INTEGRATED SAFEGUARDS DATA SHEET CONCEPT STAGE Report No.: ISDSC447 Public Disclosure Copy Date ISDS Prepared/Updated: 09-Feb-2012 I. BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data Country: Argentina Project ID: P127864 Project Name: SWAp Salta Province (P127864) Task Team Leader: Ana Bellver Vazquez-Doder Estimated Appraisal Date: 11-Jun-2012 Estimated Board Date: 13-Sep-2012 Managing Unit: LCSHE Lending Instrument: Specific Investment Loan Sector: Sub-national government administration (30%), General education sector (30%), Public administration- Health (30%), General public ad ministration sector (10%) Theme: Education for all (30%), Managing for development results (30%), Health system performance (30%), Other public sector governance (10 %) Financing (In USD Million) Financing Source Amount Borrower 0.00 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development 60.00 Financing Gap 0.00 Total 60.00 Environmental Category: C - Not Required Is this a Repeater project? No B. Project Objectives The development objective of the Project is to improve access to primary health and secondary education services among the rural population and support information-based decision-making. Public Disclosure Copy C. Project Description Loan amount, lending instrument and project duration. The proposed loan in the amount of US$60 million is designed as a Specific Investment Loan (SIL) using a SWAp modality. In each sector, SWAp funds will contribute to government programs in a catalytic and focused manner to support Salta’s achievements of its development goals. The Project implementation period will be three years, between January 2013 and December 2015. The Project would be presented to the Board in FY13 Q1, along with the new Argentina CPS (2013-15). Components. The proposed Project will be implemented under two modalities: A US$54million SWAp that will disburse against eligible expenditure programs (EEPs) and a US$6 million Technical Assistance (TA) that will disburse against statements of eligible expenditures. The project will include three components: two SWAp components in health and education that will be implemented by the provincial Ministries of Health and Education, respectively; and a TA component that will be managed by a Project Coordination Unit (PCU) located at the Provincial Ministry of Finance and Public Investment. Component 1: Improve access to primary health services and provide support for evidence-based clinical practice. This component will support the provincial program of Primary Health Care Services which aims at improving the coverage of primary health care services. The program amounts to a total of about US$71 million during 3 years , against which the SWAp will disburse about US$24 million in the three years of project duration. The main objective of this component is to expand access to health services of people in rural areas, especially in geographically isolated areas through the implementation of a Telemedicine Program, including the use of telemetric tools in selected areas. This technological innovation will help to reach populations living in remote areas with effective health services delivery, optimization of the emergency system and the enhancement of the patient interfacility transfer processes. In addition, its implementation would improve the quality of health service delivery throughout the network through the promotion of the use of standardized evidence-based clinical practice guidelines and protocols for Telemedicine services and the use of a new information management system to support evidence-based clinical practice. Participation of beneficiaries during the design and implementation of these new services will ensure they are responsive to gender, equality and multiculturalism. Component 2: Improve access to secondary education of rural population. This component will support the Provincial Program of Secondary Education which aims at improving the coverage of secondary education services among the poor and create the conditions to enhance service quality. The program amounts to a total of about US$112 million a year , against which the SWAp will disburse about US$30 million over three years. In particular, the component will support: (i) the implementation of an education information system capable of producing basic variables such as dropouts, enrollment, number of teachers, school infrastructure, and repetition, among others for the education system as a whole and at the department and school levels; (ii) the development and implementation of a training program for school principals on how the use of education information system to improve school-based management, (iii) the design of pertinent vocational and virtual education models to increase the offer of secondary school in rural areas, and (iv) special training for teachers working with students with special needs: hospital and home-based education and bilingual teaching assistants. Component 3: Strengthen the provincial core public management systems and develop information-tools for policymaking. This component will support the strengthening of key provincial public management systems, consolidating and deepening the progress made in recent years in planning, budgeting, procurement and the production of information for policy-making. In particular, the component will provide technical assistance in the following areas: Public Disclosure Copy • Subcomponent 3.1: Institutional Strengthening for Public Planning: This subcomponent will provide Technical Assistance to support the development of the Integrated Public Planning System that would aim at defining an institutional framework, enhancing current planning initiatives, strengthening coordination among different agen cies and levels of government and providing different planning tools. It includes technical assistance for (i) the implementation of comprehensive provincial planning system (legal framework, institutional design, processes, methodological tools, etc.), and (ii)development of performance budgeting pilots in sectoral ministries including Health, Education, Labor and Economic Development (to be determined). • Subcomponent 3.2: Institutional Strengthening for Program Budgeting: This subcomponent will provide Technical Assistance for the implementation of program budgeting in the non-financial public sector, which involves: (i) the determination of institutional production, the adjustment of the budget programmatic structures, and the construction of input-output coefficients; (ii) the development of a complementary module to the financial information system (called JD Edward) to track the physical production indicators; and (iii) the development of a training program on program budgeting and its link with planning. • Subcomponent 3.3: Institutional Strengthening for Public Management Information Systems: This subcomponent will provide Technical Assistance for the development of an information system for the design, implementation and monitoring of public policy. This will involve the improvement of public agencies’ data systems and the design and implementation of information management tools and accountability mechanisms. • Subcomponent 3.4 Institutional Strengthening for Public Procurement: The objective of this subcomponent is to support the ongoing reform of the procurement system in Salta and improve its efficiency and transparency by adopting modern procurement methods such as framework agreements and e-procurement. • Subcomponent 3.5: Institutional Strengthening for the Government Health Care Program:. This sub-component will provide Technical Assistance to support the design and development of: (i) the Telemedicine Program operational plan, (ii) evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for the use of telemedicine and e-health technology to expand the health service delivery, and (iii) a plan for health personnel training on the use of such technology. • Subcomponent 3.6: Institutional Strengthening for the Government Education Program. This sub-component will provide Technical Assistance to strengthen evidence-based decision making within the Ministry of Education in Salta and will finance the following activities: (i) the development and implementation of a strategic plan to improve the quality of the education system in Salta, (ii) the design and implementation of the first province-level standardized test, (iii) a study on the underlying causes behind school dropouts in Salta, (iv) an evaluation of the effects on secondary school enrollment of the federal program "Asignación Universal por Hijo" (Universal Child Allowance), and (v) an evaluation of the provincial program "Libertad" on teaching methods and learning conditions. D. Project location and salient physical characteristics relevant to the safeguard analysis (if known) Province of Salta, Argentina E. Borrowers Institutional Capacity for Safeguard Policies Public Disclosure Copy The Borrower has no experience with the Bank's safeguard policies. The environmental and social specialists will evaluate the existing capacity and potential activities to strengthen those capacities will be further detailed during project preparation. F. Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialists on the Team Gunars H. Platais (LCSEN) Isabel Tomadin (LCSSO) II. SAFEGUARD POLICIES THAT MIGHT APPLY Safeguard Policies Triggered? Explanation (Optional) Environmental Assessment OP/BP 4.01 TBD The project will not support construction or design activities. However, the team, with support from an environmental specialist will review the proposed project components to assess potential environmental impacts, and provide a more detailed description and justification at appraisal stage estimated for April 2012. Natural Habitats OP/BP 4.04 No As no physical works are being financed under the project, habitats will not be affected. Forests OP/BP 4.36 No As no physical works are being financed under the project, forests will not be affected. Pest Management OP 4.09 No The project does not involve the use of pesticides and hence does not require pest management. Physical Cultural Resources OP/BP 4.11 No There are no physical cultural resources in the location of project implementation. Indigenous Peoples OP/BP 4.10 Yes Some of the activities in the education and health component will include people from Indigenous communities. During further preparation, an Indigenous Peoples Plan (IPP), involving consultations with Indigenous communities will be prepared. As part of this social assessment, the team, with support from a social specialist will also assess the impacts for other non-indigenous vulnerable groups. Involuntary Resettlement OP/BP 4.12 No As the project does not involve physical works or other type of use of land, no resettlements will occur. Safety of Dams OP/BP 4.37 No Project activities will not occur in the vicinity of dams and therefore not affect safety of dams. Public Disclosure Copy Projects on International Waterways OP/BP No Salta is a landlocked Province in the interior of Argentina and will not affect 7.50 international waterways. Projects in Disputed Areas OP/BP 7.60 No The project locations do not include disputed areas. III. SAFEGUARD PREPARATION PLAN A. Tentative target date for preparing the PAD Stage ISDS: 15-Jun-2012 B. Time frame for launching and completing the safeguard-related studies that may be needed. The specific studies and their timing1 should be specified in the PAD-stage ISDS: Assessment on possible environmental and social impact will be carried out before June 2012. IV. APPROVALS Task Team Leader: Name: Ana Bellver Vazquez-Doder Approved By: Regional Safeguards Coordinator: Name: Dianna M. Pizarro (RSA) Date: 14-Feb-2012 Sector Manager: Name: Janet K. Entwistle (SM) Date: 14-Feb-2012 Public Disclosure Copy 1 Reminder: The Bank's Disclosure Policy requires that safeguard-related documents be disclosed before appraisal (i) at the InfoShop and (ii) in country, at publicly accessible locations and in a form and language that are accessible to potentially affected persons.