Ehsaas is a multicomponent initiative. It has many programmes for 14 different target groups. But often poor families are not aware of benefits, they are entitled to and, if they are aware, they have to go to multiple offices to seek individual services for individual programmes. With One Window Ehsaas, our aim was to deliver services through a single window at the citizen’s interface and therefore, we built One Window Ehsaas operations.

One Window Ehsaas has six pillars: A One Stop Shop, the Ehsaas Center; a public facing digital information and services platform; mobile app; back office consolidated digital interface; Cognitive API architecture, or the integrated national socioeconomic database; and finally, the Ehsaas One-Window Beneficiary Selection and Targeting Policy.

The first pillar, One Window Physical Ehsaas Center is a one-stop-shop to integrate all Ehsaas programs under one roof. The first One Window Ehsaas Center was established in Sitara Market, Islamabad. In this center, all the services under Ehsaas can be accessed under one roof. Key facilities and benefits offered at One Window Physical Center are:

1. All the Ehsaas implementing agencies; BISP, PPAF, PBM and other Ehsaas partners have their presence in the center.

2. Biometric ATM machines, point of sales and branches of partnering banks— HBL and Bank Alfalah for cash withdrawals

3. NADRA office to facilitate Kafaalat beneficiaries with biometric failures, disabled and families of dead beneficiaries.

4. Children at risk of stunting and pregnant mothers can get specialized nutritional food from the Nashonuma Center

5. Students can walk to the Ehsaas Digital internet cafe to use the computer and printing services free of cost

6. Someone, looking for a livelihood opportunity can visit Ehsaas Amdan and Ehsaas Interest Free Loan Desks where they can be given loans there and then, and can be given information about Ehsaas Amdan

7. Ehsaas Langar for free food

8. Shuttle service to take people to Panagahs where they receive bed and breakfast facility

9. Ehsaas Registration Desk for survey registration

10. Center to enrol children under Ehsaas educational conditional cash transfers

11. Information desk of Ehsaas undergraduate scholarship program for university students

12. Ehsaas Tahafuz and Sehat Sahulat Desk for patients in need of financial assistance

13. Desk to serve differently abled and provide them with assistive devices and wheelchairs

14. PBM’s desk for individual financial assistance

15. Fully equipped training room

16. Utility store outlet for Ehsaas Rashan subsidies

17. Retiring room for women beneficiaries

18. Information dashboards which display information effused to people which is relevant to their needs

19. Information and complaint desk linked to e-portals

Secondly, Ehsaas One Window Digital (Ehsaas Raabta) has been launched. It is a one-stop-shop that provides links to all Ehsaas-related information and services. The e-portal is accessible to everyone and has information in Urdu, enabling easy navigation for beneficiaries.

The third part of One Window Ehsaas is an app which mirrors information on the digital portal but in addition, it also marks locations of our service sites: Langars, Panagahs and payment sites. When opened from a mobile, an individual can be navigated to the address. This app is enabled with a camera, which allows a photographer to pick the geolocation of an Ehsaas social welfare site to be mapped.

The fourth part is the integrated back office digital interface, which facilitates access of all those working in the Ehsaas ecosystem to appropriate links and resources. of Ehsaas One Window is an app which mirrors information on the digital portal but in addition, it marks locations of service sites: Langars, Panagahs and payment sites. The Ehsaas Raabta App is available on Google Playstore.

The fifth component of One Window Ehsaas is the integrated database.

The sixth pillar of One Window Ehsaas, is the Standardized Beneficiary Targeting Policy. Previously, all agencies used their own eligibility ascertainment system—this Policy compels standardized beneficiary targeting using the Proxy Means Test. The information needed to generate the score comes from the National Socioeconomic Survey.