Nicholas Awortwi is the Director of Research Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR), a Pan-African organisation based in Nairobi, Kenya. Gregor Walter-Drop is the Managing Director of the Center for Area Studies at the Free University of Berlin, Germany.

• 1. Introduction2. Governance Characteristics and Policy Relevance of Informal Social Protection Services in Ethiopia3. Governance of Non-State Social Protection Services in Ghana: Communication as Accountability Mechanisms in Mutual Aid Organisations in Wassa4. Social Protection and Citizenship Rights of Vulnerable Children: A Perspective on Interventions by Non-state Actors in Western Kenya5. Governance Mechanisms of Burial Societies in Western Uganda6. Hedging Against Vulnerability: Associational Life as a Social Insurance Strategy by the poor in the Central Region of Ghana7. Women’s Economic Empowerment in Kenya: Lessons from Non-State Social Protection Actors and Services in Nyanza Region8. Governance of non-state social protection initiatives for addressing gendered poverty in Uganda: Beyond counting of women on governance committees? 9. Governance Dynamics in the Provision of Community Based Social Protection Services in Tanzania10. Conclusion, Implications for Public Policy and Governance Theory

Nicholas Awortwi is the Director of Research Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR), a Pan-African organisation based in Nairobi, Kenya. Gregor Walter-Drop is the Managing Director of the Center for Area Studies at the Free University of Berlin, Germany.

• 1. Introduction2. Governance Characteristics and Policy Relevance of Informal Social Protection Services in Ethiopia3. Governance of Non-State Social Protection Services in Ghana: Communication as Accountability Mechanisms in Mutual Aid Organisations in Wassa4. Social Protection and Citizenship Rights of Vulnerable Children: A Perspective on Interventions by Non-state Actors in Western Kenya5. Governance Mechanisms of Burial Societies in Western Uganda6. Hedging Against Vulnerability: Associational Life as a Social Insurance Strategy by the poor in the Central Region of Ghana7. Women’s Economic Empowerment in Kenya: Lessons from Non-State Social Protection Actors and Services in Nyanza Region8. Governance of non-state social protection initiatives for addressing gendered poverty in Uganda: Beyond counting of women on governance committees? 9. Governance Dynamics in the Provision of Community Based Social Protection Services in Tanzania10. Conclusion, Implications for Public Policy and Governance Theory