In case you missed it...
Written by Deanna Kotecha and Charlotte Maugham
While the STAAR Evidence Digest takes a summer break, here’s a round-up of some of our reports, blogs, webinars and interactive learning tools from the past year…
COLLECTIVE ENDEAVOUR
First up, two Explainers setting out in simple terms how social protection systems can work collaboratively with other sectors to support people vulnerable to crises.
Three strangers embarking on a perilous journey across a desert will be best off collectively mapping where they are heading, what constitutes the best route (and why), and what dangers they might encounter along the way. Jointly strategising how to make use of each other’s comparative strengths – rather than each forging their own individual course.
This brilliant brief from Valentina Barca and Clare O’Brien brings together thinking from a range of resources to set out the ways in which social protection actors can work alongside disaster risk management and humanitarian actors. Maximising their collective contribution to reducing or mitigating the risks posed by covariate shocks, or addressing their consequences if they occur.
2. Responsive Social Protection Systems: An Explainer
Our digital explainer offers a visual and interactive back-to-basics on social protection systems, how they can transform the lives of women and girls, and meet the needs of people in crisis…
TRANSFORMING THE LIVES OF WOMEN IN CRISIS
In recent years, the world has been rocked by repeated shocks. Throw in ongoing structural crises in livelihoods, care and the environment, and the stage is set for a significant reversal of poverty eradication and gender equality. A core focus of STAAR’s work is consolidating and promoting evidence on how social protection can address this trend…
1. Gender-transformative social protection in crisis contexts: guidance note
Crises affect people differently… And women and girls are often the hardest hit.
STAAR’s accessible guidance note compiles evidence and case studies to set out how integrating simple considerations into each element of a social protection system can reverse these disadvantages and transform lives.
Watch this space! We’ll soon be launching an interactive version of the guidance note in collaboration with GIZ.
This STAAR blog reflects on the key takeaways from discussions on gender equality at the Global Forum on Adaptive Social Protection hosted by BMZ and the World Bank in June 2023. Focusing in on what works to move social protection programming along the continuum below to realise its full potential for women and girls. These takeaways include ensuring adequate coverage for women and girls, the potential of social protection to shift social norms, social sector investment, collaboration with women’s rights organisations and the need for more sex-disaggregated data.
The gender integration continuum framework was developed through UNICEF Innocenti’s Gender-Responsive Age-Sensitive Social Protection (GRASSP) research programme.
3. Addressing the specific and heightened risks faced by women and girls in crises
To mark International Women’s Day, STAAR collaborated with UN Women and SPIAC-B to produce a blog on the gendered impacts of crises and the role of social protection in building resilience.
DISABILITY INCLUSION
In this blog, disability expert Elayn Sammon explores key strategies to enhance the inclusiveness of social protection programmes and policies. It sets out what practical steps can be taken by national governments and development partners to foster inclusion and tailored approaches to disability-inclusive social protection.
GENDER DATA
Poverty is gendered and cannot be sustainably reduced without a gender lens. Sex-disaggregated data collection and analysis is critical for understanding whether and how social protection measures are meeting the needs of women and girls. With this in mind, STAAR has worked with SPIAC-B to champion more and better gender data…
1. Integrating gender into household surveys: Recommendations for National Statistics Offices
This publication explores the reach and benefits of gender-responsive and gender-transformative social protection systems for women and girls, emphasising the importance of quality gender statistics. It explores institutional participation in disaggregated data, highlighting reporting gaps and also identifies opportunities to enhance gender-responsive data management.
2. Mapping gender and social protection data
The brief provides actionable recommendations on how to adapt existing data collection tools and processes focusing on household surveys, to encourage the expansion of resources. The brief aims to provide these suggestions to address gaps and improve the gender responsiveness of social protection systems.
3. Closing the gender data gap in social protection
This webinar discussed the findings and recommendations of STAAR’s paper ‘Integrating gender into household surveys: Recommendations for National Statistics Offices’, aimed at understanding the current efforts of global development agencies in collecting and analysing sex-disaggregated data in social protection systems and identifying priority gaps.
INFORMAL WORKERS
An estimated 61% of the world’s workforce are in informal employment (ILO 2018). These people need access to social protection to mitigate risks to their incomes and help them cope with shocks…
Expanding social insurance can provide critical benefits, such as employment and maternity protection, especially for women in vulnerable work. In this blog, WIEGO’s Laura Alfers and Florian Juergens-Grant discuss how social insurance can be used to protect informal workers and the importance of adapting to the realities of informal work.
CLIMATE
As STAAR’s Climate Lead Anna McCord reflects in her paper below, climate change is profoundly shaping and changing the challenges and needs that current social protection policies, programmes and systems are attempting to address. STAAR’s work on this vital agenda has ramped up over the last year – below is just a flavour of our public-facing outputs with more to come very soon!
1. The realities of climate finance for social protection
Evidence suggests that including social protection in climate strategies enhances both adaptation and mitigation efforts. This report outlines the status of international public finance going to social protection and provides options for a more efficient and targeted use of climate finance for social protection, to support decision-making.
2. Climate Finance and Social Protection: Towards a Stronger Relationship
In this blog, climate expert, Zac Bull, explores the relationship between climate finance and social protection interventions. He discusses the emergence of social protection interventions in minimising and addressing the impacts of climate change, while emphasising the need to prioritise social protection in climate finance strategies.
3. Integrating climate change into social protection programmes and policy
There are many potential roles for social protection to play as part of the policy response to the impacts of climate change. This Guidance Note highlights the relevance of climate change to social protection and has been designed to help practitioners and policymakers integrate climate change considerations into social protection policy and programming.
CARE AND SUPPORT
Social protection can play a critical role in the development of inclusive care and support systems that uphold the rights and meet the needs of those requiring and those providing care and support.
1. Age Sensitive, Disability Inclusive, and Gender Responsive Care and Support Systems Evidence Note
This Evidence Note outlines how governments in low and middle-income countries can develop high-quality care and support systems for children, persons with disabilities, older persons and their families. It also considers how these systems can be rights-abiding, gender-responsive, disability-inclusive, fiscally sustainable and contextually relevant.
2. Social protection and Inclusive Care and support systems strengthening
This webinar sustained momentum from an in-person event organised by UNICEF and FCDO – through STAAR – which brought together key thinkers and decision-makers working on this agenda from across the global south. The webinar itself, featuring STAAR senior social protection consultant, Alexandra Barrantes, discussed inclusive care and support systems as an essential element for developing human capabilities, achieving equal socio-economic participation, and ensuring functioning societies.
SOCIAL PROTECTION IN CONFLICT
Social protection systems can build people’s resilience and help meet their basic needs during conflict. They can also play a pivotal role in the transition towards sustainable recovery. However, little of this potential is being realised… This is a core focus of STAAR’s work – watch this space for syntheses of findings from our work across different types of conflict settings, and a webinar series in the Autumn. In the meantime, here’s a couple of our conflict-focused publications from this year.
As Ukraine navigates through the complexities of 2023, marked by unprecedented challenges and transformative opportunities, this report presents an essential updated analysis of the Unified Information System of the Social Sphere (UISSS). It highlights the increasing demand for social assistance infrastructure, exploring key policy reforms like the Draft Basic Social Assistance Law and the integration of digital platforms.
2. Challenges and Opportunities in the Cash and Voucher Assistance Landscape in Nigeria
It's been a year since the Government of Nigeria ratified its National Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) Policy - informed by STAAR Facility's mapping of the CVA landscape. This STAAR paper presents the challenges and opportunities for operationalising this policy, including recommendations on mainstreaming gender considerations and strengthening locally led action.
AND FINALLY…
All of our publications including every issue of our Evidence Digests can be found here.
To stay updated on when we publish new papers and updates on our projects, follow STAAR Facility on LinkedIn and X.
Watch this space for a new STAAR webpage, where you will be able to access snapshots of all our work. As well as our publications, blogs, webinars and interactive learning tools.
What is the STAAR Facility?
The Social Protection Technical Advice, Assistance and Resources (STAAR) Facility is dedicated to expanding and improving the effectiveness of investments in both gender-responsive social protection and social protection approaches in crises. Actors from national governments, donors and implementing partners are encouraged to access the Facility for free, with direct support from STAAR’s independent expert roster – in the form of technical assistance, specialist advice, or bespoke resources. To enquire, contact [email protected].
