On March 27, 2019, the Research Consortium hosted a happy hour at the 2019 World Bank Land and Poverty Conference. The event attracted a mix of attendees from the conference, including leaders in the field of land rights and land tenure security. The happy hour reception was a chance for the attendees to learn more about how the Research Consortium fills in the gaps of knowledge for researchers and practitioners and was a chance for those who attended to deepen their ties to the Consortium.
Remarks were made by one of the Research Consortium’s steering committee members, Rick Gaynor. He said, in part, that he joined the Research Consortium because it fills a critical gap in the land sector that he sees as a practitioner: it helps to identify what works, and what doesn’t, in trying to advance women’s land rights. The Research Consortium helps the land rights community move past identifying problems to proven solutions that will make a difference.
Rick went on to say:
“The Consortium launched in March 2018. I’ve been impressed by the immense progress we’ve made in just a year. We have become known as a hub for the collection, sharing, and exchange of knowledge on how to advance women’s land rights. We have also become an important voice in setting the research agenda. The Research Consortium identifies gaps and helps to develop a shared research agenda to fill those gaps and foster the sharing of learnings on women’s land rights.”
“The core of the Research Consortium is about the creation of a community of researchers and practitioners to improve research with the goal, ultimately, of overcoming barriers to women’s secure land and resource rights around the world.”
He highlighted four features of the Consortium:
- Curated research on key issues like inheritance; titling, registration and land certification; and land redistribution.
- Research grants, furthering the research agenda. The first three grants were announced in November 2018.
- Materials and tools, including the Conceptual Framework on Women’s Land Rights, which provides shared definitions and concepts to facilitate communication and consolidation of lessons, and we are providing access to various guides, publications, laws by country, and literature reviews.
- The Women’s Land Rights Help Desk, an online space where anyone can submit a specific question about women’s land rights. The questions are answered by a women’s land rights expert, and the questions and answers are shared on the platform for others who might have the same question.
We were thrilled to see everyone there. If you’d like to learn more about the Research Consortium, please sign up for our mailing list. By signing up you will receive a monthly newsletter, invitations to special events and webinars, and access to unique updates related to women’s land rights.