Postgraduate Course
Universalizing Socioeconomic Security for the Poor (USSC)
5.5-week Postgraduate Course |
The Universalizing Socioeconomic Security for the Poor (USSC) programme imparts knowledge and skill-enhancing training on issues relating to the universalization of socioeconomic security for the poor and socially excluded. Students link theory and practice by applying what they learn to the challenges they face in their own work. 
Socio-economic security and well being of the poor and vulnerable have been a major objective of development strategies for decades, and has become an even more critical in the context of the current global economic crisis that exposes people to insecurity and increases their vulnerability. Universalising social security is a critical element of enhancing well-being and reducing poverty. ISS’s USSC course provides the ground for understanding of and debates on social security design and implementation.
Orientation of the programme
The USSC course contributes to envisioning, designing and implementing effective universal social policies and programmes. The course focuses on socioeconomic insecurity and the underlying issues of poverty, vulnerability, and social exclusion. It explores the causes behind insecurity, its many faces, as well as the strategies and policies employed by states and civil society to address them. It also deals with social and economic policies that alleviate socioeconomic insecurity, and critically examines the currently dominant residual and targeted approaches to social security.
The USSC course combines a conceptual and theoretical framework and applied case studies with the students’ own experiences and knowledge. Students acquire skills to understand and identify poverty, insecurity and exclusion. They learn to critically analyse policies and programmes, as well as design alternative polices to address poverty and insecurity. Interaction with the international learning environment at ISS allows students to attain new perspectives on their own work and national experiences, and gain an up-to-date and holistic understanding of issues of poverty and social policy.
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Target Group
USSC is directed mainly towards early and mid-career development practitioners, activists, and researchers in NGOs, international development organizations, and government agencies involved in social provisioning and protection and poverty alleviation. Find out more about the ISS student body
