About IDRC
A Crown corporation, we support leading thinkers who advance knowledge and solve practical development problems. We provide the resources, advice, and training they need to implement and share their solutions with those who need them most. In short, IDRC increases opportunities—and makes a real difference in people’s lives.
Working with our development partners, we multiply the impact of our investment and bring innovations to more people in more countries around the world. We offer fellowships and awards to nurture a new generation of development leaders.
What we do
IDRC funds research in developing countries to create lasting change on a large scale.
To make knowledge a tool for addressing pressing challenges, we
- provide developing-country researchers financial resources, advice, and training to help them find solutions to local problems.
- encourage knowledge sharing with policymakers, researchers, and communities around the world.
- foster new talent by offering fellowships and awards.
- strive to get new knowledge into the hands of those who can use it.
In doing so, we contribute to Canada’s foreign policy, complementing the work of Global Affairs Canada, and other government departments and agencies.
Members:
Resources
Displaying 61 - 65 of 324Improving access to justice and basic services in the informal settlements of Nairobi : executive summary
A detailed situation analysis reveals key linkages between meagre services, insecure land tenure, and unjust governance institutions in Nairobi’s informal settlements. In addition to exploring alternative models of service delivery, the analysis examines the “poverty penalty” and the types of service provision specific to Mukuru settlement, where residents are forced to pay for poorer services. Private holdings in Mukuru should be converted to community land, using provisions from the Constitution, Land Act, and the draft community land bill.
Dissemination and modeling report (February 1, 2015 - September 30, 2015)
This report presents the dissemination and communication activities for the period February – September 2015 of the 2 year IDRC funded action research project entitled “Improving Access to Justice and Basic Services in the Informal Settlements of Nairobi”.
Workshop on Large-Scale Land Acquisition (LSLA) and Accountability in Africa, Dakar, November 24-26 2015 : summary report of panel discussions
Large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) have been a major concern for several developing countries, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa. To make land investment processes more accountable and equitable, as well as to prevent land-based social conflicts, the IDRC has supported projects in 10 countries to study conditions conducive to accountability and towards better access to justice in land investment processes. Differences between land grabbing and LSLA were clarified.
Confronting complexity : using action-research to build voice, accountability, and justice in Nairobi's Mukuru informal settlements
The Constitution of Kenya (2010) has provided the means for confronting new challenges to evictions and access to justice faced by vulnerable groups such as the residents of Mukuru. New jurisprudence has begun to emerge, addressing the human rights implications of evictions. Project researchers along with the Katiba Institute and Strathmore University’s School of Law work closely with the community to investigate different existing tenure arrangements in Mukuru to determine how the Constitution and land laws can be used to address challenges related to insecure land tenure.
Identifying opportunities, unlocking informality and leveraging assets to create sustainable housing for Nairobi's majority population
Over the next 15 years, over Kshs. 89.09 billion will be paid by slum-dwellers to informal service-providers for low-quality and high-cost services. This situation is replicated in almost all informal settlements within the city of Nairobi. Developing affordable shelter for the urban poor, and thereby
realizing the Constitutional right to housing, will require new forms of pro-poor shelter finance
and supportive policies at the urban level. But most of Nairobi’s residential construction