RSR MULTIPLYING THE RAPID SOCIAL RESPONSE IMPACT AT A GLANCE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM Catalytic, Agile, Results Oriented RAPID • Provides small—averaging US$470,000—but highly catalytic funding and paves the way for larger World Bank supported operations SOCIAL The Rapid Social Response (RSR) Program, supports the world’s poorest by building effective and adaptive social protection systems to RESPONSE prepare and respond to urgent social needs for sustainable livelihoods • Leveraged over US$8.5 billion of International Development Association and jobs. The “adaptive” approach integrates basic social protection (IDA) and US$1.7 billion of International Bank for Reconstruction and with disaster risk management to cushion poor and vulnerable people Development (IBRD) operations and a matching $7 billion in Government PROGRAM financed SPJ programs and other domestic resource mobilization - against losses of income that could force them to cut down on altogether $17.2 billion. nutritious food for their families, take their children out of school, or make distress sales of precious assets such as livestock. RSR Results Chain Building adaptive social The RSR Partnership Program is supported by the Russian Federation, the protection systems United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Australia, Denmark, the Bill & Melina Gates Foundation, and World Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction OUTPUT OUTCOME IMPACT to protect the poor and Recovery (GFDRR). It is a key instrument for implementing the World Total RSR Program IDA and IBRD Social Protection and vulnerable Bank’s 2012-2022 Social Protection and Labor Strategy to increase resilience, Resources Operations Coverage equity and opportunities for the poor worldwide. Launched in 2009, the © Donatella Venturi | World Bank RSR Program has undergone two phases, and created three special themed windows. Namely: For additional information, please visit the following websites: RSR Phase 1 (2009-2012): helped low-income countries address urgent ff RSR Program: http://www.worldbank.org/rsr social needs stemming from food, fuel, financial crises and natural disasters 202 million individuals ff World Bank’s 2012-2022 Social Protection and Labor Strategy: and build resilience to future shocks. US$17.2 billion worldwide http://www.worldbank.org/spstrategy US$122 million ff RSR ASPIRE Database - The Atlas of Social Protection Indicators of Resilience and RSR Phase 2 (2012-present): supports countries through new innovative, Equity: http://datatopics.worldbank.org/aspire/ catalytic windows aimed at increasing the adaptability of social protection ff RSR Nutrition Sensitive MDTF in partnership with SecureNutrition: systems in particularly high impact areas such as nutrition, disaster risk http://www.securenutrition.org management, youth empowerment, gender-smart social protection, digital ff RSR Disaster Responsive MDTF in partnership with the Global Facility for Disaster economy and artificial intelligence. Other emerging themes which are being • Reached over 202 million poor and vulnerable people—increasingly women Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR): https://www.gfdrr.org piloted are refugees and humanitarian assistance and applying advances in • Helped 96 countries enhance the capacity of social protection and jobs ff Inter-Agency Social Protection Assessment (ISPA) tools: https://www.ispatools.org behavioral sciences and decision making. systems For questions, please contact RSR Core Team: RSR Nutrition Sensitive Window (MDTF): This window develops nutrition- • Supported 259 approved proposals worldwide with US$ 122 million funding ff Sandor Sipos, RSR Program Manager and SPJ Partnerships Advisor, sensitive SPJ systems in WBG client countries—both IDA and IBRD. Since through four windows ssipos@worldbank.org 2014, RSR-NS has supported eight countries: Armenia, Botswana, Ecuador, ff Ugo Gentilini, RSR-NS Window Manager and Global Lead for Social Safety Nets, Egypt, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and one global initiative. • Sub-Saharan Africa received 50 percent of RSR resources ugentilini@worldbank.org ff Mattias Lundberg, RSR Gender Window Manager and Senior Economist, RSR Gender Window (MDTF): This dedicated window was created in 2018 • Facilitates new partnerships and promotes global knowledge exchanges mlundberg@worldbank.org to develop and promote gender-smart social protection policies, systems, such as the South-South Learning Forum and numerous regional and sub- ff Inas Ellaham, Trust Fund Coordinator/Operations Analyst, iellaham@worldbank.org and programs supported by the United Kingdom, the Bill and Melinda Gates regional Communities of Practice on social protection and jobs issues ff Shams ur Rehman, Program Analyst, SPJ Partnerships, surrehman@worldbank.org Foundation, and the Commonwealth of Australia. RSR-Gender aims at ff Adea Kryeziu, RSR-DR, Social Protection Specialist, akryeziu@worldbank.org reducing gaps and boosting socioeconomic outcomes for women and girls. • Helped develop 6 Inter-Agency Social Protection Assessment (ISPA) tools (4 completed and 2 in progress). Out of 69 ISPA applications (41 ff Svetlana Markova, Communications Officer, smarkova@worldbankgroup.org RSR Disaster Risk Window (RSR-DR) is supported by GFDRR, to make SPJ completed and 28 in progress), half of them are supported by RSR funding programs and delivery systems more adaptable to natural disasters. So far, the RSR-DR has helped 9 middle income countries (Colombia, Jamaica, Fiji, • ASPIRE (Atlas of Social Protection Indicators of Resilience and Equity) Rapid Social Response Program Social Protection and Jobs © Arne Hoel | World Bank Dominican Republic, Peru, Botswana, Serbia, Mexico and the Philippines). includes performance indicators of social protection program based on The World Bank Solutions supported by RSR-DR have been increasingly adapted also by low 328 surveys from 124 countries income countries both within and outside RSR support. A Special RSR Youth Call in 2018 funded 11 grants (US$1.7 million) to help young people with support from the Kingdom of Denmark. RSR Donors Meetings: The last RSR Donors Meeting took place on February 19-22, 2018 in Frankfurt, Germany. The next RSR Donors meeting is planned for October 2019 also discussing a 2009-18 RSR Program Review. Innovative and Impactful RSR Projects helping to strengthen innovations to link civil registration and foundational ID systems that is inclusive of all across West Africa. In 2018, the project became In Somalia the work conducted under the US$400,000 RSR grant was a game changer for its social protection landscape, shaping its direction which Improve Social Protection one of the winners of the World Bank President’s Award for Excellence. while ensuring a steady focus on improving delivery mechanisms. The RSR grant enabled the team to advance the need for Safety Nets when it was Coverage and Human Capital Outcomes The RSR funded activities that helped youth and women “graduate” from the Honduras Conditional Cash Transfer programs, hence helping them become not on the government’s agenda, and IDA funds were also unavailable. Moreover, the RSR leveraged a US$2 million Somalia Development Grant productive members of society and contributing to long-term poverty reduction. as well as 2020 IDA grant financing. The process that has been set in motion is expected to affect millions of Somalis through the setting up Due to the growing multitude of shocks (climate, economic, conflict) the The successful grant activities helped catalyze and leverage World Bank credit of a Government led Delivery System for Cash Transfers and other Social © Stephan Gladieu | World Bank world is facing, and their increased severity and interconnectedness, the in the amount of US$25 million for a new social protection operation on Youth Protection Services. challenge for governments to build household resilience and be able to Employability. The RSR also provided direct input into the design of the project. RSR RESULTS respond rapidly to such shocks has never been more acute. ‘Business as In Vietnam, RSR activities provided the foundational evidence that the RSR activities strengthened the groundbreaking Unified Beneficiary Registry FRAMEWORK PYRAMID usual’ is not enough. Governments must be able to better respond not (UBR) in Malawi through a rapid assessment which identified areas of strength, Government needed to make informed decisions on the reform of its National Social Protection Policies and Programs. The RSR grant promoted only post-crises, but also be able to quickly scale-up during crises as well improvements needed, and the way forward. The highly replicable and crucial knowledge exchange and ensured that relevant international as be prepared for future crises. The RSR program helps governments inexpensive UBR is a source of harmonized information on the socio-economic experiences were shared with key stakeholders. respond quickly and effectively to help mitigate the impact of shocks on status of households and contributes to a coherent social protection approach. the poor and vulnerable, and to build household resilience before a shock So far, data on four million people has been collected and the government is The SecureNutrition Knowledge Platform of RSR-NS has successfully occurs, thus developing human capital and a path out of poverty. working on extending its coverage nation-wide. served the global development community as a critical knowledge resource, focusing on the intersection of social protection, nutrition, poverty, In Nepal, a significant accomplishment of the RSR grant is that it successfully agriculture, and food security, with the objective to improve operational Through small but catalytic grants, the RSR Multi-Donor trust fund supports helped the government turn its focus to an adaptive approach to social understanding of “how to” make nutrition-sensitive programs work. impactful projects that often pave the way for larger World Bank–supported protection, integrating it with disaster risk management and climate change REDUCED operations and yet larger government programs—thus multiplying the impact. The POVERTY mitigation. The RSR financed activities, analytical underpinnings, and dialogue RSR-NS published a pioneering report “The 1.5 Billion Question: Food, AND aim is to increase the adaptability and effectiveness of social protection systems. INEQUALITY facilitation played a fundamental role in achieving a new policy consensus Vouchers, or Cash Transfers” (2018), which has been well received and among partners and placing adaptive social protection firmly on the read globally as an authoritative source on best practice in food assistance IMPACT MORE POOR PEOPLE Some examples: development agenda. COVERED BY delivery mechanisms. SP SYSTEMS In Armenia, the RSR-NS program helped support targeted nutrition-sensitive INDICATOR SP coverage in IDA-supported projects (total number, social safety nets programs. In the process, it facilitated building consensus by country, gender) around shared priorities and bridging nutrition sensitivity and social protection OUTCOME ENHANCED CAPACITY OF among key stakeholders, including the Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of Health, RSR Programs in 96 countries SP SYSTEMS TO PROTECT POOR AND VULNERABLE PEOPLE UNICEF, and USAID. The grant helped establish a case-referral system whereby Increased TIME AND local SP providers were trained to assess nutrition among beneficiaries and Increased Global COMPLEXITY INDICATORS resource resource SP data then refer them to the correct health sector services. allocation allocation accessible to SP to SP overall (# of new Hungary Moldova through budget – countries Gender Based Violence (GBV) is at endemically high levels in Cameroon. Serbia Mongolia IDA domestic and in ASPIRE/ Georgia (million $) other funding SPARCS) With RSR support, this pioneering initiative delves into the factors that cause Kosovo Bulgaria Uzbekistan Albania Albania Kyrgyz Rep. (million $) GBV and its consequences, and how existing safety nets and accompanying Turkey Armenia Tajikistan measures can be better designed and implemented in order to prevent GBV. Afghanistan OUTPUTS NEW/IMPROVED INCREASED PROTECTION SP SYSTEMS AND AWARENESS OF OF ACCESS TO Bhutan Pakistan Nepal COMPONENTS SPJ OPTIONS BASIC SERVICES RSR financed activities have helped modernize Cote d’Ivoire’s social protection Mexico Egypt, DURING CRISES Arab Rep. of Bangladesh System diagnostic South-South and labor delivery system using digital financial platforms. The activities were Haiti India Myanmar and stocktaking learning events Number Dominica Lao PDR INDICATORS Cabo Verde Mauritania (2 sub-output (# participants, of direct instrumental in ensuring that, for the first time ever, vulnerable households Honduras Jamaica St. Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines Mali Niger Sudan Vietnam Senegal Chad dimensions, # and $) # countries beneficiaries Grenada Rep. of Yemen represented) enrolled in the productive social safety program received mobile phones and Nicaragua The Gambia Burkina Faso Cambodia Philippines Guatemala Guinea-Bissau L Guinea Nigeria Central African Component design mobile money accounts with social cash transfers and digital financial inclusion, Sierra Leone Côte Republic South Djibouti SriLanka Sri Lanka and development Participation in Liberia d’Ivoire Sudan Ethiopia Cameroon (8 sub-output community of combined with economic support to livelihoods activities. Thus far, 300,000 Panama Colombia Guyana Somalia a ni o Maldives an BeTog D.R. of Uganda n dimensions, and $) practice (# of Gh countries, poor individuals—more than half of whom are women—have benefitted, and São Tomé and Príncipe Congo Congo Kenya Rwanda Interagency program # countries 720,000 individuals have been registered with the program’s Social Registry. Burundi Tanzania Indonesia Papua New harmonization represented) Guinea (2 sub-output The RSR was instrumental in mobilizing additional IDA financing for scaling-up Malawi Comoros Africa Timor-Leste dimensions, # and $) Toolkit users Angola (# downloads, the program. In 2017, the project won the KNOWbel (KNOWbel is an IFC-World Zambia Mozambique Eastern Europe and Central Asia Bolivia Madagascar East Asia and the Pacific Customer feedback # training Bank rewards and recognition program) ‘Client Solutions’ Award for being a Namibia Zimbabwe (# client governments participants) Latin America and the Caribbean interviewed) high-impact project focused on client solutions. Chile Botswana Middle East and North Africa South Asia THEMES SOCIAL PROTECTION LEARNING AND ACCESS TO BASIC KNOWLEDGE In Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire, IDA financing supported Government efforts to Lesotho SYSTEMS SERVICES ACTIVITIES • South-South Forum DURING CRISES strengthen identification systems. However, there was a critical gap when it • Diagnostics • Community of • Safety net benefits came to vulnerable groups, and citizen engagement was lacking. The RSR IBRD 39319R1 • Components FEBRUARY 2014 Practice for nutrition • Harmonization • Toolkits • Other forms of safety nets helped fill this gap by ensuring that technocratic solutions did not inadvertently institutionalize discrimination against vulnerable groups. The RSR is currently RESILIENCE – EQUITY – OPPORTUNITY – JOBS “SP – Social Protection”