The social protection landscape is currently characterised by competing discourses and agendas, given that bilaterals, multilaterals and private funders have different targets and have differing constituents whose lives they seek to improve. Critical aspects such as gender inequalities and inequities, women and children’s agency and community coping mechanisms are often not adequately addressed. This publication introduces the Commonwealth Secretariat’s anticipatory and transformative social protection approach, which outlines the principles and strategies for advancing a gender-responsive, human rights-based approach to social protection. It presents analysis and discussion of a framework for social protection, models of good practice from across the Commonwealth, and innovative ways of providing social protection that are not based on men and women being in full-time paid work in the formal economy. This publication will assist policy-makers and development practitioners in making informed decisions about programme design and delivery so that beneficiaries’ access to and participation in social protection mechanisms are fully realised.

As the quality of climate risk information and scientific forecasting has continued to improve, the imperative to act in advance of an imminent shock in order to protect people, assets and livelihoods has also gained notable attention and increasing investment. Recognizing this opportunity, some governments, and development and humanitarian partners are trying to gain a better understanding of the potential of social protection to deliver support ahead of a forecasted shock, including exploring options to systematically integrate anticipatory action approaches within existing national social protection systems. As such, this document discusses the conceptual and practical linkages between these two topics alongside presenting four country case studies, thereby contributing to the literature on how social protection and anticipatory action can protect agricultural livelihoods.

The Philippines has made significant strides in reducing poverty, but the persistent threat of natural disasters, compounded by the country's vulnerability and exposure, continues to jeopardize these gains. Many households in disaster-prone areas hover precariously close to the poverty line, and the devastating impact of disasters on their assets, income, and well-being exacerbates this vulnerability. Anticipatory Action and adaptive and shock-responsive social protection emerges as critical approaches to mitigate the effects of disasters. Specifically, anticipatory cash transfers have shown promise in reducing asset and income losses for affected households. However, the effectiveness of such measures hinges on strengthening the existing social protection system, improving data collection and coordination, and addressing policy gaps, such as the absence of clear cost-sharing rules and concerns over local government capacities. This investment case has shown that the government has various effective and financially viable anticipatory action programming options at its disposal to reduce potential losses from natural disasters. While the choice of which options will be implemented in response to future emergencies lies with the government and the responding agencies, any effective and timely response will depend on the preparations and strengthening activities that will be carried out at the policy, program, and administrative levels over the coming years.

Adaptive social protection (ASP) helps to build the resilience of poor and vulnerable households to the impacts of large, covariate shocks, such as natural disasters, economic crises, pandemics, conflict, and forced displacement. Through the provision of transfers and services directly to these households, ASP supports their capacity to prepare for, cope with, and adapt to the shocks they face—before, during, and after these shocks occur. Over the long term, by supporting these three capacities, ASP can provide a pathway to a more resilient state for households that may otherwise lack the resources to move out of chronically vulnerable situations. Adaptive Social Protection: Building Resilience to Shocks outlines an organizing framework for the design and implementation of ASP, providing insights into the ways in which social protection systems can be made more capable of building household resilience. By way of its four building blocks—programs, information, finance, and institutional arrangements and partnerships—the framework highlights both the elements of existing social protection systems that are the cornerstones for building household resilience, as well as the additional investments that are central to enhancing their ability to generate these outcomes. In this report, the ASP framework and its building blocks have been elaborated primarily in relation to natural disasters and associated climate change. Nevertheless, many of the priorities identified within each building block are also pertinent to the design and implementation of ASP across other types of shocks, providing a foundation for a structured approach to the advancement of this rapidly evolving and complex agenda.

This exciting and innovative Handbook provides readers with a comprehensive and globally relevant overview of the instruments, actors and design features of social protection systems, as well as their application and impacts in practice. It is the first book that centres around system building globally, a theme that has gained political importance yet has received relatively little attention in academia.

This open access book addresses the way in which urban and urbanizing regions profoundly impact and are impacted by climate change. The editors and authors show why cities must wage simultaneous battles to curb global climate change trends while adapting and transforming to address local climate impacts. This book addresses how cities develop anticipatory and long-range planning capacities for more resilient futures, earnest collaboration across disciplines, and radical reconfigurations of the power regimes that have institutionalized the disenfranchisement of minority groups. Although planning processes consider visions for the future, the editors highlight a more ambitious long-term positive visioning approach that accounts for unpredictability, system dynamics and equity in decision-making. This volume brings the science of urban transformation together with practices of professionals who govern and manage our social, ecological and technological systems to design processes by which cities may achieve resilient urban futures in the face of climate change.

Rural populations, especially small-scale producers and women, are disproportionately impacted by climate change since their livelihoods depend largely on natural resources and weather patterns. [Author] This paper reviews the available evidence on the role of social protection programmes in facilitating climate change adaptation and mitigation, with a specific emphasis on economic inclusion for agriculture-dependent households. [Author] The review also presents available evidence on the ability of social protection programmes to contribute to mitigation targets through reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and in easing the impact of climate mitigation policies on price inflation, job losses and income insecurity. [Author] The review underscores the importance of a systems approach. [Author] Both climate policies and social protection policies should incorporate specific elements to effectively complement each other. [Author]

This report aims to provide an illustrative and insightful overview of FAO’s work in social protection across Africa. [Author] Produced by the FAO Regional Office for Africa, the publication showcases a range of innovative and impactful projects that have contributed to enhancing the livelihoods and resilience of vulnerable populations. [Author] It features examples from Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Somalia, Uganda and Zambia. [Author] The report explores how FAO’s initiatives have effectively integrated social protection with agriculture and rural development, addressing challenges such as food insecurity, poverty and climate change. [Author] Aimed at policymakers and practitioners, the publication’s intent is to foster knowledge-sharing, stimulate dialogue and encourage the replication of successful models in other countries and contexts. [Author]

Social protection is now considered a development milestone and an important tool in combating poverty. Interventions can include, for example, health insurance, public works programs, guaranteed employment schemes, or cash transfers targeting vulnerable populations groups. This innovative volume is designed to develop understanding about the role and contribution of social protection globally and to share innovative practice and policies from around the world. It explores how to cover an entire population effectively, especially those who are at risk or who are already in a situation of deprivation, and in a sustainable manner. Divided into two parts, the book begins by exploring the theoretical underpinnings of social protection, discussing the social work and social development perspectives and concepts that currently shape it. The second part is comprised of case studies from countries implementing successful social protection initiatives, including Brazil, India, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria and Indonesia, and reveals how the impact of a successful social protection intervention on poverty, vulnerability and inequality can be dramatic. This volume is an important reference for advanced students and researchers from a range of disciplines including social policy, social work, development studies, geography, planning, economics, sociology, population health and political science.

This book provides a comparative analysis of how communities have developed people-based resilience in response to the global impact of COVID-19. The crisis of the capitalist economy due to border closure, downturn in business, loss of jobs and large-scale destruction of people’s well-being has worsened poverty, and inequality worsened the situation of the already marginalized. At the same time, it has provided the opportunity for indigenous and marginalized communities to innovatively strengthen their social and solidarity economies to respond the unprecedented calamity in a self-empowering and sustainable way. The book explores some of the ways in which local communities have mobilized their cultural resources to strengthen their social solidarity and mitigating mechanisms against the continuing global calamity. It looks at how different communities approach social protection as a way of sustaining their well-being outside the parameters of the ailing market economy and how some of these can provide valuable lessons for strengthening resilience for the future.