The Interactive Social Policy Simulator (ISPS)®
The Interactive Social Policy Simulator (ISPS) is Development Analytics’ customised decision-support tool for evidence-based social policy design. It enables policymakers, programme teams, and development partners to test policy options directly using household survey and administrative data, without needing to write code.
Through an intuitive interface, users can adjust eligibility rules, benefit levels, targeting criteria, coverage assumptions, and programme parameters, and immediately observe how these choices affect poverty, coverage, fiscal cost, benefit incidence, and cost-effectiveness. ISPS transforms complex microsimulation and statistical analysis into an accessible policy dialogue tool.
© Dominic Chavez/World Bank. Link.
Our Approach
Development Analytics designs each ISPS application around the policy questions, data systems, and decision-making needs of the client. The simulator can be used to model reforms in social protection, pension programmes, cash transfer design, child benefits, pensions, humanitarian assistance, service expansion, and early-warning or predictive targeting systems.
By embedding household-level survey data, administrative records, or linked datasets into an interactive platform, ISPS allows users to move beyond fixed scenarios prepared by technical experts. Policymakers can explore alternative reform pathways themselves, compare trade-offs, and identify options that are both impactful and financially feasible.
ISPS can support users to:
• simulate changes in eligibility rules, thresholds, benefit amounts, and coverage;
• estimate impacts on poverty, inequality, adequacy, coverage, and fiscal cost;
• compare universal, categorical, poverty-targeted, and mixed policy designs;
• assess benefit incidence across income groups, household types, age groups, or geographic areas;
• examine cost-effectiveness and identify scenarios that achieve stronger results per unit of spending;
• visualise results through interactive tables, charts, maps, and dashboards;
• support stakeholder consultations, reform negotiations, and evidence-based policy dialogue.
Development Analytics has developed and piloted ISPS applications as ex-ante policy evaluation and decision-support tools for social protection and humanitarian programming. These tools have been used for stakeholders including UNICEF, ILO, UNHCR, IFRC and DG ECHO.
Why ISPS Matters
Policy reform often requires difficult choices: who should be covered, how much support should be provided, what fiscal envelope is realistic, and which design generates the greatest impact. ISPS helps make these choices transparent.
Rather than relying only on static reports or pre-defined technical scenarios, decision-makers can interact directly with the evidence. This makes it easier to understand the distributional consequences of policy choices, communicate reform options to stakeholders, and build consensus around technically sound and politically feasible solutions.
Tailored to Each Policy Context
Every ISPS tool is customised to the country, programme, and data environment in which it will be used. Depending on the assignment, the simulator can include modules on poverty reduction, child poverty, social assistance, social pensions, disability benefits, education support, humanitarian cash transfers, service costing, or predictive modelling.
The final product can be designed as a web-based dashboard, an internal policy simulation tool, or a guided interface for stakeholder workshops and government consultations.
If you would like to learn more about how ISPS can support policy design, reform planning, or programme evaluation in your context, please register your interest.