General

The Economic Growth Hubs Project is a Cooperative Agreement with the Asia Foundation. The project has three objectives: Better Provision of Infrastructure, Better Performing Economic Growth Hubs, and Promoting a political economy approach to economic policy reform process. One of the activities under Better Performing Economic Growth Hubs was the provision of technical support for the passage and effective implementation of the Residential Free Patent law in the Philippines. The Residential Free Patent Act (RA 10023), passed in March 2010, creates a low-cost, administrative procedure to more efficiently title the estimated 8,000,000 untitled residential parcels in the country and unlock “dead capital” to drive economic development. Objectives Better Provision of Infrastructure: a) Through improved public-private partnerships (PPP) – This activity will seek to establish an enduring policy and institutional environment that promotes competitively bid and properly implemented PPP infrastructure projects; b) Through increasing transparency and accountability in budget and spending – The goal is to broaden participation in the allocation and implementation of infrastructure investments. The project will provide technical assistance to civil society, business associations and/or government institutions to increase understanding and participation in the decision-making and implementation processes of infrastructure projects in the Philippines; c) To expand Philippine Roll On, Roll Off (RoRo) network both domestically and regionally Better improving growth hubs: a) Improve the institutional capacity of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA); b) Develop the Subic-Clark as a major tourism and logistics hub; c) Assist in the effective implementation of the Residential Free Patent law Promoting a political economy approach to economic policy reform process – to develop material to increase understanding of the political economy of reform, to develop policy entrepreneurs, inform the design of donor project activities, and support new reform initiatives (with AusAID and World Bank) Outcomes To improve the security of property rights in the Philippines, USAID supported the implementation of the Residential Free Patent Act (RA 10023), passed in March 2010, that creates a low-cost, administrative procedure to more efficiently title the estimated eight million untitled residential parcels in the country and unlock “dead capital” to drive economic development. To further institutionalize reform, the project help established robust partnerships between national Department of Environment and Resources (DENR) and local governments. These partnerships leverage the authority of DENR to issue titles and the resources and interests of LGUs in land titling. Since the pilot was launched in Cebu in January 2011, over 100 local governments have established “land offices”. Based on lessons from the field and working with the DENR’s Land Management Bureau, the project also developed a manual to guide DENR and LGU personnel on establishing and operating land offices.

General

The purpose of the Evaluation, Research and Communication (ERC) project is to create, expand, and communicate the results of evidence-based knowledge around best land tenure and property rights practices in order to enhance internal USAID and external USG learning, guide program design and implementation, and make the most effective use of limited development resources to accomplish key USG development objectives. Activities will support achievement of intermediate result 1.2 under Strategic Objective 1 of the Climate Change and Development Strategy, which notes USAID support for “ensuring the rights and engagement of local and indigenous communities” in conjunction with a focus on improving tools and capacity for land-use planning to reduce deforestation. ERC will also support biodiversity conservation through collection and dissemination of evidence-based knowledge on how secure land tenure and property rights can incentivize sustainable land use and protection of valuable ecosystems including the forest, water and wildlife within them. Work conducted under ERC should adopt a multidisciplinary approach to learning that aligns with USAID’s Evaluation and Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Policies and that communicates results of evaluation and research using innovative, creative methods that target key audiences. This work will also contribute to USAID Forward. Objectives Impact Evaluations: evaluate different modalities for land certification applied across Ethiopia Research: build on the existing body of USAID land tenure and property rights work and extend this base of knowledge; encourage debate around innovative models and competing hypotheses related to land tenure and property rights interventions and expected outcomes – challenge existing assumptions Communications: implement strategies to ensure that new knowledge and learning is incorporated into communications efforts, that new knowledge and learning feeds effectively into Land Tenure Division program design efforts, that this knowledge and learning is accessible to users of the Land Tenure Division’s communication products, and that communication efforts and knowledge management take advantage of creative and innovative approaches to conveying information to key target audiences including policy makers, development experts, Mission staff, civil society organizations, women and other vulnerable groups.

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.