Definition

A social registry is a comprehensive information instrument that aims to collect, process, systematise, and disseminate data for the identification and socioeconomic characterisation of low-income families. It usually comprises a data collection instrument (with standardised procedures), a robust database, and an information system. Social registries capture a broad set of information about low-income persons and their families, including income levels, access to education, water and basic sanitation, and employment status. They also provide information regarding household characteristics and can include specific data about families belonging to traditional communities.

Rationale

The establishment of a social registry is critical for the effective targeting, coordination, and delivery of social policies. By maintaining centralised, up-to-date socioeconomic data, governments can accurately select beneficiaries for interventions and make informed, evidence-based policy decisions. Furthermore, social registries are essential for adaptive, shock-responsive social protection, as they enable policymakers to rapidly identify and support vulnerable households during systemic crises, such as natural disasters or pandemics. As these systems evolve to include vulnerable and even middle-income households, they provide a foundational infrastructure for monitoring programme impact and ensuring a timely response to dynamic socioeconomic needs.

Key Features

• Standardised Data Collection: The utilisation of uniform instruments and methodological procedures to capture detailed socioeconomic data at the individual and household levels, ensuring high data quality.
• Targeting and Poverty Measurement: The registry's data architecture is linked to national definitions of poverty, food security, and nutrition. It facilitates accurate targeting by operationalising indicators such as proxy means tests, Multidimensional Poverty Indices (MPI), the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), or living income benchmarks, amongst others.
• Dynamic and Broad Coverage: Modern registries increasingly strive for dynamic inclusion, expanding their scope to reach beyond poor households and to encompass broader vulnerable populations or even middle class households who may eventually be in need of social programs, thereby providing a more comprehensive overview of a country's welfare landscape.
• Programme Implementation and Responsiveness: They serve as the central mechanism for beneficiary selection across multiple social programmes, such as many flagship Conditional cash transfers (CCTs) programmes in Latin America since the 1990s, including Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Costa Rica, among others.
• Monitoring and Evaluation: Incorporating continuous data updates to monitor beneficiary status, supporting inter-institutional coordination and the evaluation of social policy effectiveness.