15. Expert advice helpline (SPACE)

Social Protection Approaches to COVID-19 – Expert advice helpline (SPACE)

Are you working to deliver social protection responses or humanitarian cash responses to COVID-19? Would unbiased expert advice help you make critical decisions? You can request direct support from SPACE by completing a request form or contacting [email protected]. For more information, also see the flyer on SPACE in English and Spanish.

Responding to COVID-19

Countries across the globe are using or adapting social protection systems and programmes, as well as humanitarian cash assistance, to respond to the COVID19 crisis. Getting assistance to those who need it quickly is helping to safeguard the wellbeing of individuals and families by enabling them to meet unexpected costs and compensate for loss of income – both in the immediate and longer term as countries enter periods of recession.

Since April 2020, the SPACE service has been supporting decision-makers across national governments, donors and implementing partners with thinking through how to establish, maintain or adapt systems and programmes to meet rapidly growing needs. Demand for engagement with our multidisciplinary expert team, as well as our large and ever-expanding suite of guidance documents has proved so high that the service has now been extended to May 2021.

An overview of SPACE themes

To date, we have worked in over 40 countries providing independent, evidence-based, timely, practical, and actionable advice. Direct support is responsive to the unique requirements of specific actors and contexts but can broadly address the following themes:

Social protection and humanitarian linkages
Gender and social inclusion principles
Programme adaptation and phasing
Shock responsive social protection
Delivery systems including targeting and registration, transfer values, payment mechanisms, information management, communications, grievance redress mechanisms and monitoring and evaluation
Recovery and systems strengthening
Digital technology
Anti-corruption
Economic impacts
Localisation
Climate and environment
Economic inclusion

Accessing direct SPACE Support

Support is predominantly provided in English, though Spanish and French can be offered on an ad hoc basis. Once your request has been received, SPACE will assign a technical point of contact, who will work with you and a team of relevant experts to understand your challenges and design appropriate support. Support packages can take many forms including:

Review of documents, reports, proposals, etc.
Consolidating relevant evidence around specific needs, knowledge gaps and questions
Mapping in-country systems and stakeholders engaged in the COVID-19 response
Direct, remote engagement with our experts including short-term assistance through calls and more sustained and flexible engagement.

SPACE is a joint initiative of FCDO’s Better Assistance in Crises (BASIC) and Gender Responsive Social Protection (GSP) programmes (funded by UKAid); GIZ (funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development); and the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). All costs related to accessing SPACE experts and services are covered by FCDO, GIZ and DFAT.

Implementation is led by DAI Global UK Ltd, with implementing partners High-Quality Technical Assistance for Results (HEART).

List of related documents:

1. SPACE Guidance Note on Rapid Expansion of Social Protection Caseloads

2. SPACE Gender and Social Inclusion (GESI) Reference Document

3. SPACE Strategy Decision Matrix

4. SPACE Evaluation Delivery System Matrix

5. SPACE Informal Workers and Social Protection

6. SPACE Useful COVID-19 and Social Protection Materials

7. SPACE Understanding the Economic Impacts of COVID-19 in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Who, Where, How, and When?

8. SPACE Social Protection in the COVID-19 Recovery: Opportunities and Challenges

9. SPACE Options for rapid delivery (payment) of cash transfers for COVID-19 responses and beyond

10. Programming Guidance: Embedding Localisation in the Response to COVID-19