Still today, non-contributory social protection is often seen merely as a safety net for the very poor and vulnerable – a pure expenditure for the government and its funding partners. However, it has been suggested that, when properly designed and implemented social protection interventions can also constitute strategic investment in pro-poor growth. Therefore, this research aims to demonstrate the potential impact of social protection on inclusive growth.

The main question posed is, to what extent and under what conditions non-contributory social protection constitutes strategic investments into pro-poor growth. Specifically, it will focus on three main pathways between social protection and pro-poor growth – human capital development, household productive capacities and local economy outcomes. Hence, the research will generate novel insights into the relationship between social protection and inclusive growth and the economic case for investments into non-contributory social protection in Uganda. These insights will be vital for ongoing academic and policy debates.

The research is funded by the Research Programme on Inclusive Development and Social Protection of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). It is a collaborative effort between the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance at the University of Maastricht and the United Nations University-MERIT, the Brooks World Poverty Institute at the University of Manchester, the School of Social Science at the University of Makerere and the Expanding Social Protection Programme of the Ugandan Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development.