The complementarity of social protection and disaster risk management (DRM) is increasingly acknowledged by ASEAN. This study's overarching research question is: What factors enable social protection systems and programmes in ASEAN countries to be responsive to shocks and to deliver an effective response?

As part of the ASEAN–UN Joint Strategic Plan for Disaster Management 2016-2020, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), International Labour Organization (ILO), United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), and WFP is implementing a joint project, funded by the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), entitled ‘Strengthening the capacity of AMS to develop risk-informed and shock-responsive socia l protection for resilience’. The project aims to strengthen the capacity of the AMS to design and implement risk-informed and shock-responsive systems to reduce the vulnerabilities of at-risk populations, strengthen their capacity to respond to and recover from shocks, and thus enhance households’ resilience in order to mitigate the effects of shocks and improve preparedness for further crises. As part of this initiative, WFP’s Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific has commissioned a regional study on shock-responsive and risk-informed social protection systems in the ASEAN region. The overarching research question for this regional study is: What factors enable social protection systems and programmes in ASEAN countries to be responsive to shocks and to deliver an effective response? This research includes the following studies: ● a Regional literature review – which includes a general overview of recent shocks experienced by countries in the region and of poverty and vulnerability, and identifies experiences in the use of national social protection mechanisms to respond to shocks; ● a Thailand case study – which aims to identify the factors that would enable the national social protection systems to be responsive to shocks; ● a Lao PDR case study – which aims to identify the factors that would enable the national social protection systems to be responsive to shocks; and ● Regional synthesis report – which synthesises the findings of the other products and provides recommendations to the ASEAN Secretariat, AMS, and cooperating partners. This research will serve as a basis for national and regional dialogue to develop the ASEAN guidelines and protocol under AADMER for Risk Informed Shock Responsive Social Protection