Request for Interview- Academic Project

MASTER’S PROJECT – DUKE UNIVERSITY Tech-based Financing Mechanisms for Social Protection of Platform Workers Aarushi Tripathi, Master of Public Policy Introduction and Motivation As technology gives rise to new forms of employment and work, it has also exposed workers to exploitation and lack of social protection. Platform workers, defined as self-employed workers whose activity is organized or coordinated by a digital platform or app-based employer, tend to have less coverage by social protection schemes. Due to the more arbitrary nature of their working relationship with app companies, they are often only eligible for voluntary coverage or smaller benefit packages. However, the very digital nature of the work can also provide opportunities to leverage technology for effective coverage of platform workers around the world. Research Question This paper will fundamentally try to answer the following question: Can policymakers harness technology to facilitate efficient and equitable financing mechanisms to fund social protection schemes for platform workers? The paper will focus largely on location-based platform workers. Interview Objectives 1. Understand a country’s social protection landscape for platform workers. 2. Mechanism implementation by national governments, and their interactions with platform companies and workers. 3. Opportunities and obstacles for social protection of platform workers in the country and tech-based funding mechanisms. 4. Government interests and previous efforts to provide social protection to new types of workers. Methods • Case studies informed by documents and key informant interviews. • Countries to be covered: India, Indonesia, Estonia The research will employ qualitative methods, specifically case studies and interviews, to explore the question of financing mechanisms and their implementation. Case studies would allow us to understand how low-income workers with sporadic work can be better included within social protection schemes. I will study multiple cases to understand the technical implementation of social security funding mechanisms for platform workers in Estonia, Indonesia and India. These three countries represent three different financing mechanism models, namely automated registration, direct contributions from worker accounts and arrangements for workers with complex or unclear employment relationships. The interviews will be divided into four categories of government officials, staff from the ILO, academics focusing on platform work and platform company representatives. Saatja: "Aarushi Tripathi" <[email protected]> Saaja: [email protected] Teema: Request for Interview- Academic Project Kuupäev: 2025-02-21 08:30 Tähelepanu! Tegemist on välisvõrgust saabunud kirjaga. Tundmatu saatja korral palume linke ja faile mitte avada. Tähelepanu! Tegemist on välisvõrgust saabunud kirjaga. Tundmatu saatja korral palume linke ja faile mitte avada. Good morning I hope you are doing well. My name is Aarushi Tripathi, and I am a second-year student in the Master of Public Policy program at Duke University, USA. As part of the course, I am working on a project to understand different types of financing mechanisms to fund social protection schemes for platform or gig workers in Estonia. I am trying to learn more about how these financing mechanisms - identified through the work of the International Labour Organization - have been implemented, what they mean for workers and the challenges and opportunities they present. I am hoping to use these findings to create policy recommendations for other countries with a similar context, with Estonia as one of the models. Through case studies, I am hoping to obtain deeper insights into how workers with sporadic work can be better included within social protection schemes. Estonia represents a distinct financing mechanism model, that of automated registration. I have also added a short overview of my research objectives with this email. I wanted to check if a member within the ministry would be available for an interview anytime this month or the next? If so, is there any formal process to request an interview? Their insights would be invaluable in strengthening my research findings and would contribute significantly to designing more robust funding methods for social protection of platform workers. Thank you very much for considering my request. I look forward to the possibility of collaborating with you on this important research endeavour. Please let me know if you need any additional information. Regards Aarushi Aarushi Tripathi (she/her) <https://www.name-coach.com/aarushi-tripathi-f8918f81-fcca-41bd-9ebc-d5983 d08dc4c> Vice President, Duke Graduate and Professional Student Government Master of Public Policy- MPP '25, Sanford School of Public Policy LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/in/aarushitripathi/> Email:- [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>