Social Accountability in the Delivery of Social Protection Literature Review

This report reviews the global literature on social accountability in the delivery of social protection as part of Development Pathways’ Social Accountability in Social Protection policy research project for the UK’s Department for International Development.

The purpose of this review is to bring together existing evidence and generate new evidence on the effects that social accountability mechanisms have on the delivery of social protection services and on state-society relations. We highlight the knowledge gaps in the area and identify areas meriting particular attention for research.

These include state response to citizen voice in social protection programming; variations in the impact of social accountability mechanism by programme design, including a targeted or categorical approach; and, finally, social accountability to marginalised and socially excluded citizens, and variation in citizen action or state response.