Background & Rationale
In the Arab region, conventional financing models for social protection often perpetuate dependency on foreign aid, resulting in inefficiencies, indebtedness, and limited fiscal space for social spending. As economic challenges intensify and vulnerable communities face increasing risks - as a result of austerity measures, conditional lending practices, and the social burden of debt - there is an urgent need for alternative, innovative, and domestically driven financing solutions.
The Finance4All project addresses this issue by exploring alternative financing mechanisms designed to foster State-led, rights-based universal social security systems. By challenging mainstream funding models by International Financial Institutions (IFIs), Finance4All aims to empower Arab States to invest - through an internal redistribution of wealth and public resources - in inclusive, sustainable social protection that meets the needs of women, children, older persons, migrants, refugees, rural communities, and informal workers.
About the Project
Through this project, ARI’s Social Protection Program’s team, in collaboration with its partners, will conduct in-depth, policy-oriented research to analyze the detrimental impact of conventional development financing on social protection systems across Tunisia, Lebanon, Morocco, and Jordan. Using a mixed-methods approach - combining original data collection, national and regional analyses, and participatory stakeholder consultations - Finance4All will identify practical fiscal space strategies such as debt restructuring, climate finance instruments, progressive tax reforms, and innovative solidarity mechanisms to increase social protection spending. The project is strategically designed to provide actionable, evidence-based policy recommendations that empower governments to transition from reliance on multilateral aid towards sustainable and domestic resource redistribution.
Project Objectives
- Advance Universal Social Protection: Generate robust evidence to support the transition to State-led, rights-based social security systems that are inclusive, effective, and sustainable.
- Promote Alternative Financing Mechanisms: Identify and assess innovative financing solutions—such as progressive taxation, debt restructuring, climate finance, and fiscal decentralization—that can replace conventional IFI-funded models.
- Influence Policy Reforms: Develop and disseminate actionable, context-specific policy recommendations tailored to the unique socio-economic challenges in Tunisia, Lebanon, Morocco, and Jordan.
- Advance Social Inclusion for Vulnerable Groups: Ensure that financing reforms address the intersectional vulnerabilities of marginalized populations, including women, children, persons with disabilities, migrants, and informal workers.
- Foster Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration: Mobilize a dynamic community of practice through national and regional research, advocacy campaigns, and multi-stakeholder dialogues to drive transformative policy change.
Project Outputs
- National Research Papers: Country-specific studies detailing the impact of current financing models on social protection systems, and different vulnerable populations, and proposing viable alternative financing mechanisms.
- Regional Policy Research Reports: Integrated reports that synthesize findings from all four target countries, a report on the differential impact on vulnerable groups and another on the implementation of proposed solutions, offering comprehensive policy reforms and a roadmap for transitioning to universal social protection.
- Open-Access Data and Materials: Publication of original datasets, infographics, audio-visual materials, and methodological frameworks to ensure transparency and facilitate further knowledge production and advocacy.
- Advocacy and Communication Tools: A suite of multimedia outputs including policy briefs, regional policy forums, and national dialogues designed to engage stakeholders and promote the adoption of recommended financing reforms.
- Community of Practice: Continual spaces for dialogue and exchange through the Arab Region Hub for Social Protection (ARHSP), ensuring stronger collaboration among researchers, policymakers, and civil society.
Project Partners
Finance4All is implemented in close collaboration with esteemed civil society organizations that have a proven track record in social protection research and policy advocacy:
These partnerships ensure that our research is grounded in local realities, enriched by diverse perspectives, and capable of driving transformative policy change across the region.
Project Sponsor
This project is funded by the .
