A sizeable portion of the work force in the Americas engages in the platform economy, whether as a main or supplementary source of income. This article presents reforms and developments in the region that already have had, or that may have, an impact on the employment status and social protection of platform workers.

Institutional resilience and the need to maintain operational continuity are concepts widely recognised in social security as the main indispensable characteristics for providing services to the population in the event of natural disasters or unforeseen catastrophic events. This has manifested itself over the years in efforts to strengthen processes, infrastructure and the resources that institutions have available to cope with different crises.

There is no single strategy towards digital transformation in social security institutions. This article shows how, through different approaches, institutions in the Americas have been able to move from an initial digitization of processes and services to a broader and more agile strategy of digital transformation, breaking paradigms and operating models.

Europe as a region is characterized as having achieved comprehensive social security coverage, yet still faces challenges in ensuring access to social security and preventing the non-take-up of benefits. This article presents a synthesis of discussions held during a technical seminar organized with the ISSA European Network (IEN).

Social security systems are increasingly interconnected – across different agencies within the sector, with organizations in other sectors and with systems in other countries. Furthermore, in complex environments, even within the same institution, different organizational units are becoming progressively specialized, autonomous, or geographically focused. As a result, the strategic and operational activities in which social security institutions are engaged often require the involvement and coordination of multiple actors working at different levels to achieve effective results.

The growth of the gig and platform economy in recent years has created new markets for businesses and income-generating opportunities for workers, but it has also brought to the forefront issues related to social protection for platform workers. The platform economy is a diverse and complex reality, with different business models, economic sectors, forms of service provision, and types of work and worker profiles. Therefore, platform work cannot be looked at from any single viewpoint.

Social security organizations depend on innovation to constantly strive to improve their operations and delivery. Leadership needs to set the right level of ambition for innovation.

Extending social security coverage is a key challenge for the quasi-totality of members of the International Social Security Association (ISSA) in Africa. Social security coverage for a diverse workforce is therefore one of four topical priorities for ISSA in the 2023–2025 triennium. This follows from extensive work on extending social security coverage in the previous triennium culminating with new guidelines on extending health-care coverage launched in October 2022.

The extension of social security coverage is a key topic for the International Social Security Association (ISSA) and its members. It is one of the main ISSA topical priorities for the 2023–2025 triennium, with particular emphasis given to innovations and strategies to extend contributory social security schemes to the self-employed, workers in the informal sector, migrant workers and other difficult-to-cover groups.

Innovative capacity is a key enabler of a better social security. Building innovation friendly institutions and integrating innovation in organizational processes requires strategic vision, leadership and a commitment to promote creativity and collaboration across units and teams.