Research Project
Social protection and cash transfers
OverviewSocial protection has significant positive impacts for
poor and vulnerable children and their families. As
governments seek to reach international targets on
eliminating poverty, social protection is increasingly
being adopted to reduce deprivation and improve
the lives of children and families. Rigorous evidence
is required to inform and strengthen the design,
financing and sustainability of child-sensitive social
protection systems. UNICEF Innocenti generates multi-country evidence
on the impacts of social protection programmes,
especially cash transfers and integrated programmes
(cash-plus), on the wellbeing of children and families
in development and humanitarian settings. Our research also examines the gender and shock
responsiveness of social protection programmes;
the role of design and implementation in the effectiveness of cash transfers and integrated programmes;
and the political economy, financing and sustainability of statutory social protection systems.Goal
To generate high-quality evidence that helps
countries establish integrated, domestically
financed, effective and statutory social protection
systems.ApproachWe work in close collaboration with governments,
UNICEF country offices, national and international
research partners to generate multi-country evidence
on the impacts of social cash transfers and the
pathways of change through rigorous mixed-methods
impact evaluations. We conduct political economy
analysis of social protection systems and use micro
and macro data to assess the affordability, financing
and effectiveness of social protection policies and
programmes. We provide technical assistance in
the design and implementation of social protection
programmes and build capacity on methodologies
and impact evaluation for programme managers and
researchers in low- and middle-income countries.
To ensure high research uptake and policy impact, we
regularly and closely engage with policymakers
and key stakeholders. Research findings are widely
disseminated through social media channels,
websites, in-country dissemination workshops,
seminars and presentations at international research
conferences
