Social Protection

Definition of Social Protection

1.Definition of Social Protecton(By UNICEF)

• Social Protection is the set of public and private policies and programmes aimed at preventing,reducing,and eliminating economic and social vulnerabilities to poverty and deprivation.

• Social protection is essential to furthering UNICEF’S commitment to the realisation of the rights of children,women an families to an adequate standard of living and essential services(UNICEF Social Protection Strategic Framework 2012).

Cont Definition of Social Protection(by IDS)

• Social Protection describes all initiatives that:• Provide income(cach) or consumption(food)

transfers to the poor;• Protect that vulnerable against livelihood risks.• Enhance the social status and rigths of

ecxcluded and marginalised.

Cont Definition of Social Protection(World Bank)

• Social Protection and labor systems, policies, and programs help individuals and societies manage risk and volatility and protect them from poverty and destitution –through instruments that improve resilience, equity, and opportunity.

• Social Protection and labor practice will help countries from fragmented approaches toward more coherent systems for social protection and labor; and help to make these more responsive, productive and inclusive( World Bank’s Social Protection and Labor Strategy 2012-2022).

Social Protection (By African Union)

• The purpose of social protection is to ensure minimum standards of well –being among Peaple in direct situations to live a life with dignity, and to enhance human capabilities.

• Social Protection includes responses by state and society to protect citizens from risks, vulnerabilities and deprivations. It also includes strategies and programmes aimed at ensuring a minimum standard of livelihood for all peaple in a given country. (African Union;Social Policy Framework).

Social Protection( Government of Rwanda)

• As social Protection Sector, which essentially comprises the system of regular and predictable cach transfers that will provide income support to those living in poverty and vulnerable to falling into povety, these are recognized as core social protection activities;

• As a means of ensuring access to other public services- such as health and education- by enabling poor households to overcome the financial barriers that they may face; these are understood a broader social protection activities.(National Social Protection Strategy-Government of Rwanda 2011).

2.Main categories of Social Protection

• Set of programs and policies that provide:a)Social assistance for the poor: Alleviating chronic poverty with social grants(cach/food

transfer; disabilty benefifs,child grants etc..).b)Social Insurance for the Vulnerable ‘’Insuring the

uninsured’’against:1)Adverse persons circumstances(e.g disability)2)Life cycle hasards (e.g.retirements from work)3)Livelihood risks(e.g. drought, unemployment)

Cont Categories

c)Labor market regulation: ensure basic standards at work and extends rigths(e.g.maternity rigths).

d)Social justice for the marginalised ensuring the realisation of economic and social rights.

3. Four(4) Dimension of Social Protection

Social Protection is a range of policy instruments that address poverty and vulnerability through:

.Protection Instruments(Social assistance for chronic poor);eg. food/ cach transfers, child grants.

.Preventive instrument (insurance for the vulnerable-poor, near poor and transitory poor);eg.Insurance schemes, unemployment benefits pensions.

Cont 4 Instruments

.Promotive instruments(productivity enhancing for economically active poor and vulnerable near poor);eg.Micro-credit;PWD; assets transfers.

.Transformative Instruments(Social justice for excluded groups, women and children).

Legislation and regulation and policies to ensure equity and non discrimination e.g. Maternity benefits, employment legislation.

4. TARGETING

a)The targeting Dilema :To target or not target ?Why target?a) Redistribution equity(high transfers)b) Budget constraints(lower fiscal cost)Why not target?a)Administrative costsb)Social Costsc)Political Costs

b)Targeting Mechanisms• Administrative Selection:• Geographic targeting (e.g.drought-affected district)• Categorical targeting (e.g.orphans,peaple over

65,womens)• Proxy means test ( e.g.several observable

indicators)• Means testing (e.g. household survey to identify

the poorest households)• Community –based targeting(e.g.the poorest two

Ubudehe household categories)

Cont

• Community Selection Participatory (e.g.village committees, wealth

ranking). c)Targetin Errors Two errors of targeting are:Inclusion error: the proportion of benefiaries

who are not eligible(they are not poor,but they are benefiting from the programme

Cont (Target errors

• Exclusion error: the proportion of eligible peaple who are not beneficiaries (they are poor, but they are not benefiting from the programme.

5.Monitoring and Evaluation • a) What is monitoring?• Purpose: To assess regularly whether the

programme is progressing as planned. • Routine collection of admistrative data• Mostly input and output indicatorsinputs=money, staff, equipmentOut puts=how many peaple benefits.Operational Indicators(e.g.targeting accuracy).Monitoring complements impact evaluation

Contb)What is evaluation? • Purpose: To measure changes in outcomes that

can be attributed to the programme(programme impacts) ex: graduation from Ubudehe Cat 1 to Cat2 .

• Quantitative surveys: treatment group+control panel survey.

• Qualitative methods: focus group discussions, key information interviews and participatory methofs

• Mixed method: Qualitative+Qualitatve

c) Why do M&E?• They are 4 main motivation to have a rigorous M&E

system in every social protection programme: • Strategic objectives: is the programme achieving its

goals, in terms of intended positive impacts?• Operational Objectives: How can the programme

design, implementation and delivery be improved?• Learning Objectives : What lessons can be learned for

future programmes, or for programmes elsewhere?• Political Objectives: To moblise political will to

sustain and expand the social protection programme.

d) M&E is a continuous process

• Pre-project :-Needs Assessment: problem identification,needs and

type of beneficiaries -Baseline Survey :household demographic

structure,livelihoods,income and assets,access to services (education,health,etc.

-Project evolution : Project conceptualisation and design, targeting and registration process,project management , staffing and partneships.

Project Period

• On site Monitoring: E.g.Distance and travelling to distribution point, waiting time and efficiency of distribution, Security at distribution point and returning home.

• Post transfer: Beneficiary Survey (food consumption , nutrition) and Control group survey(food consumption, nutrition).

• Special Studies: Market monitoring, informal social protection mechanisms and child labor survey.

Post –Project • Impact Assessment Project level: Key informant interviewsCommunity level: Focus group discussions Household level: Case studies of beneficiaries (and excluded

households).Final evaluation: Sustainabilty of impacts at various levels:Individual Household Community Government/Agency

Priorities of Social Protection in Gicumbi District.

• Monitoring and evaluation of microprojects supported by District/ MINALOC&FARG

• Monitoring and evaluation of Ubudehe projects supported by District &LODA(Local Development Agency,former RLDSF).

• Ensuring sustainability of those projects• Follow up of Girinka Program (Targeting and Sustainability)• Elders Genocide Survivors (Incike) Support.• Rehabilitation of Shelters • Social Economic of Marginalised Peaple. • Reintegration of Rwandans retunees from Tanzania• Regurarly monitoring report. • Update report of projects financed. • Statistical of beneficiaries( elders, Persons with disability ,marginalised Peaple etc) • Innovations (Kubyara muri Batisimu) and best practices