Social Protection
Context
The State of the World’s Cash 2020 report found:
- Working with, through and alongside social protection systems is now considered key to strengthening the humanitarian-development nexus and humanitarians are increasingly active in this space
- Practitioners find that the three biggest challenges to effective linkages are: (i) lack of coordination between the actors involved, (ii) social protection systems are not designed to respond to crises, (iii) humanitarian practitioners lack expertise in social protection
- Critically, there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution to linking CVA and social protection. Trade-offs between efficiency, effectiveness, accountability, and sustainability must be considered to ensure the best outcomes for people living in crisis and depends on context, existing systems, and timeframe. Linking will not always be appropriate and social protection systems may not meet all needs. In many contexts, in the short to medium term at least, humanitarian programming will be required to fill gaps.
Current Priorities
The CALP Network has invested intensely in this thematic area over the last few years. We will continue to work closely with the SPIAC-B Working group on linking humanitarian (cash) assistance and social protection (formerly the Grand Bargain Sub-Workstream on Social Protection) and with the SocialProtection.org platform and the Online Community Social Protection in Crisis Contexts to develop evidence, produce capacity building materials and provide technical support to coordination actors.
Community of Practice
SocialProtection.org hosts a dynamic and collaborative online community of practice (CoP) bringing together individuals from diverse backgrounds interested in expanding social protection in crisis-prone areas. The CoP offers a space to exchange documents, insights, and news in order to progress and learn together. Its inclusive and member-led approach offers organisations and individual members a forum to increase learning and outreach, facilitating the exchange of experiences and expanding knowledge. A discussion group hosted by dgroups.org complements these activities by connecting users rapidly via email.
SPACE
There are a wealth of relevant resources from ‘Social Protection Approaches To Covid-19: Expert Advice’ (SPACE) published in the CALP library.
Featured content
Linking Social Protection and Humanitarian Cash and Voucher Assistance
Report
There is a growing momentum and body of work around the idea of developing stronger links between humanitarian cash and voucher assistance (CVA) and social protection (SP). This Briefing Paper for the CALP Network, based on a literature review, a survey, and interviews, is intended to inform the CALP Network’s overall approach in this area, and subsequently its capacity building and...
Linking Social Protection and Humanitarian Cash
Blog Post
The case for social protection to help people cope with shocks has always been clear and never more obvious than during the current Covid-19 crisis. These issues are currently playing out in real time as governments, donors and aid agencies scramble to find ways to get more help to more people to cope with the economic consequences of illness and lockdown. As the virus starts to take hold in...
Linking Social Protection and humanitarian cash and voucher assistance (CVA) – what do we really know and where to start? Findings from the CALP Network commissioned high level briefing paper at the time of COVID-19
Webinar
State of the World’s Cash 2020 Chapter 8 summary: Linking CVA and social protection
Report
Longstanding efforts to strengthen links between humanitarian CVA and social protection have been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, with significant progress since the last report. CVA should aim to complement robust social protection systems where they exist and contribute to their strengthening where they are weak or early-stage. This chapter asks: ‘What opportunities and challenges...
Supporting the Linkages Between Humanitarian Cash and Voucher Assistance and National Social Protection Systems
Report
This tipsheet aims to support country-level coordination efforts to strengthen the engagement between humanitarian coordination groups that implement cash and voucher assistance (CVA) and existing social
protection or disaster risk reduction coordination actors and groups. In particular, it seeks to offers inter-cluster and cash working group coordinators simple practical tips for engaging...
Case Studies
Linking CVA and Social Protection in the MENA Region – Crib sheet
Report
Building linkages between humanitarian cash and voucher assistance (CVA) and social protection (SP) has become an increasingly prominent topic over the past five years and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has been at the centre of this evolution. The objective of this resource set (the crib sheet and 3, soon to be 6, regional case studies) is to ensure that the CALP Network...
Linking CVA and Social Protection in the MENA Region – Iraq Case Study
Report
Building linkages between humanitarian cash and voucher assistance (CVA) and social protection (SP) has become an increasingly prominent topic over the past five years and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has been at the centre of this evolution. The objective of this resource set (the crib sheet and 3, soon to be 6, regional case studies) is to ensure that the CALP Network...
Linking CVA and Social Protection in the MENA Region – Lebanon Case Study
Report
Building linkages between humanitarian cash and voucher assistance (CVA) and social protection (SP) has become an increasingly prominent topic over the past five years and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has been at the centre of this evolution. The objective of this resource set (the crib sheet and 3, soon to be 6, regional case studies) is to ensure that the CALP Network...
Linking CVA and Social Protection in the MENA Region – Yemen Case Study
Case Study
Building linkages between humanitarian cash and voucher assistance (CVA) and social protection (SP) has become an increasingly prominent topic over the past five years and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has been at the centre of this evolution. The objective of this resource set (the crib sheet and 3, soon to be 6, regional case studies) is to ensure that the CALP Network...
Linking Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) and Social Protection – Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT): Country Summary
Report
This country summary is part of a larger resource set, providing practitioners with examples of different approaches to linking CVA
and social protection.
Linking Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) and Social Protection – Turkey: Country Summary
Report
This country summary is part of a larger resource set, providing practitioners with examples of different approaches to linking CVA
and social protection.
Linking Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) and Social Protection – Lebanon: Country Summary
Report
This country summary is part of a larger resource set, providing practitioners with examples of different approaches to linking CVA
and social protection.
Thematic lead
Latest
Cash transfer programming in emergencies: The Cash Learning Partnership’s 5th Global Learning Event
Report
The CALP Network’s 5th Global Learning Event was organised in partnership with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). The learning event took place in Nairobi, Kenya, and focused on three topics of emerging importance not only to cash transfer programming, but to...
Richer but Resented: What do cash transfers do to social relations and does it matter?
Report
This paper looks at how social protection cash transfers are evaluated primarily in terms of poverty reduction or human capital, with their impact on social relations being under-examined. The authors examine case studies from Kenya, Malawi and Zimbabwe, and argue that the impact of cash transfers on...
Protection
Guidelines and Tools
Protection mainstreaming is a practical, efficient and effective means to maximise the protective impact of aid programming. Through incorporating protection principles into aid design and delivery, humanitarian actors can:
Promote the human rights of affected populations
Enhance affected populations’...
Korogocho Cash Transfer Initiative: Supporting ‘Transformative Social Protection’ in the Kenyan Urban Slums
Case Study
This case study looks at Concern Worldwide’s work with the Kenyan government to introduce the concept of transformative social protection (which acknowledges that vulnerability is not only related to income, and seeks to complement cash transfers with components addressing further vulnerabilities) to...
Cash Transfers, Social Protection and Poverty Reduction
Policy paper
Cash transfers form an important and growing part of social protection programming in many developing countries. This article evaluates the use of different types of cash transfers in different regional contexts as a tool for reducing poverty and inequality in developing countries. Particular attention is...
Paying attention to detail: How to transfer cash in cash transfers
Report
This policy working paper looks at various delivery mechanisms which can be used to transfer cash to people in cash interventions. It discusses how these affect the costs, and the barriers, faced by those receiving cash as well as the costs and risks to implementing agencies of successful programme...
Evaluation of Concern’s Post Election Violence Recovery (PEVR) programme
Case Study
Concern’s Post Election Violence Recovery (PEVR) Programme was a cash transfer programme operating in areas of Kenya (Nairobi, Nyanza, and the Rift Valley) affected particularly badly by the violence that followed the announcement of the national election results in late 2007. Building on several other...
Guidelines for cash interventions in Somalia
Guidelines and Tools
These guidelines are intended for all agencies operating in Somalia to represent a common approach to cash transfer programming for food security and livelihood activities in Somalia. The guidelines outline the minimum acceptable standards for cash interventions and provide the justification for...
Helpdesk Research Report: Political Economy of Cash Transfers
Report
Cash transfers are a form of social assistance in which money or cash-like instruments (e.g. vouchers) are distributed to vulnerable individuals or households. They can vary in targeting (eligibility requirements, such as age, poverty, and disability) or conditionality (specific actions required to...
Cash Transfers in Post-conflict Contexts
Report
This ODI project briefing looks at the implementation for the design of cash programmes in post-conflict or fragile states, compared to those of peaceful and stable countries. It highlights examples from Sierra Leone and Nepal drawing lessons from existing programmes, examines the contribution to poverty...