Anticipatory Social Protection

'Anticipatory Social Protection is the first book I have read that truly puts the 'social' into social protection. Mainstream social protection is doing a vital job of delivering economic protection to poor people, but it has largely failed to challenge the social and political determinants of poverty and vulnerability. In this powerful book, Waring, Mukherjee, Reid and Shivdas argue persuasively for a more dynamic approach to social protection, one that proactively redresses social inequities through the application of human rights principles to marginalised groups such as unpaid carers and third gender persons. In so doing, the authors shift the social protection discourse away from 'safety nets', 'resilience' and 'graduation', towards 'dignity', 'empowerment' and 'rights'. Most importantly, this book shows us alternative models that really work in practice. Social transformation through social protection is both essential and possible.' -- Dr Stephen Devereux, Research Fellow, Institute of Development Studies, UK and author of Social Protection in Africa and Social Protection for Africa's Children

This publication will help policy-makers and development practitioners to make informed decisions about programme design and delivery so that beneficiaries’ access to and participation in social protection mechanisms are fully realised.The social protection landscape is currently characterised by competing discourses and agendas, given that bilaterals, multilaterals and private funders have different targets and have differing constituents whose lives they seek to improve. Critical aspects such as gender inequalities and inequities, women and children’s agency and community coping mechanisms are often not adequately addressed. This publication introduces the Commonwealth Secretariat’s anticipatory and transformative social protection approach, which outlines the principles and strategies for advancing a gender-responsive, human rights-based approach to social protection. It presents analysis and discussion of a framework for social protection, models of good practice from across the Commonwealth, and innovative ways of providing social protection that are not based on men and women being in full-time paid work in the formal economy. This publication will assist policy-makers and development practitioners in making informed decisions about programme design and delivery so that beneficiaries’ access to and participation in social protection mechanisms are fully realised.