General

The Food and Enterprise Development (FED) project analyzes the impact of tenure on beneficiaries’ investment decisions and access, and the possibilities for new tenure arrangements, such as share cropping in order to inform its interventions.

General

The Knowledge Management and Technical Support Services (KMTSS) project provided Knowledge Management support to the Land Tenure and Property Rights (LTPR) Division based on needs identified through a consultation process; and assisted in the development and implementation of a communication strategy. USAID’s LTPR Division had produced a significant amount of information over the past decade, which was continually being built upon and enhanced. From 2010-2011 alone, the LTPR Division more than doubled in size. Previous efforts to make information accessible had been challenging and costly. USAID staff, partners, and others engaged in international development activities require tools to more effectively share critical data and work together seamlessly. Implementation of a proper Knowledge Management (KM) programmatic approach improves performance, enhances competitive advantage, drives innovation, and enables sharing of lessons learned. KM allows integration and continuous improvement of the organizational operations. Additionally, While KM is important, it is not sufficient to meet the needs of broadcasting best lessons and methodologies to address land tenure challenges. Therefore, the development and implementation of a communication strategy was essential to complement KM programmatic approach. Objectives Review of LTPR web portal and recommendations for improved design, accessibility and performance; Implementation of recommendations to improve land tenure portal; Content for the portal describing USAID land tenure activities and programs; Review and reprogram portal to link with other web platforms that will allow blogging and other types of communication interface; Reduced time and cost for posting USAID briefs and other publications to the portal; New information management strategies developed to better communicate USAID’s land tenure programs, and linking these strategies to other internal and external web systems; Database of USAID’s land tenure programs, and tracking mechanism for report approval process; Develop database and report format to track LTPR Unit achievements, and develop marketing strategy for improved visibility of the Unit’s work; In collaboration with LTPR unit, develop Communication Strategy, and implement it. Implementation will be measured by development of at least one marketing campaign and placement of not less than 25 blogs, articles or publications in new and old media per year. Outcomes Conducted a portal scan and assessment, including feedback on content, structure, and key messages from the LTPR Division and from the public; Built a new website in the Drupal content management software; Created 116 commentaries, three USAID FrontLines articles, and six USAID IMPACT blogs; Managed portal content and organizational structure; Developed a social media strategy, which was approved and implemented, resulting in 507 tweets and 1,399 referrals to the portal; Provided framework and support for the development of new communication strategy for Division; Developed a Deliverable Approval Tracking System, a web-based platform for uploading, monitoring, reviewing, revising, and approving project documents and reports under the Strengthening Tenure and Resource Rights (STARR) contract mechanism; Developed a Partner Portal for STARR implementing partners to access project reports from current and previous USAID LTPR programs.

General

The Land and Rural Development Program began in July 2013 and is a five-year task order under the Strengthening Tenure and Resource Rights Indefinite Quantity Contract. The program helps the Government of Colombia improve its ability to resolve the many complicated land issues that have plagued the country for years and that must be resolved to achieve a lasting peace. Objectives Improved capacity of the GOC at the regional and national levels to restitute lands to victims of conflict (Restitution Component); Improved capacity of regional and national GOC institutions to formalize rural property rights and to allocate public lands (baldíos) (Formalization Component); Improved capacity of regional and national government entities to mobilize and execute public resources for rural public goods (Rural Development Component); and Improved information available and efficiently used to deliver land rights services (Information Sharing and Management Component). After four years of intense negotiations in Havana, Cuba, between the GOC and the FARC, both parties signed a peace accord in the final months of 2016 with the intent of ending more than 50 years of civil war. Although several controversies swirled around the final terms of the agreement, they did not center on the agreement’s commitments to strengthen land tenure security and rural livelihoods, giving the program significant latitude to continue collaborating with the GOC to facilitate land restitution, strengthen smallholder land rights, and mobilize the provision of public goods and services in historically neglected rural areas—and thereby create the conditions for sustaining peace. Expected Outcomes Adapting to an ever-changing sociopolitical environment to effectively engage new government institutions and new local government authorities. Defining and promoting the adoption of international best practices for implementing quick, efficient, scalable land formalization activities to ensure that citizens have secure land tenure on paper and in practice. Developing methods for protecting land from being irregularly acquired and for identifying abandoned, illegally adjudicated, or stolen land, so as to create a reserve of land that can be provided to victims of conflict. Accelerating the processing of restitution claims, ensuring that the interests of good-faith secondary occupants are protected, and ensuring that local governments are equipped to comply with restitution rulings. Identifying and tackling constraints to efficiently move national-level government funding into rural areas to increase access of rural communities to public goods, services, and markets. Identifying and proposing solutions to specific land tenure access problems faced by women and ethnic minorities. Partnering across government institutions in the design, establishment, and maintenance of land-related knowledge management systems that will allow all public agencies to share information in real time, reducing the time associated with land-related transactions. Strengthening coordination among USAID implementing partners in the regions where we work to maximize efficiencies and reduce the duplication of efforts. The program works at the national level and in 57 municipalities from five focus regions: Cauca, Cesar, Meta, Montes de María, and Tolima. For more information about the Land and Rural Development Program, visit http://ColombiaLRDP.org