DOST's Innovative Technology Transforms Social Benefit Payments

The winners of the 2024 Duty of Care Awards were announced on 31 October 2024 at The Fullerton Hotel in Sydney, Australia. Hosted by the International SOS Foundation, the Awards honour organisations and individuals making a significant contribution to protecting the health, safety, security and wellbeing of their global workforce. 

DOST Digital Innovations Center under the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection (DOST), winner of the 2024 Duty of Care Award for Innovation, used innovative technology to create a system that proactively assigns social security to eligible individuals.

DOST is part of Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Labour and Social Protection. It was created to use innovative solutions to provide transparency and efficacy to improve the welfare of the population. Its Digital Innovations Centre was set up to accelerate the digitalisation of state-social services.

Sabina Huseynova, Advisor to the Director of DOST, describes the challenge with respect to social benefits payments:

"Historically, the process of securing social benefits in Azerbaijan was fraught with complexities and challenges. Eligible beneficiaries had to navigate through a plethora of bureaucratic steps, filling in numerous forms, and often visiting several offices. A single missing document could delay the assignment of a benefit for months, causing undue stress and financial hardship. Procedural hurdles disproportionately affected the elderly and vulnerable, who were the primary recipients of many of the benefits."

To download the full case study, please click the publication link in the left panel.