects to support five training sessions reaching 100 government employees. The workshops will be held in Ulaanbaatar. g Study tour will only be for executing and implementing agency staff, and the project coordinator will be included. It will be fielded in the region and will include a maximum of eight people. Source: Asian Development Bank estimates.
10 Appendix 3 LIST OF LINKED DOCUMENTS http://www.adb.org/documents/linkeddocs/?id=51135-001-tareport 1. Terms of Reference for Consultants