The Mali case study was produced as part of the “Guidance Package on Social Protection across the HumanitarianDevelopment Nexus” (SPaN). It is the outcome of an initiative jointly led by the European Commission’s DirectorateGeneral for International Cooperation and Development (DEVCO), Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) and Directorate- General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (NEAR) with the support of DEVCO Unit 04 and the MKS programme. The Emergency Safety Net Programme (with European Development Fund (EDF) envelope B funding from the European Commission Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO)) called CCFS, and subsequent follow-up programmes were designed in close collaboration between DG ECHO and EU Delegation in Mali from 2013 onwards. The humanitarian food assistance interventions in 2012/13 implemented separately by various NGOs sought to improve coordination among humanitarian actors in the north of Mali. The aim was to lay the foundations of a future national social assistance system and to provide incentives for development donors to get involved, in order to ensure sustainability, based on shared responsibility among donors, e.g. by mobilising alternative funding sources on top of humanitarian funding. The main strategy adopted consisted of: (i) common Human Resources to increase technical expertise, (ii) grouping NGOs in an informal consortium so they become a valid interlocutor for government and development donors; (iii) improved capacity to facilitate advocacy on key messages, and (iv) strengthened Monitoring & Evaluation competence to produce and disseminate knowledge.