1

Pioneered by MastercardPioneered by Mastercard

Inclusive Social Assistance: Five insights to ensure your city’s social programs benefit every residentMaking Tech Work for PeopleA series of insights gleaned from global cities

2

Inclusive Social Assistance: Five insights to ensure your city’s social programs benefit every residentBY SA PA N S H A H , V I CE PR ES I D E NT, E NTE R PR IS E PA R TN E RS H I PS ,

A N D S TE V E TA E , V I CE PR ES I D E NT, M A S TE RCA R D CIT Y K E Y

The Making Tech Work for People series shares insights on a variety of topics gleaned from our work with hundreds of cities around the world, including the members of the City Possible Global Network.

Cities have become beacons of opportunity for young adults—and the businesses that seek to employ them.1,2 It’s estimated that by 2050, 70 percent of the global population will live in urban areas, creating a deep labor pool that will account for an expected 80 percent of the global GDP.3,4

Technology companies, in particular, are relocating to cities to leverage the density of diverse talent available there. While cities welcome the business investment and population influx, they also are feeling the strain on their infrastructures and cultures. In some cities, affordable housing stock is shrinking while the cost of living skyrockets—widening the gulf between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ as lower-income residents find it harder than ever to afford rent, food, transportation, and other necessities.

As community leaders work to ensure inclusive access to social services under increasingly challenging conditions, here are five insights to help guide their strategic roadmap.

70%

Nearly 70% of the world’s population will live in cities by 2050.3

Inclusive Social Assistance

3

1. Technology is an agent of empowerment and engagement

The ease of digital communications has become our new normal so it’s not surprising that 70 percent of us become frustrated when forced to handle government transactions in-person or by phone.5 Fortunately, municipalities are using technology to make their social services more accessible and user-friendly.

For example, online citizen self-service portals now enable residents in many cities to request services, make payments, view benefit data, and manage other municipal tasks from a computer or smartphone. Residents avoid frustration and lost time; agencies free up resources; and cities improve resident satisfaction and reduce costs.

Another example speaks to the flexibility of mobile communications. Social workers in many cities are now empowered with mobile apps on their tablets and smartphones so they can stay in touch with clients from any location at any time, improving client engagement while helping to ease heavy workloads.6

From a planning standpoint, data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) are helping cities understand trends in the utilization of social services, such as spikes in demand during weather events (heat wave, cold spell) or certain seasons, so they can proactively align the needed resources to respond effectively.

2. Digital payment flows open the door to housing and financial inclusion

Technology can transform how participants in urban social programs receive and make payments. In many aspects of urban life, the dominance of cash creates unnecessary friction, preventing residents from participating fully in programs and adding risk to transactions. Digital payment flows, in contrast, streamline access to programs, enhance safety, and may provide low-income residents with much-needed entry into the banking system.

70% of residents are frustrated when forced to handle government transactions in-person or by phone.5

70%

Inclusive Social Assistance

4

The homeless population is one example. With homelessness climbing in high-cost U.S. cities, local governments are augmenting transitional housing with temporary work programs to give the homeless a safe, dignified way to earn money.7 But compensating participants in cash—a common practice—is inefficient and risky. A safer, more inclusive approach is to enable participants to make and receive payments digitally. Digitizing payment flows can help the homeless build savings and grow their financial independence, while giving cities greater control over program management.

3. A universal city services account encourages resident engagement, reduces wasteLow-income individuals and families typically participate in multiple assistance programs, from subsidized housing and meal programs to educational support. Having to navigate multiple enrollment processes and carry a wallet-full of ID cards can be frustrating and time-consuming for residents. Cities, in turn, find it difficult and expensive to manage siloed, disparate programs operating on multiple systems.

Having one city services card on one platform, for example, can help to encourage participation, simplifyy residents’ daily lives, and increase the effectiveness of city services. Such a card could be multi-functional, enabling the holder to prove their identity; pay for goods and services; access government services and schools; accept and make payments; and manage other essentials of daily life. Thus, a student would need only one card to take a train or bus to school, enter the school, take out library books, pay for a subsidized lunch, and manage funds in their school account.

Resident engagement models similar to the one described above can be seen in cities like Kolin, and are being explored by many city leaders.

4. Big data can deliver localized insights to inform social assistance policiesDiverse and expanding urban centers need robust social safety nets. Gaps in social assistance programs can occur unless cities have a detailed understanding of what type of services their residents need and the optimal way to deliver these programs. Drawing on data analytics can help cities answer these big questions and develop targeted, accessible social services that ensure no one is left behind. For example, Chicago, Dublin, London and other cities are using Mastercard data analytics to assess their residents’ socio-economic needs at a hyper-local level and make more informed policy decisions about support programs.

Data analytics are also useful in assessing the effectiveness of assistance programs. Is the assistance reaching the intended residents? Which programs are most effective and why? What incentives work best to drive participation? For example, to optimize a temporary work program for homeless residents,

Digital payments flows can give the homeless a safe, dignified way to earn money.

Inclusive Social Assistance

5

Inclusive Social Assistance

data analytics could help managers identify job attributes that are more attractive to the homeless and use that information to design work choices that maximize participation.

5. Scalable assistance platforms help cities future-proof their programs If the rapid expansion of cities teaches us one thing, it’s that their social safety nets must be able to grow and flex with changing business, economic, and social dynamics. That’s why forward-thinking cities are embracing scalable assistance platforms that align with their capacity planning efforts. By analyzing population growth trends and projecting the impact of future resident demographics, cities can determine the type of social services that will be needed in the years ahead and the likely volume of demand.

Armed with this information and a modular, digital social assistance platform, cities can easily adjust their existing programs or add new services to meet changing needs. The result is a social assistance approach that helps local governments ensure a sustainable and inclusive future for all residents no matter what the future holds.

Final thoughts …Inclusive urbanization is all about creating a city that works for everyone, from those who seldom use social services to those who depend on such assistance to live. Building a robust safety net to protect the growing population of vulnerable residents is no easy task. Technology innovation is one pathway to making social services more relevant, accessible, and easy to use. So is learning about the best practices of other cities who face similar challenges.

City Possible, a new model for urban collaboration pioneered by Mastercard, can help. Through City Possible, you can tap into insights and resources from other cities to help inform your own strategies around social assistance policies and programs.

Social safety nets must be able to grow and flex with changing business, economic, and social dynamics.

6

Inclusive Social Assistance

1. Forbes, “Where Educated Millennials Are Moving,” Jan 12, 2017. 2. Governing, “Why Companies Are Moving Back Downtown,” August, 2016. 3. United Nations, 2014 World Urbanization Prospects, 2015.4. World Bank, 2018.

5. StateTech, “Citizens Want Self-Service Solutions From State and Local Governments; Technology Can Help,” 2006.6. The Atlantic, “What is Self-Service Government?,” 2019.7. The Economist, “Progress is possible in America’s ongoing war on poverty,” 2019.

The superpower of collaborationWe encourage you to inquire about joining City Possible to bring the collaboration superpower to your city. City Possible enables a global network of cities, companies and communities working together to promote inclusive and sustainable urban co-development focused on addressing pressing urban challenges.

We’re also talking to many cities about how they can build a more efficient and robust safety net for their residents. If you would like to learn more about how a platform like Mastercard City Key could help your city engage with its residents, please contact us.

Pioneered by Mastercard