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
Briefing Note on Panel Discussion between DCF and Partners on Exchange Rates and Cash Assistance
Meeting minutes
This briefing note summarises the key points from a discussion held between the Donor Cash Forum (DCF) and partners on 4th April 2022. The rationale for this session is the increasing number of humanitarian contexts experiencing inflation and/or depreciation, with significant impacts on humanitarian...
Linking Cash and Voucher Assistance with Social Protection: A case study in Gaza
Case Study
In the Gaza Strip, 80% of the population receives humanitarian assistance. The level of need is overwhelming, and the political and socio-economic context has crippled the traditional social protection system. Efforts to build a stronger social protection system are under way, and cash interventions are...
Delivering Better Together: Standard Operating Procedures for Oxfam’s Approach to Cash and Voucher Assistance
Guidelines and Tools
Delivering Better Together: SOPs for Oxfam’s Approach to Cash and Voucher Assistance is a digital guide to all things cash and vouchers in Oxfam that can be downloaded to and accessed from a phone, tablet, or any other device. The SOPs focus on the basics of cash and vouchers, the use of it for...
Social Protection and Humanitarian Action: An Overview of Oxfam’s Approach
Video
This short video tells the story of Amina as a way to provide an introduction to social protection in humanitarian response. Focusing on the linkages to cash and voucher programming and Oxfam’s rights-based approach to social protection, this simple video aims to build awareness of and start discussions...
Digital Feast and Famine: Digital Technologies and Humanitarian Law in Food Security, Starvation and Famine Risk
Report
This working paper presents the findings of a brief exploratory study into the role of digital technologies in International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and its implications for starvation and famine risk. It is a work in progress, intended to raise issues rather than reach definitive conclusions (given the...
Technical brief: Key Principles and Recommendations for Inclusive Cash and Voucher Assistance in Ukraine.
Guidelines and Tools
A technical brief on inclusive cash and voucher assistance in Ukraine, developed together with the European Disability Forum. The brief is intended to provide general guidance for humanitarian agencies operating in Ukraine on how to implement Disability Inclusive CVA.
Exercise to identify linkages of CVA to the social protection system
Report
This document, consisting of this paper and 6 associated tools, aims to contribute to the assessment phase to promote linkages with social protection programmes. It describes the process of the first iteration carried out in Colombia, analysing possible entry points, with a particular focus on the...
Social Protection: An operational tool for the humanitarian, development and peace nexus – Linkages between cash-based interventions and social protection in humanitarian and non-humanitarian settings
Policy paper
This paper explores linkages between Cash-Based Interventions (CBIs) and social protection in humanitarian and nonhumanitarian settings, focusing on linkages between humanitarian aid and sustainable social protection for migrants, including communities affected by forced displacement such as IDPs and...
Presentation: Launch of ECHO Cash thematic policy
Presentation
This is the presentation of the launch of ECHO’s Cash Thematic Policy, which provides guidance to DG ECHO partners and staff on the use of cash transfers. The launch event had the following objectives: Highlight key elements of the policy – emphasising what’s new. Equip a wide cash audience on how...
Webinar Recording: Launch of ECHO Cash Thematic Policy
Webinar recording
This is the recording of the launch of ECHO’s Cash Thematic Policy, which provides guidance to DG ECHO partners and staff on the use of cash transfers. The launch event had the following objectives: Highlight key elements of the policy – emphasising what’s new. Equip a wide cash audience on how to...
Flood Response Multi-purpose Cash, Delivered through Leveraging Nepal’s Social Security Allowance Programme: A case study of shock-responsive social protection in practice: October 2021, western Nepal floods
Case Study
This case study documents the actions of the Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS), with support from the Danish Red Cross (DRC) and in collaboration with local government, in response to the October 2021 floods in Kailali District, Nepal. Specifically, the content describes NRCS’ multi-purpose cash (MPC)...
Cash and In-Kind Transfers in Humanitarian Settings: A review of evidence and knowledge gaps
Policy paper
Over the past decade, humanitarian assistance and social protection have increasingly emerged as a policy response tool to support crisis-affected populations facing conflict or natural disasters. This paper presents a descriptive literature review of non-contributory humanitarian assistance interventions...
Guarantee 360-Degree Satisfaction in Cash Interventions
Report
The purpose of this learning paper is to inform the design of future protective and inclusive cash programming, particularly the MPCA. It highlights the results under the thematic areas of the study and gives recommendations in how to better address them through MPC in terms of appropriateness and...
DG ECHO Thematic Policy Document on Cash Transfers
Policy paper
DG ECHO released its Thematic Policy document on Cash Transfers in March 2022. The document provides guidance primarily to DG ECHO’s partners and staff, but also to the wider cash community with the objective of collectively enhancing the quality and efficiency of cash programmes and of humanitarian...
Gender Responsive social protection post- Covid 19
Policy paper
See the publication here Social protection has been a key policy response to address pandemic-related social and economic crises; however, attention to gender has been insufficient. Less than one in five global social protection measures during COVID-19 has addressed gender, such as supporting women in...
Honduras Case Study
Report
Bono Único - Deepening Preparedness In Social Protection Programs Using Cash and Voucher Assistance for Future Emergency Assistance
Cash & Voucher Assistance Within Social Protection Preparedness in Central America, Mexico, and The Dominican Republic
Report
This report:
• Explores how humanitarian CVA adds value to and strengthens Social Protection programs while contributing to disaster preparedness in Mexico, Central America, and the Dominican Republic.
• Draws out real examples of best practice through two case studies from Honduras and the Dominican...
Operational Research on the WFP Cash Transfer Programme in Cambodia
Case Study
Operational research that generates and documents key learnings regarding the WFP cash transfer programme in Cambodia In line with this research question, the objectives of the research are to: Investigate the design and implementation features of the WFP cash transfer programme that are the same as or...
2021 Cash And Voucher Programming (CVP) Roadmap Milestones Achieved
Report
Summary Report of World Vision’s global progress report and milestones (against WV’s global Cash Roadmap Strategy) in Cash Voucher Assistance (Cash Voucher Programming-CVP) facilitated by World Vision in over 44 countries, reaching more than 6.7 Mio vulnerable people (78 % in Fragile Contexts) in...
Cash and Livelihoods in Contexts of Conflict and Fragility: Implications for social assistance programming
Report
This paper examines the role of cash-plus programming (including graduation) for livelihoods, income, protection, and health outcomes in contexts of different conflict intensity. We assess the origins of cash-plus programming (including graduation) for livelihoods outcomes as it has developed in settings...