Institute of Development Studies (IDS)
Bio
Author Biography
Stephen Devereux is a Professorial Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), where he co-founded the Centre for Social Protection and the Food Equity Centre. He also holds the South African Research Chair in Social Protection for Food Security, funded by the National Research Foundation and affiliated to the Centre of Excellence in Food Security at the University of the Western Cape. His latest book is Resilience and Food Security in a Food Systems Context (2023, Palgrave Macmillan), co-edited with Christophe Béné.
Institute of Development Studies (IDS)
Bio
Author Biography
Jeremy Lind is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS). Between 2020–25, he is co-Research Director of the Better Assistance in Crises (BASIC) Research programme, which examines the nexus of social protection and humanitarian assistance in protracted crises. He has worked on social protection programmes, livelihoods, and conflict in the Horn of Africa for 25 years. His recent publications for Development and Change, Development Policy Review, and GeoForum explore targeting dynamics in pastoral settings, uncertainty in relation to social assistance programming, and the governance of oil extraction.
The Open University
Bio
Author Biography
Keetie Roelen is Senior Research Fellow and Co-Deputy Director of the Centre for the Study of Global Development, Open University, UK. Her research interests include poverty and social protection, with a focus on the effect of complementary interventions, how to include vulnerable groups, and the impact on psychosocial outcomes. Keetie has worked with international organisations such as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and Concern Worldwide, performing research and policy advice work in South and Southeast Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Haiti.
Institute of Development Studies (IDS)
Bio
Author Biography
Rachel Sabates-Wheeler is a Professorial Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) and Co-Director of the Centre for Social Protection, with more than 25 years’ experience working in rural development, poverty analysis, migration, and social protection. She has published widely and worked for numerous international agencies. Since the mid-2000s, Rachel has led many large research programmes that explore understandings of risk and vulnerability, both conceptually and empirically. Currently, Rachel is Co-Executive Director of the Better Assistance in Crises (BASIC) Research programme.
Volume 55
Number 2
Published: October 25, 2024
Social protection features in numerous country policies and development agency strategies, as well as in several Sustainable Development Goals. However, following more than two decades of considerable expansion in policies, programmes, and research, the sector finds itself at a crossroads. Social protection is currently positioned in a global setting characterised by a range of emerging and intensifying challenges and uncertainties, including post-Covid-19 pandemic recovery; the cost-of-living crisis; unprecedented climate change; and rising numbers of protracted wars and political instability, leading to mass displacement and migration.
Drawing key insights and lessons from an international conference on ‘Reimagining Social Protection in a Time of Global Uncertainty’, hosted by the Institute of Development Studies in September 2023, the articles in this issue of the IDS Bulletin reflect on the role social protection plays in a shifting, uncertain, and volatile global context.
In particular, the articles focus on three broad themes that are increasingly defining the trajectory of social protection policy, programming, and research: the politics of social protection policy processes; social protection in crisis settings; and inclusive and innovative social protection.
Social protection is firmly on the agenda in most low- and middle-income countries. The articles in this collection argue for the need to reimagine the scope and ambition of social protection in light of multiple threats. The challenge that remains for social protection advocates is to support governments and civil society actors to move towards nationally chosen and locally appropriate holistic social protection systems, via more inclusive and responsive programming.
