Social protection

Policies and procedures included in social protection involve five major kinds of activities: labour market policies and programs, social insurance programs, social assistance, micro and area-based schemes, and child protection. These are designed to reduce poverty and vulnerability. The document collection in this section aims to support those involved in social protection policy processes.

Policy briefs

• 7 Reasons why a universal income makes sense in middle-income countries 
  
  ­Policy brief which argues that a universal income grant would be a powerful intervention for radically reducing the depth and scale of impoverishment, and for enhancing ­liberty.
  Marais, H., September 2011
• A global policy package to address the global crisis 
  
  A policy brief which identifies a social agenda as crucial in addressing the global financial crisis.
  International Labour Organisation, November 2008
• Benefiting without receiving money?: Externalities of conditional cash transfer programmes on schooling, health and the village economy 
  
  Presents the little and partially­ preliminary evidence of the positive effects that cash transfer programmes have on non-participants.
  International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth, March 2010
• Children in times of economic crisis: Past lessons, future policies 
  
  Reviews ­policy implications for assessing the impact of economic and other shocks on children.
  Overseas Development Institute, March 2009
• Conditional cash transfer programmes: their relevance for Nepal 
  
  The second in a series of papers aimed at strengthening the understanding of policy makers and citizens on the implications of social protection programmes for the achievement of poverty reduction and broader social development.
  Wahenga, March 2011
• Dynamic benefits: Towards welfare that works 
  
  Reviews the UK benefits system and proposes a recasting of state support for the unemployed and low paid.
  Centre for Social Justice, November 2009
• From Evidence to Action: a newsletter of the Policy > Action Network 
  
  Issue 4 of the newsletter focuses on the issue of violent crime in South Africa. The newsletter aims to stimulate debate around evidence-based policy-making. To contribute to future editions plesae send your submissions to pan@hsrc.ac.za­.
  Policy > Action Network, August 2011
• From Evidence to Action: Issue three: Child-centred policy 
  
  Issue Three of the PAN newsletter focuses on the interface between child-centred evidence and related policy. It features a range of resources that illustrate how child-focused data and research evidence can contribute to and inform better outcomes for children when formulating social policy.
  Human Sciences Research Council and the Programme to Support Pro-Poor Policy Development, June 2011
• Frontiers of social protection: Wahenga policy briefs 
  
  The first in a new series incorporating new evidence on the practicalities and impacts of delivering large scale social protection.
  Wahenga, November 2009
• No sign of a dependency culture in South Africa 
  
  Argues that both unemployed South Africans and social grant recipients have a positive attitude towards work and cannot be regarded as dependent.
  Human Sciences Research Council, March 2008
• Social protection in Africa: A way forward 
  
  Policy brief setting out five approaches to programme development and interventions for national social protection policy processes in Africa.
  Centre for Social Protection (CSP), Institute of Development Studies (IDS), September 2010
• Social protection in Africa: Where next?  
  
  Proposes ten guiding principles for the future engagement of development partners with national social protection policy processes in Africa.
  Regional Hunger and Vulnerability Programme , June 2010
• Social protection in Botswana - a model for Africa?: Frontiers of Social Protection brief number 9 
  
  R­eviews the status of Botswana’s social protection policies and programmes within their broader social development context, examines their effectiveness and assesses the challenges they face.
  Wahenga, May 2011
• Social protection opportunities for Africa  
  
  A policy brief from the International Food Policy Research Institute
  International Food Policy Research Institute, September 2008
• Social protection: A global imperative 
  
  Reviews the G20 plan to fund social protection for the poorest countries in the current financial crisis.
  Overseas Development Institute, May 2009
• Vacancy: Head: Research Use and Impact Assessment (RIA) (Deputy Executive Director) 
  
  The Research Use and Impact (RIA) programme at the HSRC wishes to appoint a suitable candidate to lead the programme. The successful candidate will be based in Pretoria on a 5 year contract. The closing date for applications is 18 November 2011.­­
  Human Sciences Research Council, November 2011
• Wahenga policy briefs 
  
  A series of ten policy briefs which provide an overview of the current debate on the role of social transfers in Southern Africa.
  
  2008

Research reports & papers

• Towards better use of evidence in policy formation: A discussion paper 
  
  A report intended as an initial high-level paper to stimulate discussion amongst New Zealand policy advisors and policy makers.­
  Gluckman, P., May 2011
• Africa progress report 2011: The transformative power of partnerships:  
  
  A concise overview of the progress Africa has made over the previous year in seven areas, namely economic growth, governance, peace and security, social development, food and nutrition security, climate change, and development cooperation and finance. Provides a series of practical recommendations for policy makers.
  Africa Progress Panel, May 2011
• Assessing progress in Africa toward the Millennium Development Goals 
  
  Highlights policy innovations including expanded social protection programmes in Africa that are facilitating progress toward at­tainment of the Millennium Development Goals.
  United Nations Development Programme, September 2010
• Attitudes to work and social security in South Africa 
  
  Presents findings on the relationship between social grants and employment and that there is no evidence of a dependency culture.
  Human Sciences Research Council, 2008
• Call for proposals: Social protection thematic window 
  
  3ie is calling for new and innovative impact evaluation proposals on social protection. ­Applications will be accepted from 10 October 2011 and the deadline for submission of expressions of interest is 11.59 pm GMT November 7, 2011.­
  International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), October 2011
• Changing social policy in South Africa: The child support grant in South Africa 
  
  Reviews one part of post-apartheid policymaking leading to the establishment of the child support grant.
  Human Sciences Research Council, 2007
• Citizens' engagement in policymaking and the design of public services 
  
  Citizen participation in policymaking and service design has been debated or attempted, but too infrequently realised. Considers current reform initiatives in the Australian Public Service (APS) and examines the implications of citizen-centric ideals for the processes and structures of government agencies.­
  Australian Public Service (APS), July 2011
• Community-based health insurance and social protection policy 
  
  Reviews the role of community health financing for protection against the impoverishing effects of illness.
  Social Protection Unit, World Bank, March 2007
• DFID cash transfers evidence paper 
  
  Provides a synthesis of current global evidence on the impact of cash transfers in developing countries, and of what works in different contexts, or for different development objectives.
  Department for International Development (DFID), April 2011
• Dynamic social security for Africa: an agenda for development: development and trends 
  
  The first regional developments and trends report on Africa proposing an approach to understanding and addressing key challenges ISSA member organisations face in different regions.
  International Social Security Association, November 2008
• Employment and social protection policies from crisis to recovery and beyond: A review of experience 
  
  Aims­ to determine which employment and social protection policies yielded good results and in which context. Reviews 13 policies identified in the Global Jobs Pact of June 2009.
  International Labour Organisation, April 2010
• Implementing the APRM: Views from civil society  
  
  Assembled collaboratively over the past year by several South African civil society organisations (CSOs), this report scrutinises the country’s track record in fighting corruption, managing diversity, addressing xenophobia and racism, managing elections, consolidating democracy and upholding the rule of law, as well as confronting social exclusion and effective service delivery. ­­
  APRM Monitoring Project (AMP), June 2011
• Is there a rationale for conditional cash transfers for children in South Africa? 
  
  Argues against conditionalities being attached to child support grants.
  School of Development Studies University of KwaZulu/Natal, August 2008
• Knowledge, networks and nations: Global scientific collaboration in the 21st century 
  
  Reviews the changing patterns of science, and scientific collaboration, in order to provide a basis for understanding such ongoing changes. Aims to identify the opportunities and benefits of international collaboration, to consider how they can best be realised, and to initiate a debate on how international scientific collaboration can be harnessed to tackle global problems more effectively.
  Royal Society, March 2011
• Links between poverty, matriculation and the child support grant: a review of the evidence 
  
  Reviews evidence on whether child support grants positively influence schooling outcomes.
  Centre for the Study of South African Social Policy, October 2008
• Mainstreaming safety nets in the social protection policy agenda: a new vision or the same old perspective? 
  

  Proposes a research agenda in ten thematic areas, to address social protection.

  eJADE Electronic journal of agricultural and development economics, 2008
• Policy options to leverage the system of social grants for improved access to economic opportunity 
  
  Presents policy options for leveraging social g­rants to enhance economic participation.
  Human Sciences Research Council, February 2008
• Rapid appraisal of social inclusion policies in selected sub-Saharan African countries 
  
  Explores social exclusion in sub-Saharan Africa and factors that enable or hinder policy implementation 
  L Rispel, C da Sousa & B Molomo, HSRC Press, January 2009
• Residential land security as social protection 
  
  Papers and publications on residential land insecurity as a key factor in the processes of social marginalisation.
  Collective for Social Science Research, October 2010
• Review of the child support grant: uses, implementation and obstacles 
  Community Agency for Social Enquiry, June 2008
• Rights-based development and a social protection covenant 
  
  Argues for a rights-based approach when framing public policy (Chapter 1 from Shaping the future of social protection: access, financing and solidarity.
  European Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, 2008
• Social protection and poverty 
  
  ­Provides an overview of social protection and an assessment of its potential contribution to addressing poverty ­in developing countries.
  UNRISD, March 2010
• Social protection concepts and approaches: implications for policy and practice in international development 
  
  Reviews conceptual developments regarding the meaning and importance of social protection.
  Overseas Development Institute, February 2001
• Social protection index for committed poverty reduction 
  
  This ADB report presents a methodology for assessing and comparing social protection efforts of countries, providing indicators for use by policymakers 
  Asian Development Bank, June 2008
• South Africa's children: A review of equity and child rights 
  
  ­This report reflects an analysis of key indicators to assess the fulfi lment of children’s rights in South Africa. Most of the data is derived from Statistics South Africa’s General Household Survey (GHS) which covers six broad areas, education, health, social development, housing, household access to services and facilities, food security and agriculture. Download part one and part two.
  South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), March 2011
• South African Development Index (SADI) 
  
  An initiative by the South African Institute of Race Relations which aims to track development trends in South Africa, and will be released on a quarterly basis. ­
  South African Institute of Race Relations, February 2011
• State of the cities report: Towards resilient cities 
  
  Assesses the progress made by South African cities over the last decade in relation to key development outcomes and reviews strategic problems and opportunities relating to planning and management­
  South African Cities Network (SACN), April 2011
• The forgotten fundamentals 
  

  Argues that strong social programmes can play a vital part in an economic stimulus package.

  Caledon Institute, December 2008
• The future of the welfare state 
  
  Full text of monograph launched at conference on the welfare state, with chapter on the need for a values-led debate on shaping public policy.
  Social Justice Ireland, September 2010
• The implications of the global financial crisis for low-income countries  
  
  Makes policy recommendations to reduce the impact of the economic recession on low-income countries.
  International Monetary Fund, March 2009
• The promise of protection: Social protection and development in Asia and the Pacific 
  
  Provides an argument for linking efforts to reduce poverty and exclusion with the social protection agenda in Asia and the Pacific. ­
  Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), April 2011
• The state of the world's children 2011: Adolescence - an age of opportunity 
  
  Examines the global state of adolescents, outlines the challenges they face in health, education, protection and participation, and argues that investing in them now is our best hope of breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty and inequity and laying the foundation for a more peaceful, tolerant and equitable world.
  UNICEF, March 2011
• The university in development case studies of use-oriented research 
  
  This analysis provides new understandings of current concepts of 'globalisation', 'use-oriented' research, 'knowledge society and economy', and 'national system of innovation'.
  HSRC Press, November 2011
• Universal minimum old age pensions: Impact on poverty and fiscal cost in 18 Latin American countries 
  
  Examines the impact of pensions on old age poverty and their cost in 18 Latin American countries using household survey data.
  World Bank, May 2010

Case studies

• Call for proposals: To conduct a series of case studies on the policy influence of impact studies 
  
  Call for proposals to conduct a series of case studies to identify factors that contribute to or impede evidence from rigorous impact evaluations to influence policy(deadline is 28 February 2011).
  International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), February 2011
• South African case study on social exclusion 
  
  Explores factors that enable or constrain the implementation of policies and programmes that address social exclusion.
  Human Sciences Research Council, November 2008
• South African case study on social exclusion 
  
  Explores policy implementation and programmes addressing social exclusion.
  Human Sciences Research Council, December 2008
• Systematic review database 
  
  ­This database provides policymakers and practitioners with easy access to systematic reviews that examine evidence on the effects of social and economic development interventions in low- and middle-income countries. It draws together systematic reviews from a range of sources and covers all sectors.
  International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), September 2011
• The challenge of integrating social protection programmes 
  
  Newsletter with brief ­case studies from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Kenya and Ghana.
  International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth, November 2009
• Towards a basic income grant for all 
  

  Reviews findings of research on the benefits of basic income grants, conducted by BIGC in Namibia.

  Basic Income Grant Coalition, Namibia, September 2008
• WIEGO social protection case study: The Ghana National Health Insurance Scheme 
  
  A case study documentation of good practice examples of social protection for informal workers.
  Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and organising (WIEGO), July 2009

Country studies

• Africa Capacity indicators 2011: Capacity development in fragile states 
  
  This report introduces a unique and unprecedented series of data on the state of capacity in Africa. It also examines key issues and challenges confronting in-country and cross-border capacity development.
  African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), February 2011
• Assessing progress in Africa towards the Millennium Development Goals 
  
  The third in a series which discusses what needs to be done further in reaching the MDGs,  an abridged version of a much more comprehensive joint Economic Commission for Africa, African Union Commission, and African Development Bank report.
  United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, February 2009
• Building consensus for social protection: insights from Ethiopia's productive safety net programme 
  
  Explores the policy processes that led to the creation of Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme, the largest social protection programme in Africa.
  Department for International Development, 2008
• Diagnostic overview 
  
  Aims to identify the main challenges confronting the country and examine their underlying causes. Serves to advance the discussion about the major issues confronting South Africa.
  National Planning Commission (NPC), June 2011
• HungerFREE scorecard 2010 
  
  Aims to evaluate countries on progress in fulfilling their commitments to end global hunger. Makes use of 'aid indicators' and 'policy indicators'. ­
  Action Aid, October 2010
• Social assistance in developing countries database Version 5.0 
  
  Updated database which provides a summary of evidence available on the effectiveness of social assistance interventions in developing countries.
  Chronic Poverty Research Centre, July 2010
• Social policies in Grenada 
  
  Calls for an assessment of gaps in social policy, especially in relation to legislation on social protection, with special attention to the role of women and children.
  United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), November 2010
• Social protection policy and practice in Bolivia: its implications for Bolivia's poverty reduction strategy paper  
  
  Documents policies and practices in Bolivia, utilising the World Bank’s social protection framework.
  Overseas Development Institute, 2001
• The social protection policy in Malawi: processes, politics and challenges 
  
  Looks at the dynamics of policy-making and processes in Malawi.
  Future Agricultures, September 2007
• What is the impact of social health protection on access to health care, health expenditure and impoverishment?: a comparative analysis of three African countries 
  
  Investigates health care systems in Kenya, Senegal and South Africa, followed by a short description of the methodology and data used in the research. The later sections focus on empirical results and policy implications.
  International Labour Organisation, 2006

Toolkits & guidelines

• Building community resilience to disasters 
  
  Provides a definition of community resilience in the context of national health security and a set o­f eight levers and five core components for building resilience.
  Rand Health, February 2011
• Call for submissions: Terms of reference for an online course on how to build a policy influence plan 
  
  Call for the development of a course which will improve  organizational capacity to influence public policies in developing countries - deadline 23 January 2011
  Global Development Network (GDNet), January 2011
• Data strategies for policymaking: Identifying international good practice 
  
  Reviews international good practice for using data in policymaking and develops a conceptual framework for characterising and classifying the different elements of a data strategy for public sector orga­nisations.
  RAND Corporation, 2010
• e-Atlas of global development 
  
  A free, online, interactive tool, which maps and graphs more than 175 indicators from the World Bank’s development database.
  World Bank, March 2011
• From Evidence to Action: Issue 6: Evaluating our way to better government performance 
  
  In the final issue of the PAN newsletter for 2011 ­we look at how the evaluation of government programmes can be invaluable in improving performance and service delivery.
  Policy > Action Network, Human Sciences Research Council, December 2011
• From Evidence to Action: P>AN Newsletter 1/2010 
  
  This is the first edition of the Policy > Action Network newsletter, From Evidence to Action, published with support from the Programme to Support Pro-Poor Policy Development (PSPPD), a partnership between the Presidency and the Eu­ropean Union.­
  Policy > Action Network, November 2010
• Handbook on monitoring, evaluating and managing knowledge for policy influence 
  
  The main purpose of this handbook is to facilitate the investment process of a public research institute in developing a system (from the simplest to the most sophisticated) of monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and knowledge management (KM) of the impact of research on public policy.
  CIPPEC, February 2011
• Magenta book 
  
  Sets out the key issues to consider when designing and managing evaluations, and the presentation and interpretation of evaluation results. Describes why thinking about evaluation before and during the policy design phase can help to improve the quality of evaluation results without needing to hinder the policy proce­ss.
  HM Treasury, April 2011
• Managing for development results: A focus on Africa 
  
  A case book aimed at ensuring­ that managers are using evidence to make decisions and development stakeholders are able to keep track of progress.
  African Community of Practice on Managing for Development Results, 2010
• Manual for gender mainstreaming social inclusion and social protection policies 
  
  Supports the implementation of gender equality in policies on social inclusion and social protection.
  European Commission, 2008
• Research as a tool for advocacy 
  
  A presentation outlining approaches to achieving research-based­ policies.
  Institute for Security Studies (ISS), 2010
• Sound expectations: From impact evaluations to policy change 
  
  A conceptual framework to be used in the production of case studies which identify factors that help or hinder rigorous impact evaluations from influencing policy.
  International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), April 2011
• Tools and resources 
  
  Aims to provide analytical tools and resources to assist analysts and managers with policy development or service-planning projects.
  Population and Sustainable Development, New Zealand, March 2011

Conference & seminar papers

• Colloquium: Health within a comprehensive system of social security 
  
  Addressed challenges facing the South African health system, aiming to influence health policy developers on issues related to national health insurance.
  Human Sciences Research Council, August 2007
• Financing South Africa's national health system through national health insurance: Possibilities and challenges - colloquium proceedings 
  
  Report on colloquium on ‘Health within a comprehensive system of social security’.
  Human Sciences Research Council, 2008
• First Annual conference on the economics of social protection 
  
  This conference addressed:­ Financing of social protection, social protection and economic growth, retirement reform, pensions and comprehensive healthcare, and, social protection and ­poverty.
  University of Pretoria, 2007
• High level policy dialogue: Eradicating extreme poverty & hunger in southern Africa: The role of social protection 
  
  Documentation from policy ­dialogue on the role of social protection as an element of a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy - evaluating the extent of its contribution over the previous 15 years.
  Wahenga, September 2010
• International social security conference 
  
  Papers from a recent International social security conference can be downloaded from the Department of Social Development website.
  Department of Social Development, March 2008
• Policy dialogue and a South-South learning event on long-term social protection for inclusive growth 
  
  Workshop to discuss the value that South-South policy dialogue can potentially add by linking social protection programmes to overall macroeconomic factors.
  International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG), October 2010
• Presentation: Evaluation as a key source of evidence for policy-making 
  
  Presentation from a seminar which reviewed evidence-based policy-making and the potential role of evaluation as a key, and a systematic, source of evidence. Presented by Dr Ian Goldman, Deputy Director General, Evaluation and Research, DPME,­ The Presidency.­
  Goldman, I., January 2012
• Producing knowledge syntheses that are both rigorous and relevant to policy makers 
  
  Workshop report where participants were enabled to apply a knowledge synthesis ­method including: choosing a relevant policy for study, analysing it, performing a literature review (in a way that differs from literature reviews on simple interventions) and organising deliberative processes.
  National Collaborating Centre for Healthy Public Policy, June 2011
• Promoting resilience through social protection in sub-Saharan Africa 
  
  ­View conference presentations ­on which types of social protection have worked and/or are expected to work best for the region.
  European Report on Development (ERD), June 2010
• Public policy: Why ethics matters 
  
  Essays based on a conference which aimed to ­encourage and facilitate debate about the ethical basis for policy making.
  Australian National University, October 2010
• Seminar on social promotion and protection in African countries 
  
  ­­­Presentations from a seminar ­ coordinated by the Brazil-South Africa Cooperation Programme on Social Development.
  Brazil-South Africa Cooperation Programme on Social Development, August 2008
• Social protection for the poorest in Africa: learning from experience  
  
  ­Conference papers from from the Chronic Poverty Research Centre.
  
  September 2008

Reading lists

• Bibliography on social protection 
  World Bank, January 2008
• Cash transfers reading list 
  
  This World Bank cash transfers reading list includes URLs for selected websites. 
  World Bank, 2009
• The impact of employment guarantee schemes and cash transfers on the poor 
  
  This review applied a systematic protocol to the identification and retrieval of published and unpublished documents relating to the impacts of employment guarantee schemes and cash transfers on the poor. ­
  Overseas Development Institute (ODI), June 2011

Advocacy initiatives

• African Civil Society Platform for Social Protection 
  
  A network of individuals and organisations operating at sub-national, national and regional levels, with a commitment to promoting and strengthening the social contract between states and citizens.
  September 2008
• African Community of Practice on Managing for Development Results 
  
  A community of over 1,000 practitioners managing for development results (MfDR) from 37 different African countries and regions across the world.
  March 2011
• Call for interest: The need for an over-arching legislative framework for social welfare and development services in South Africa  
  
  An appeal to the NGO and CBO sector to develop a new framework and advocate for the areas that need urgent attention in the sector.
  National Welfare Social Service and Development Forum, 2010
• From evidence to action: Issue 5: Education 
  
  Issue five of the newsletter ­From Evidence to Action looks at the education system in South Africa, ­in particular how­ evidence informed policies can be implemented to address many of the problems it faces.­
  Research Use and Impact Assessment, Human Sciences Research Council, November 2011
• From Evidence to Action: the Policy > Action Network newsletter 
  
  Download the second issue of the Policy > Action Network newsletter and email pan@hsrc.ac.za if you would like to make comments or submissions for the next issue.
  Human Sciences Research Council, February 2011
• IPC-IG Internship Programme  
  
  This internship offers outstanding graduate-level students the opportunity to acquire direct exposure to IPC-IG’s work as a global forum for policy dialogue and South-South learning on development innovations.
  International Poverty Centre, January 2011
• National Planning Commission (NPC) Jam 
  
  If you have some ideas on building a better South Africa, please register for and participate in the National Planning Commission (NPC)­ Jam (an online brainstorming event from noon on 28 September until noon on 1 October). Additional information can also be found here. ­
  National Planning Commission (NPC) , September 2011
• Online training: How to build a policy influence plan 
  
  CIPPEC, a leading think tank in Argentina will award 12 scholarships to participate in the third edition of this online training programme developed jointly with Global Development Network (GDN)­ which will start by the end of August 2011.­
  
  CIPPEC, August 2011
• Pensions Watch: Social protection in older age 
  
  A new online resource for policy makers and development practitioners on non-contributory (social) pensions. The site aims to bring together learning from existing social pension schemes around the world in order to inform policy makers, academics and activists.
  HelpAge International, January 2011
• September National Imbizo 
  
  A new Facebook forum for a national citizens' dialogue, currently working against xenophobia and planning for ­a National Indaba in September 2010.
  July 2010
• Social Service Practitioners Advocacy Network 
  
  Join this network to engage with the draft Social Service Professions Bill and advocate for improvements.
  Children's Institute, December 2008
• South-South learning gateway on social protection 
  
  ­A new online collaborative platform for policy dialogue and knowledge-sharing amongst social protection practitioners in the Global South.
  International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG), October 2010