This background note focuses on the current discussion among actors in the humanitarian and social protection sectors regarding the use of existing social protection programmes to provide an emergency response. It outlines the overlaps between social protection and humanitarian responses, considers a range of recent examples from low- and middle-income countries and sets out a set of key considerations that humanitarian actors need to take into account to assess whether ‘piggybacking’ on existing systems, (such as cash-transfer, transfer in kind and social insurance) and is feasible or advisable.