Qualitative Research on the Impacts of Social Protection Programmes on Decent Rural Employment: A Research Guide

The Social Protection and Decent Rural Employment research programme of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has grown out of the Social Protection Division’s research platform, “From Protection to Production”. The research seeks to gain a better understanding of how social protection policies and programmes can affect – and be improved to enhance impacts upon – decent rural employment. This Qualitative Research Guide describes in detail the sequencing, timing and methodology of the research process to be implemented in each country of study: training; fieldwork preparation; a simple and clear fieldwork roadmap; the theory of change hypotheses for the studies; guiding questions and research tools. The Guide will be used for conducting qualitative research as part of this programme and will also serve as a basis for future FAO research in social protection and decent rural employment.