The aim of this brainstorming session that will take place at Le Bristol Hotel from 28 to 30 September 2010 is to bring together experts and practitioners to discuss the challenges, successes and failures of different models of social protection implemented in the ESCWA, Latin American and Asia‐Pacific regions. The purpose is to explore lessons learnt and to consider the ways in which such schemes can be transformed from instruments for the provision of residual welfare into tools for mainstreaming the needs of citizens into social policy. The goal will be to identify innovative approaches that can increase the impact of social protection programs and projects and can consider different ways of combining assistance with insurance. While these discussions will focus on options for social protection, these will be grounded in a larger socio‐economic policy nexus with a long term development agenda.