Targeting social assistance in situations of protracted conflict, displacement or recurrent climate shocks so that it reaches those most in need in a timely and effective manner, and without doing further harm, is a complex technical and political challenge for development and humanitarian actors across government and non-government sectors. Trade-offs involving costs beyond the economic – such as risk of exclusion, and concerns over protection and social cohesion – raise key questions about who to target, how to target or whether to target at all (i.e. through universal coverage or lotteries). While targeting effectiveness is fairly well researched in stable development contexts, there is much less understanding and evidence about what works best in protracted crisis settings.