SASPP Regional Program
At a regional level, SASPP reinforces cross-country knowledge work, mutual learning, and exchange of experience between adaptive social protection policy makers in the Sahel. To this end, SASPP’s regional knowledge program is structured into an umbrella activity focused on the monitoring and assessment of adaptive social protection systems and four thematic areas:
(1) poverty, vulnerability, and resilience;
(2) climate shock – responsive delivery systems;
(3) productive inclusion and women’s empowerment;
(4) fragility and forced displacement.
The work under these four thematic areas builds on prior analytical work (conducted during program phase I), such as targeting and a large multi-country impact evaluation of productive inclusion programs.
Monitoring of adaptive social protection systems
In line with SASPP’s objective of strengthening adaptive social protection (ASP) systems, the program supports monitoring efforts to benchmark countries’ ASP systems across the building blocks and to track progress over time. To this end, a World Bank team has developed an Adaptive Social Protection Stress Test, together with the Centre for Disaster Protection, which is a global tool but fully reflective of the circumstances in the Sahel. The stress test tool rates countries along a set of criteria grouped into five clusters: government leadership, institutional arrangements, data and information, programs and delivery systems, and finance. The criteria are focused on the key factors and actions needed to ensure steady development of ASP systems.
“The Adaptive Social Protection Stress Test - a global tool that is fully reflective of the circumstances in the Sahel”
The Stress Test tool reflect common shocks faced by a country and the ability of the adaptive social protection system to respond. The first part simulates the likely impact of various types of shocks on households and determines both the additional or new poor and the increase in the depth of poverty. The second part of the tool is akin to an assessment of the system across the five building blocks of ASP relative to the scale-up need simulated in the first part. Countries are scored along a spectrum from latent to advanced for each building block, as well as given an overall average score. A baseline for each of the six Sahel countries was developed, which provides an overview of the ASP system as well as a means to monitor progress over the next five years. The baseline also includes the results from a joint sector review of ASP with government and partners, which assessed the different building blocks and subcategories while providing a basis for discussion of broader implications, strategic priorities, and overall ambition.
A new results framework
The SASPP team developed a new results framework for its second phase to capture better the outcomes of Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) investments. This framework represents a collaborative process and will capture direct investments made by the MDTF on climate shock–responsive systems and COVID-19 responses.
