The challenge
Every country in the Pacific, as well as Timor-Leste, has some form of government-provided social protection. These systems are designed to support people through difficult times—whether through pensions, disability benefits, or cash payments after a cyclone. They complement long-standing community-based support networks and can play a vital role in reducing poverty, promoting equity, and strengthening resilience.
But these systems remain poorly understood outside the region. The available research is scattered, often focused on formal systems, and largely authored by external actors making it harder for decision-makers, communities and practitioners to access relevant insights or spot what’s missing.
Working closely with Partnerships for Social Protection (P4SP), we set out to map the existing research and understand who is shaping the narrative. The goal was to identify what’s already known, highlight the gaps, and provide a clearer foundation for future research and policy engagement on social protection in the region.
Our approach
To build this foundation, we took a systematic and collaborative approach. We began with a comprehensive scan of publicly available research, screening over 7,000 documents for relevance. From there, we narrowed it down to 242 sources that met agreed criteria, drawing on academic databases, organisational websites and materials shared by development partners.
Each selected source was summarised and tagged by theme, geography, program type and cross-cutting issues. These were compiled into an annotated bibliography, designed not just as a record, but as a practical, user-friendly tool for researchers and practitioners. Hyperlinks and filters allow users to explore the literature by area of interest or location.
We then developed an evidence review to make sense of what was found—synthesising trends, gaps and debates across the literature. This included analysis of underrepresented perspectives, such as informal systems and Pacific-led research, alongside cross-cutting themes like gender, disability and climate resilience.
Throughout the process, we worked in close partnership with the P4SP team to ensure the approach and outputs reflected shared goals. As new ideas emerged, we were able to adapt the work together, co-developing a suite of communication materials to share the findings with different audiences. These included a summary blog, 3 topic briefs considering the evidence on social protection and gender, disability and climate change, a blog post amplifying local voices in research based on conversations with 3 Pacific experts, and an internal recommendations paper to support future planning.
Outcome
The work has directly informed P4SP’s research agenda and future programming. The annotated bibliography and evidence review are now being used internally to guide planning, frame conversations, and support engagement across the program’s focus areas.
Our collaborative way of working meant the outputs were tailored and practical from the get-go. The flexibility built into the project allowed us to respond to emerging needs and co-develop additional pieces as the work progressed.
We designed the communications materials with P4SP to help ensure the findings could reach beyond technical audiences. The topic briefs and blog post have made the evidence easier to access and use, highlighting issues like gender, disability and climate resilience in clear, targeted formats.
We also shared the work jointly with P4SP at the 2023 Australasian Aid Conference, where it generated strong interest among practitioners and researchers working across the region.
