When the United Nations agreed upon and adopted the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) back in 2015, this marked a seminal moment for humanity’s collective fight for peace and prosperity. This is especially critical in the context of social services and benefit systems – where the SDGs have played a vital role in setting the basis for improved social outcomes such as good health and wellbeing, quality education, gender equality, decent work, reduced inequalities, and sustainable communities.
At a time when demographic structures, technology, economic contexts, and lifestyles of citizens are all evolving, the focus on social reforms therefore stands out in its impact on nurturing local communities for sustainable growth.
In the GCC and the wider world, the UAE has been a front-runner in this regard, creating and advancing a robust social reform agenda that seeks to elevate the standards of its citizens and ensure that no one gets left behind in its journey of progress. Right from education, social protection and healthcare to employment opportunities for the disadvantaged and its pioneering programme for People of Determination, the UAE’s social reforms project is an example for a just and equitable modern society.
For example, in education, the UAE started in 2022 reforms to improve state schools, early childhood development and youth education. But the region has no shortage of examples of detailed plans that foundered upon implementation.
Why? Because these community development programmes take place in a complex matrix. Successfully navigating them from design through implementation requires alignment with international, national, sectoral, regional and even local drivers. The full range of dimensions should be considered, from social protection to culture and others, across all beneficiary segments, from families to special groups. Finally, the various types of intervention, from funding to infrastructure and others, should be factored in.
In social protection, for example, some GCC countries use rudimentary targeting mechanisms to effectively identify and assist vulnerable populations, due to limited data availability, technological infrastructure and comprehensive assessment tools. Many do not possess a centralised information system that comprehensively captures all forms of household income such as local income, foreign income, and income from financial assets.
Alternatively, eligibility for support programmes with income-related criteria is verified through on-site visits and relies on information provided by households themselves. As a result, certain individuals or groups might end up being underserved, and others included in benefits despite not warranting assistance.
A core element of modernising the social protection systems therefore hinges on enhancing their operational frameworks and addressing vulnerabilities while simultaneously fostering the empowerment of individuals to become active and productive members of society.
This entails implementing various forms of support and adopting innovative design characteristics, using efficient targeting mechanisms such as means testing to minimise inclusion errors, introducing conditionalities as a means of long-term human development in line with efforts and needs within other well-being dimensions, and ensuring the right enablers are in place, including an integrated case management system.
In community / social responsibility, as demonstrated by the UAE, governments certainly have a crucial role to play. They drive effective stakeholder dynamics by planning, regulating, funding, incentivising, promoting, training, and coordinating activities. Initiatives such as the “Strategy for the Year of Giving” in the UAE have underscored the nation’s commitment to societal advancement through community initiatives, positioning it as a regional leader in social responsibility.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the GCC, the KSA has defined “A Vibrant Society” as one of three pillars in its Vision 2030 with a focus on the third sector (which involves social activity undertaken by NGOs), and recently launched the “Sakhaa” programme which aims to find donors to contribute towards projects that are impactful to the community.
As GCC countries strive to enhance social responsibility, opportunities certainly exist for more effective and impactful outcomes and for building a cohesive ecosystem that empowers all stakeholders to participate in these social reforms. This approach not only diversifies sources of funding and decreases the burden on the government, but also leverages the unique expertise, resources, and networks of different stakeholders to address complex social challenges more effectively.
Finally, social programmes, whatever their aims, must connect to and engage with their beneficiaries. Many countries have created dedicated strategies or programmes for specific population groups as a way to protect the rights of each one of those groups.
For example, the UAE’s National Policy to empower People of Determination envisions an integrated community, which guarantees their right to a dignified life through six key pillars – healthcare and rehabilitation; education; vocational training and employability; outreach; social protection and family empowerment; and public life, culture, and sports.
These six pillars establish a comprehensive foundation to address the challenges faced by People of Determination through tailored initiatives consisting of inclusive education and employment policies, financial assistance programmes, social and healthcare services, accessibility to public services and infrastructure, awareness campaigns, and others.