ODI Social Protection Workshop
Responding to a crisis: The design and delivery of social protection
Date
2 April 2014
Venue
This one-day workshop, convened by ODI as part of the DFID-funded Shockwatch project, will be
hosted by ODI in their premises in central London at 203 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8NJ.
Objectives
This workshop aims to bring together researchers and practitioners with the objective of sharing
lessons on the design and implementation of social protection in a crisis-response context. Against
the background of the growing frequency and severity of a range of covariate shocks, improving our
understanding of the policy design and implementation details that facilitate timely, adaptive and
adequate social protection response is critical. Presenters are invited to share the findings of
completed and ongoing research on the policy design and implementation details that promote
responsiveness and to identify and discuss lessons emerging from social protection implementation
in practice. Attention will also be paid to the policy implications for social protection design and
implementation that arise from disaster risk management and humanitarian crisis response,
particularly in the areas of programme delivery and financing, in response to growing calls for the
stronger integration and coordination across these sectors.
Background
One of the primary objectives of social protection is to help households manage risks and cope with
adverse events, including sudden shocks that affect entire communities, known as covariate shocks.
These include economic crises and natural and climatic disasters and have been recurrent over time,
though their frequency and severity are increasing. The number of natural disasters reported is on
the rise as is economic volatility. The impact of natural disasters and climate change is further
compounded by recent demographic dynamics such as urbanisation and migration, while economic
volatility is on the rise as a result of higher economic and financial integration.
Key defining requirements of effective social protection shock response are timeliness and adaptive
capacity. Understanding the policy design and implementation details that facilitate such features is
critical and deserves special attention particularly since they may contrast with the priorities
underlying social protection development in non-crisis times. This workshop aims to promote
knowledge-sharing and stimulate discussion on the social protection design and implementation
parameters that facilitate the timely scale-up and adaptability of social protection. Recent research
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has examined this question for social assistance, social insurance and work-related social protection
programmes drawing on the experience of a wide range of countries and types of shocks. The
workshop will bring together social protection researchers and practitioners to discuss their findings
and identify the main issues to be addressed looking forward.
The workshop will be organised around three sets of issues on social protection and crisis response:
policy and programme design, delivery and planning.
The first component will identify the main measures governments have relied on to scale-up social
protection or adjust policy to protect the poorest in the context of cuts in the aftermath of a shock.
Examples include the extension of the coverage and duration of existing programmes, adjustments
of transfer amounts, the revisions of eligibility criteria and relaxing participation requirements. The
experience of different countries and policies including social assistance, social insurance and workrelated initiatives will be shared to highlight potential advantages and trade-offs of alternative
measures in responding to a shock.
The second component focuses on social protection delivery in a crisis and specifically on uncovering
which features promote rapid scale-up and responsiveness in the stages of social protection
targeting and transfer delivery. Disaster and humanitarian responses yield important lessons for
social protection on operational feasibility and rapid response in a crisis context and these will be
identified and discussed here.
Lack of preparedness is one of the main challenges to effective social protection shock response. The
third workshop component will focus on the available tools for social protection planning and
preparedness and on recent initiatives in this area. It will also identify the financing instruments that
facilitate resource mobilisation and rapid disbursement in the context of a shock. This will include a
discussion of the implications arising from financing mechanisms adopted in disaster risk
management and emergency response planning.
Workshop components
1.
Social protection design
Social protection responses to a crisis can take many forms and can broadly be grouped into those
that are part of an expansion or scale-up of coverage and transfer levels and adjustments that are
made in a context of cuts. Examples of the latter designed to protect the poorest include the
narrowing and fine-tuning of targeting. In this section, the workshop will explore the ways in which
countries have adjusted programmes – including social assistance, social insurance and
employment-related programmes - in the aftermath of a shock, including initiatives aimed at:
introducing new policies, extending the coverage and duration of existing programmes, adjusting
transfer amounts or values, introducing extraordinary payments or transfers and modifying
programme rules and relaxing requirements to facilitate participation.
Issues to be discussed:
1.1
In practice, what measures have countries taken in the aftermath of a shock to scale-up
social protection or to ensure the poorest are protected in the context of cuts?
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1.2
What are the main challenges encountered and how have they been overcome? What are
the trade-offs associated with these different options?
2.
Social protection delivery
In the context of a crisis, securing a quick and effective response is critical. Programme
implementation and delivery details determine the extent to which programmes reach those
affected by a shock in a timely and adequate fashion. These requirements may contrast with the
priorities underlying social protection development in non-crisis times. This section explores the
operational feasibility of different elements of social protection delivery, focusing on the different
elements of programme implementation including: targeting (type of information and frequency of
information availability; properties of information collection tools) and delivery (including different
delivery modalities e.g. manual, through banking system, using smart cards, debit cards and mobile
phone technologies).
Issues to be discussed:
2.1 Which targeting method(s), type of data and instruments for data collection promote flexibility
and the possibility of quick scale-up?
2.2 Which modalities of delivery have proved especially promising in the context of a shock? How
have ICT developments contributed to facilitating delivery and what are the main opportunities
and challenges associated with these instruments? What lessons for social protection delivery
arise from humanitarian and emergency interventions?
3.
Social protection planning and preparedness
Lack of preparedness is one of the main challenges to effective social protection shock response.
Setting up new programmes and adopting new technologies for implementation after the onset of a
shock can be difficult and limit an initiative’s effectiveness. Yet adequate planning remains limited in
many countries. Two challenges to enhanced social protection preparedness for shock response are
the lack of coordination between sectors addressing risk and insufficient funds destined to
preparation and planning. This section examines how countries are addressing social protection
shock preparedness, including in securing adequate financing, and what can be done to support it
further.
Issues to be discussed:
3.1
What tools are available for facilitating planning and preparedness?
3.2
What are the financing mechanisms available and what are their relative advantages and
disadvantages in ensuring resource availability and rapid disbursement?
3.3
Social protection, disaster risk reduction and humanitarian response: there is growing
commitment to integration between these sectors, what has been achieved to date? What
lessons for social protection planning and financing arise from humanitarian and emergency
interventions?
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Draft programme
Responding to a crisis: The design and delivery of social protection
2 April 2014
9.00am-5.00pm
9.00-10.30
Component 1: Social protection policy and programme design
Break
11.00-1.30
Component 2: Social protection delivery
Lunch
2.00-3.30
Component 3: Social protection planning and preparedness for shock response
Tea
4.00-5.00
Component 3 and closing
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