February 25 - March 7, 2008 - Washington, DC, USA

The course adopts a mix of learning methods, including presentations based on the latest World Bank knowledge including the long-standing Safety Net primer, two new books: “For Protection and Promotion: the Design and Implementation of Effective Social Safety Nets” (forthcoming) and  “Implementation  Matters: Evidence and Lessons from Targeting Performance in Eastern and Central Europe” (forthcoming) as well as two new courses “Social Safety Nets in OECD countries” and “Controlling for Fraud, Error and Corruption in Social Protection Programs”.

The course also draws on case studies of country reforms, and uses team-based exercises. It is taught by experts from the World Bank, top academic and research institutions, and other leading agencies. This course comprises four inter related and complementary topics: 

1. The justification of social safety nets and their fit in the wider development policy
2. The choice of instruments
3. Implementation systems 
4. How these vary by country settings.

This year's course was designed to help policymakers, development professionals, social partners, and academics grapple with key questions dealing not only with the design and implementation of individual safety net interventions but also policy implications including the making of an integrated safety net system, financing and institutional arrangements. Just as a sampling, the course will consider:

• What is the role of social safety nets in the broader policy agenda?
• How can they provide immediate redistribution and poverty reduction? allow governments to make better policy choices in a number of areas? and households to make better choices for present and future livelihoods?
• How much should countries spend on safety nets, how to find the fiscal space and how to manage the challenges that arise when more than one level of government is involved in the finance and/or delivery of safety net programs?
• What are the tools and methods used to undertake a solid diagnosis to assess the needs for safety nets, their size, target groups, individual interventions, and program mix?
• What are the key safety nets interventions and how do they apply under different country settings?
• When and under which circumstances to use Conditional Cash Transfer programs and what lessons have we learned from impact evaluation covering several programs from a cross the world?
• How to design and implement a cost effective and efficient targeting system?
• How to set the benefit level, the type of supporting services and what lessons learned from programs designed to help households escape poverty?
• How to set an effective monitoring system and how to control for fraud, error and corruption?
• What are the tools and methods used to evaluate social programs?
• And many more...

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