ISLAMABAD: The Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) on Friday signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), with Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) to introduce latest Information Technology services, to be used by BISP for better beneficiary support analysis and decision making.
The PITB Chairman Umar Saif called on Chairperson BISP Ms Marvi Memon. Welcoming Chairman PITB, Ms Memon, appreciated the concern being shown by PITB management in different social sector research projects in Punjab. Considering the profile of PITB projects, Ms Memon suggested to identify correlation and likely mutual working avenues to automate the existing procedures for better decision making process, based on digital data. She specifically suggested to work in collaboration with PITB on IRIS Technology (newly introduced by PITB) with the help of special device attached with smart phones to identify beneficiaries, satellite imaging system to get poverty score card, Conditional Cash Transfers (CCT), Complimentary Initiatives (CI) feedback or loop closing platform introduction and NSER joint data analysis options.
Secretary BISP Omar Hamid Khan briefed PITB delegation about the existing multiple partnership initiatives of BISP with different stakeholders. Emphasizing the need of database management, Secretary BISP proposed that the organization may be partnered to utilize the expertise of PITB in the field of data linkages for research and analysis purpose. The teams in BISP are already working in collaboration with MIT and Harvard teams to introduce modern trends. To start off the operational partnership it was decided, that BISP educational initiative Waseela-e-Taleem might be taken as pilot project.
Published in Daily Times, April 7th 2018.