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Testimonials

DONORS

 

 
Peter Rabley, Co-Founder, PlaceFund
“On a per dollar basis, the Land Portal is one of the most effective grants we've provided. It’s been a pleasure to work with the team!”
 
 
 
 
 
 
Peter Rabley
Co-Founder
PlaceFund
(Former Property Rights Lead at Omidyar Network)
 
 
Chris Penrose Buckley, Senior Land Policy Lead, United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID)“The Land Portal plays a critical convening and connecting role in the land sector. They  have been an incredibly dynamic, innovative and responsive DFID partner under the LEGEND programme. In just a few years they have delivered on their goal to become the go-to site for land governance information and are now also facilitating important global discussions on land. We value Land Portal’s central commitment to open data and to connecting people and stories on land in the global north and south.”
 

Chris Penrose Buckley
Senior Land Policy Lead 
United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID)
 

Elke Matthaei, Land Governance Advisor, GIZ“The Land Portal is one of the go-to websites we use when it comes to land governance. When we have new colleagues, it’s one of the main sources we give them to inform themselves about the topic, as it provides an incredible overview of everything that is happening in the land governance sector - who’s involved, what initiatives there are, especially related to SDG monitoring, so it really is a great resource. One of the most significant roles of the Land Portal  is its work on open data and building the data ecosystem. Three years ago, the Land Portal organized a workshop on building the land information ecosystem. They have  one of the frontrunners on this topic, which has mushroomed internationally. This is a major added value to the land governance sector.“

 

 

Elke Matthaei
Land Governance Advisor
GIZ
 

Husna Mabarak, FAO“As data forms the basis of decision making, policy guidance and resource allocation, the partnership with Land Portal though the ‘Land Governance Programme in Kenya’ opened up an avenue for understanding the importance of data and Open Data platforms and engagement. It's been a pleasure working with the team and looking forward to more synergies.”

 

 
Husna Mbarak
Land Governance Programme Manager and Gender Focal Point
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Kenya
 

Julian Quan, DFID Core Land Support Team, LEGEND “The Land Portal library is an incredible resource for anybody researching land issues, anywhere in the world. As DFID and others have invested to make Land Portal a long term sustainable platform to extend access to data and knowledge, the  LEGEND programme has relied on it to disseminate our products, as a channel for distribution of our bulletin and to communicate widely with stakeholders."

 

 
Julian Quan
Technical lead
DFID Core Land Support Team, LEGEND
 
Kevin Currey, Program Officer, Ford Foundation“Land Portal's webinars and online discussions convene a large and diverse audience interested in the connections between land tenure and other global issues. Through this work, Land Portal provides a critical platform for Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendants, and local communities to share scientific evidence and personal stories on how their efforts to secure and defend their land and resource rights also contribute to climate, conservation, and public health goals. ”

 

 

 
Kevin Currey
Program Officer
Ford Foundation
 
 
 
PARTNERS

 

 
Leon Verstappen, Professor of private and notarial law, University of Groningen, Former chair of the Land Portal “The Land Portal is a unique and trustworthy digital space for sharing information and data on land as well as a platform to meet and discuss land issues, run by a skilled and dedicated team. It has become the go-to digital space in the land sector. It has been wonderful to see how the organization behind the Land Portal has developed into a mature and professional entity.”
 
 

Leon Verstappen
Professor of private and notarial law 
University of Groningen
Former chair of the Land Portal

 
Yuliya Panfil, Senior fellow and Director, New America’s Future of Property Rights program"Land Portal has always been extremely easy to work with, professional and no nonsense. Collaboration is a breeze. With many partners in the land rights space, it takes months - even years - to go from idea to execution. With Land Portal there's no hemming and hawing, no protracted strategic discussions, they just get the job done, quickly and well. The Tech and Transparency webinar New America co-hosted with Land Portal last summer was a perfect example. I am constantly amazed with how much Land Portal can do with a small team. They are the most efficient land NGO I've ever worked with. "
 
 
Yuliya Panfil
Senior fellow and Director
New America’s Future of Property Rights program
 
 
Sam Szoke-Burke, Legal Researcher, Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment“In collaborating with the Land Portal, whether on webinars about indigenous rights and climate change or on online forums concerning land investment transparency, I’ve always appreciated the breadth and depth of the audiences and actors the site reaches. The land portal’s ever growing library of resources is also an important aide for CCSI, and features regularly in our strategic approaches to dissemination. I regularly share links to the Land Portal and believe it is a helpful place to refer contacts, both experienced and new to the field.”
 
 

Sam Szoke-Burke
Legal Researcher
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
 
 
Pranab Choudhury Vice President Center for Land Governance  NR Management Consultants India Pvt. Ltd.Association with Land Portal helped me understand the imperative and nuances of information management for transforming land governance and tenure security. Our partnership has led not only to create a window of India’s land information before the world, but also enabled a better appreciation of India’s land information ecosystem. Importantly, our efforts of connecting the information and actors and arguments for open data, have already started generating good responses, and we look forward to impacting the open land information ecosystem substantially together."
 
 
Pranab Choudhury
Vice President
Center for Land Governance
NR Management Consultants India Pvt. Ltd.
 
 
Dr. Malcolm, Childress Executive Director, Global Land Alliance“The Land Portal has increased the ability of Prindex to reach a diverse audience with data visualizations and a dedicated page, and blogging about the initiative during its formative period. These greatly amplified the visibility of Prindex. Land Portal also did a tremendous job in organizing a webinar to promote engagement with Prindex findings. The webinar enhanced our scope of engagement and connected us directly with a wide audience. The Land Portal has improved the quality of our dissemination and communications by amplifying our messages to a much bigger audience in the sector than we could have otherwise done. Land Portal has also helped clarify the relevance and value of Prindex as an indicator in the land sector space. I would recommend Land Portal as a partner for data visualization, advocacy, webinars and for establishing ongoing narrative about an issue or place.”
 
 
Dr. Malcolm Childress
Executive Director
Global Land Alliance
 
 
Lorenzo Cotula, Principal Researcher, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)“Impressive public outreach, and a great, dedicated team, make Land Portal a natural partner for any communication work on land governance.”
 
 
Lorenzo Cotula
Principal Researcher
International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)
 
 
Mary Maneno, Senior Regional Officer, Transparency International Kenya (TI Kenya) “The Land Portal has improved the quality of our work in the sense that it has provided us with opportunities for knowledge exchange on various key thematic areas and networking, through collaboration with partners from various jurisdictions, including local, regional and international arenas. I would recommend the Land Portal as being instrumental in assisting stakeholders in disseminating land governance data and information with a view to enhancing access to information.”
 
 
Mary Maneno
Senior Regional Officer
Transparency International Kenya (TI Kenya) 
 
 
Pinaki Halder, National Director of Programs, India Landesa “I would recommend Land Portal as a great knowledge sharing and learning platform on specific land related issues that challenges the community in general to exercise their right to use land for escaping poverty.”
 
 
Pinaki Halder
National Director of Programs, India
Landesa
 
 
Narayana Gatty, Professor, Azim Premji University“We have found Land Portal website extremely useful to keep ourselves updated on land related developments across the globe. Resources and data set made available by Land Portal help us immensely in teaching academic courses on land, especially to examine from a global perspective some of the local and national issues in the land sector. Discussions around topics such as land and corruption have been found to be useful for our other courses on governance and development as well. I often advise students and young researchers who approach me for research ideas on land-related topics to visit Land Portal for leads and data.”
 
 
Narayana Gatty
Professor
Azim Premji University
 
 
Hema Swaminathan, Chair & Associate Professo, Centre for Public Policy, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore“Participating in the webinar was very useful in terms of distilling my own thoughts and more importantly, for the connection it provided with other participants. I learnt immensely from their experiences and perspectives. I use the Land Portal to keep myself updated on what is new and happening in this domain. It provides a quick snapshot of key developments in the area. I would recommend Land Portal to colleagues.”
 
 
Hema Swaminathan
Chair & Associate Professor
Centre for Public Policy
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
 
 
Govind Kelkar, Senior Advisor, Landesa“The Land Portal webinar  and related discussions on women's land rights in India gave me  some crucial inputs for further analysis and need for  data  to be collected on this subject, which helped me to conceptualise the land rights question in the economic justice framework. I would recommend such webinars and research sharing workshops to be taken by Land Portal in future and for Land Portal itself to be engaging with policy- and action -oriented researchers  on a regular basis in the  the near future. It should not be treated as a one time activity, as this subject is generating interest in both policy and civil society circles."
 
 
Govind Kelkar
Senior Advisor
Landesa
 
 
Dr. Soma K P, Policy Analyst and Expert on Gender and Development“The Land portal discussion helped to create a space to bring focus to gender issues and to deepen the discourse sponsorship to substantive rights like access and control. We need more such dialogues between stakeholders to stimulate collaborative inquiry and actions.”
 
 
Dr. Soma K P
Policy Analyst and Expert on Gender and Development
 
 
Dr. Rick de  Satgé, Phuhlisani NPC"In the course of our long-standing association with the Land Portal we have been impressed by the competency and breadth of knowledge of Land Portal staff. We were invited to facilitate an online discussion on what we can do to achieve sustainable pro-poor land reform in South Africa. In the process we learnt important skills for the moderation of online discussions and the importance of thorough preparation to ensure a quality outcome. This resulted in a particularly rich discussion on the rationale for land taxes and strengthened land administration. Some of the ideas discussed here and the interchange between discussants later influenced contributions to consultative sessions organised by the Presidential Advisory Panel on Agriculture and Land Reform on the need to re-purpose land administration. This thread featured prominently in the findings and recommendations presented in the final panel report which included:
 
Appointment of a Reference Group or Technical Working Group on Land Administration to drive a general process of land administration restructuring that is aimed at policies, laws and institutional arrangements to begin a process of change towards inclusive land administration. The intended outcome of these initiatives is a revitalised, integrated and unified Land Administration system that provides a legal and institutional infrastructure for all land-related management and rights. It includes an integrated land tenure information system and data management system capable of recording all legitimate land rights in a way that recognises and accommodates normative diversity and a continuum of rights. (Presidential Advisory Panel, 2019: 91)".
 
 
Dr. Rick de  Satgé
Phuhlisani NPC
 
Shipra Deo, Director, Women’s Land Rights, Landesa“It was a great experience to organize a webinar in collaboration with Land Portal. While we invested our efforts in allying with panelists, Land Portal was there helping with technical parts and outreach. Teamed together, we could hold an effective webinar on inheritance of land by women in India”.
 
 
Shipra Deo
Director
Women’s Land Rights
Landesa
 
 
Amy Coughenour Betancourt, CEO, Cadasta Foundation “The Land Portal is an important and unique resource to those of us engaged in the land space and related sectors. It is a reliable partner when it comes to amplifying our messages to a broader network,  providing an authoritative platform for knowledge-sharing, and leading critical discussions with stakeholders. If you need information about what is happening in the land sector, Land Portal is the place to go.”
 
 

Amy Coughenour Betancourt
CEO
Cadasta Foundation

 

Ali Kaba, Senior Researcher and Program Coordinator, Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) “The Land Portal online discussion forum presented an opportunity to reflect on very difficult and sensitive questions related to land reform in Liberia. The exercise provided the means and tools to collect, analyze, and synthesize diverse views and at times, competing interests and perspectives around land tenure rights.  In addition, the discussion enhanced relevant skills and capacity to host an online discussion and improve communication, collaboration, and teamwork among diverse stakeholders (experts, practitioners, advocates, government agents, and community members). Specifically, the experience helped produce new information and knowledge that were used to inform our work (advocacy and awareness) on the land rights law.”

 

 
Ali Kaba
Senior Researcher and Program Coordinator
Sustainable Development Institute (SDI)
 
Madaleine Weber, Communications Director, Cadasta“Land Portal is the go-to source of information for all things land related. As a team, they are extremely helpful and collaborative in developing ideas, partnerships, and campaigns—such as the Her Land Her Story campaign of 2018— to further promote and secure the land rights of marginalized communities around the world.”
 
 

Madaleine Weber
Communications Director
Cadasta

 
 
Elizabet Daley“Collaborating with the Land Portal in debating new land issues and disseminating new publications is a real pleasure. It strengthens our project’s reach and ensures our co-published blogs and research findings can contribute to global land policy agenda-setting processes. A personal highlight for me was co-organising and participating in the webinar on “Sextortion” in June 2018".
 
 
Elizabeth Daley
Independent Land Specialist & Team Leader 
Mokoro's Women’s Land Tenure Security (WOLTS) Project
 
 
Nicolás Grossman, Researcher and Data Lead, Global Data Barometer“Land Portal has been a strategic partner for the Global Data Barometer project. We have joined efforts on research and dissemination strategies on Open Land data and the skills, knowledge, collaboration and commitment of Land Portal team have been key assets for our partnership”
 
 

Nicolás Grossman
Research and Data Lead
Global Data Barometer

 
 
Nicolas Cook“The Land Portal's Country Portfolios provide very useful syntheses of political and history regarding countries’ land legal regimes, land usage and ownership patterns, and the rights of various land stakeholders, among other key issues. These Country Portfolios, together with the Portal's "land issues" and land data collections, make the Portal a key go-to info resource on a range of global land issues and policy challenges. It is set out in a manner that is accessible and of use both to experts and to general readers in need of authoritative information on such matters, whether of a summary or more in-depth nature.”
 
 
Nicolas Cook

Specialist in African Affairs
Congressional Research Service