| Human Development Network - Social Protection Unit - Social Funds Thematic Group Social Funds Innovations Updates Volume 1 No. 1 September 2001 The Thailand Social Investment Fund: Providing Social Assistance and Building Social Capital 2 4 0 9 2 by Maryam Salim, Social Sector Specialist, EASHD One of the most striking elements of the T'hailand without care providers who have to proside for Social Investment Fund (SIF) is its emphasis on social orphaned grandchildren; and low- or no-income HI\' capital formation and the way it has catalyzed the patients/children wvithout care provider without access large voluntar response from 'lThai society to help to other organizations/government services such as those affected by the recent social and economic crisis. remote tribes); and 4) Occupation Fund (for poor Particularly innovative is the social fund's "Menu 5" HI\V/AIDs patients or affected persons and their wsindow, in which Community Organization relatives who have not received assistance from other Networks -made up) entirely of volunteers - organizations). distribute social fund financing directly to needy groups in the form of social assistance and cash transfers. Using Mlenu 5 financing, the SIF has mobilized thousands of volunteer network members a3l over the country. This growing partnership with civil society has helped to improve the pace and targeting of disbursements, and has strengthened community networks themselves. A total of US $48.63 million, or about 40% of the social fund's $120 million project budget, has been allocated to Mlenu 5. lNJenu 5 is not an indefinite window of support, but "- 7 - rather was created as a temporary measure to respond to the urgent needs of the poor who cannot access "regular" Governmeni assistance programs. The intermediaries are the community networks that are How it works already a well-established feature of Thai civil societr, * The Social Fund enters into a contractual whose members also serve as subproject volunteers. arrangement with th These Community Organization Networks are local vear, tra inplement wt tse nuetwrks, usrllc for on confederations of comrmunity groups and NGOs based * yea to p em Mesnusubpects. The networks are responsible for disbursing around shared interests (geographical location or mi-cro-grants to comrnunt-y organizations whio in1 economic/social issues such as small-scale fishing gr t associations, anti-AIDS work, or environmentalism). turn disburse funds to the intended beneficiaries associaions, nn-AIDSwork, r envirnmentaism), ithin their respective communities. Any given network may represent the interests of up to thiirteen separate community organizations. * The average community organization grant is $35,000, paid in two installments. After the first What does Menu 5 fund? installment, nonaffiliated community groups Mlenu 5 finances student fees and materials, cash inspect fund disbursement and usage. if transfers for indigent fanilies and AIDS patients, and satisfactory, a second installment is made. As with trnser fr ndget imiiesan ADSpaens,an other SIF-ftnanced mnicroprojects the Community start-up costs for income-generating schemes. There o F m t are four MIenu components: 1) Milk and Organization Network gives progress reports Supplementary Food Fund (for children infected before receiving installments. with HIV/AIDs; poor children whose * In practice, most community netvorks turn grants parents/guardian do not have any income or whose into a revolving fund, to increase the number of parents are incapable of working; and orphans or potental beneficiaries over time. Implementers children with only one surviving parent); 2) are eligible for more funding once original funding Scholarship Fund (for poor children or youths whose is successfully distributed. parents/guardian do not have anyincome; and orphans * Independent community organizations are and children or youths with only one surviving parent); responsible for supervision once the project is 3) Emergency Assistance Fund (for senior citizens complete. FIL E CPY 0 \WVhile originally 1 bilhon baht vas allocated to such as this allows each communrurtv to design a Mi enu 5 (approx. US$26 million), this was local program tailored to local needs. increased and extended to 2.1 billion baht ($54.5 * Decentralization of SIF operations was central to million) to be dispersed byJuly' 2001. attracting volunteers. Key to the SIF's success was developing partnerships at all levels of society for every aspect of project implementation - from Box 1: The Thai SIF at a Glance: Total Lending Portfolio* subproject approval to supervision and impact Sub-Project Category # Sub-projects Total $ Approved evaluation within the communities. Thus, for (US$ M) example, volunteer Provincial Task Forces Menu 1: 3,1)93 IX). assumed responsibilityv for subproject screening CommunitY FCIn= and ranking. In addo Ro l Committees Menu 2: 1,177 8.25 attion, ga C.mmuTiLt Welflare & SafctN were authorized to consider subprojects for Menu 3: 763 4.35 funding support. Links to regional groups and Natural RCsoUrcC 1\1anagcment volunteers would not have been developed & (Cultural Ilreser-atioti & Cultural Preser 15.72 withlout the regional SIF teams in place to forge Menu 4: 1.126 15.72 clse t+ Ciommunitv Capacity Nuilding/ close relationships with these organizations. Nctw(rkinlg * Working so closely- with civil society partners has Menu 5: 457 48.63 Fmcrgcncv Community Weifare fr the Necd\ helped the SIF become more transparent. Pubhc Total 6,6(,16, 9)4.95 oversight helps limit the possibilty of misuse of funds. In the small number of cases where Number of Beneficiaries 12.121,192 resources were misused by recipients, the SIF and Number of Completed Stibprojccts 2,351 Its partners have taken such cases straight to the *As of Aigust 7.2001. public, using pubhc anLnoucements as a way of deterring others anid dealing with those Impact rcsponsible. A publicly-accessible website in Thai The true test of Menu 5's impact will come only after and Englsh also promotes transparency. the project closes. In the meantime, tvo impact * Social Capital Formation is a good goal. but hard assessments, one in Februarv 2000 and one scheduled to measure. The ven? outcome that is consideted , . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~one of the S11l s strengths - social capiral for completion in September 2001, have pointed to a one-of sthe so a s estrengts scca pital . , , . . . ~~~~~~~~~~formation - is also a weakness because it is hard number of areas where the componen-it has had im-npact: to measure concrete outputs. Infrastructure social * In urban areas, disadvantaged children were the funds build things that can be; quantifying social mallm beneficiaries (55.34/o), whl-le tn rural areas, main enefiiaris (5534%),whil in rral aeas,capital, however, is next to impossible. Visits to the unemploy-ed anid the poor were the majior cptl oe-r snx ozpstl.\ttst the unemplo. ed and the poor were the major subprojects plainly demonstrate that social capital beneficiaries (29°/o). is being built, through vide and volunitar) * Approximately 51% of the education funds community partcipation, ownership, and supported students in primary school. leadership. If this could be quantified, manv * Because communities elected to revolve funds, projects in the Bank's portfolio could better report more groups than anticipated are able to benefit. their achievements. * Though some were concerned about transparency of funding allocation, most beneficiaries were satisfied with the assistance because they could use the funds immediatelv for their most urgent priorities, such as their children's education. Another, less measurable outcome has been the strong E- voluntanr response and clear sense of community ownership of the projects. \XWhile the funds received are important, thev seem almost secondarv to the sense of commuLitir and togetherness that the projects create. Lessons Learned * Flexibility in management and design is key. For example, in designing Menu 5, the SIF faced a dilemma: whether it should be a revolving fund or whether to provide one-time grants. They chose grants, but communities are allowed to revolve their funds (which most of them do). Flexibility Box 2: Emergency Subproject for HIV Patients and their Children in Bangkok 1I1lw Associatioin ofA.IDS Imnpacted Individuals (AAII), estabhshicd in 1998 by tie'lThai Business Coalition on AID)S, organizes support gro)ups and social activities for people withi AIDS. IEarlv in its operations, the AAII discoxvercd that AIDS patients, nced forms of assis~tanc, that it CirLlld not provide because of lirnired funds, such as medical expenses, expenses for transportation to hospital, funds to) purchase baby formnula, tuition fecs and funids to engage in occupation. Thie AA] I applied to the 'I'hai SI F to Finance assistance programs fot 463 individUals (inciluding 1 38 poor patients inicapable of workiing, 170 poor unemnploved patients still capable of working, and 155 chiildren and ytouth whose miothiers have AIDS). Since A\utgiist Il__0, 2ll, the SIF hias Financed S127,500t in actixvities: Hlealthcare W\elfar, Fund 2010'). Occupation lFund ('startup Financing for p-pte able to -eork) 33.ll"4 Scholarship F-und (for school-age childrcn w%hose mothers have AI D)S 1tl.3'o Children's Posvder F-rmuta F-und 7.01% Fmergency F:inad (allocated on a ease-bcv-case hasis) 1." Subproject Total (incI. 5% admin fee) 484,3020 baht (- US$127,500) T'here wvas a highier demand for the I lcalthcare WVelfare Fund than for the Occupationi Fund, so in Miarch 21101 funding was reallocated between the two fuinds. As thecre ate a niumber of occupations for whtch the H-l'V/AIDS patients cani undertake successfully, the Association begani promnotinig a greater array of career opportunities than originallyIenvisaged, suchi as cmbroiderv groups and artificial flower proidticition groups. 'l'o providc opportunities for communities to collectively determinec sustainability plans, theu SI F hias introduced the A.All to othecr Mlenu 5 recipient networks (approximnately, 58 networks inl 4 provinces) to shiare ideas. For more information on the Thaland Social Investment Fund, contact Marvamr Salim (rnsalimlD( ~worldbank.org) at the World Banik's Bangkok Office. ot LABORMA 5K PISON IA. ASSISIANCI T HE WOR L D B AN K "Social Funids Innovation Updates" are published informally by the Social Funds themnatic group of the Human Developinent Network - Social Protection. For additional copies, contact the Social Protection Advisory Service, The World Bank, 1818 H Street, NW. Washington, DC 20433, USA, Fax: (202) 614-047 1, E-mail: socialprotection@worldbank.org. Copies are also available on-line through http://www.worIdbank.orst/sp then click on "Social Funds", For more updates please check the Social Funds website.