The report sets out an agenda for future research on social protection in low income countries. It does this by first examining the current state of knowledge on social protection, second identifying knowledge gaps and emerging issues, third considering the scope and content of a potential research programme, and fourth exploring the institutional arrangements that might best achieve the capacity building and policyinfluencing objectives of such a research programme. The report is based on a review of the recent literature on social protection, on interviews with nearly 90 respondents conducted face-to-face or by telephone or email, and on field trips to India, Bangladesh, South Africa and Kenya to discuss social protection research needs with donors, NGOs, governments and research institutions.