Research on Social Protection
The EU-SPS supports low- and middle-income countries in building sustainable and inclusive social protection systems. The research activities include both country- specific analytical work for our 10 partner countries, and thematic research which is intended to support systematization efforts in low and middle income countries more broadly.
Country work
Research at country level is demand-driven and as such varies significantly between countries. In Cambodia, Indonesia and the Kyrgyz Republic the Development Centre is working on Social Protection System Reviews. The SPSR is a new OECD tool which was developed in close consultation with government counterparts and social protection experts.
The tool aims to inform developing countries’ efforts to extend and reform their social protection systems. It takes a holistic view of a country’s social protection system, examining its three pillars – social assistance, social insurance and labour market programmes – within the country’s broader policy context. As such, the Reviews examine questions of policy coherence within the social protection sector, as well as with other relevant policy areas.
Thematic research
In addition to country-specific work, the EU-SPS aims to generate cross-country knowledge on social protection with wide applicability across developing countries. This work aims to inform future social protection programming by partner governments, the EU Commission, EU member states and the broader development community.
Four broad themes have been identified for the cross-country research:
- social protection systems’ contribution to inclusive growth,
- issues related to the financing of social protection,
- expanding social protection systems in economies with high informality,
- social protection and universal health coverage.
These themes emerged from on consultations held during the Programme’s Inception Phase with key national policy-makers and local stakeholders in partner countries, as well as consultations with think tanks, academics and other experts.
