Worldwide, there are now 100-million displaced people, often living among host communities on a protracted basis. To respond to this growing and evolving challenge, there is increasing interest in the role that national social protection systems can play in supporting those affected by forced displacement. This has created a need to better understand when and how humanitarian assistance can effectively link with social protection systems to serve displacement-affected populations. To start to fill this knowledge gap, an ODI-led consortium was commissioned to undertake a research project on this topic from 2020-2022.

One of the principal outputs of this project is the development of an analytical framework that can be used to explore the potential approaches for linking humanitarian assistance and social protection systems in a given displacement context.

The framework was initially developed during the inception phase of the project (Spring 2020), building on existing theories and frameworks identified through a background literature review. The framework was then tested and refined over the course of the project, using the new evidence generated through a global desk-based review of linkage approaches, global quantitative analysis and primary mixed-methods research in three countries.

Report by the Overseas Development Institute