Learning Platforms on Land Governance & Food Security LANDac, CIFOR, Food & Business Knowledge Platform & Shared Value Foundation WORKING SESSION World Bank Conference on Land & Poverty, Washington DC 2017 G.Betsema@sharedvaluefoundation.com L.E.Oates@uu.nl
Working session Multi-stakeholder approaches & local priorities Sharing LANDac experiences Learning platforms Background Approach Geographical focus Some early findings Work in progress… Moving forward Referees Inputs and experiences Existing networks and initiatives
Learning platforms: rationale Initiatives for making land-based investments more inclusive and sustainable: rise in multi-stakeholder approaches; with the Learning Platforms we aim to link these initiatives more to local contexts Interest from business to know more about local context and local priorities, both for risk aversion, but there might be future business opportunities as well The initiative does not want to focus only on directly involved stakeholders, but also on the broader investment area Beyond a focus on mainly economic and environmental impacts, take a broader focus on livelihood options more broadly
Learning platforms: building on… Recursive/ social learning key to enhancing corporate performance: adapting and shaping business models over time Outcomes of business models in terms of local development impact and food security are very much shaped by realities on the ground, including local priorities, expectations and broader developments Dynamics: consensus at one point is never the consensus in one year from now Giving due attention to alternatives in relation to people’s future aspirations
So: what’s a Learning Platform? Main idea: combining multi-stakeholder dialogue with bottom-up research into local context, accompanied by follow-up activities Three phases Mapping local context: what is happening ‘under the radar’, including local priorities, expectations, trust, engagement, participation and aspirations + engagement other stakeholders Organize 3-day multi-stakeholder meetings, to share outcomes of the local mapping exercise and setting an agenda for action Support and monitoring through follow-up meetings and maintaining in close contact with key informants from the community as well as companies involved
Tanzania – Kilombero ACTIVITIES Investments in food and cash crops, different linkages to and level of involvement of local communities Engagement with companies and other local stakeholders present Conducting fieldwork in close cooperation with key stakeholders from the area: companies & communities have questions PRELIMINARY FINDINGS Issues related to local governance Communication & information: most dissatisfaction especially in those cases where people were expecting certain benefits that did not materialize Broader developments in the area: migration, climate change, other investors etc. Guiding future interventions? Information about people’s priorities and entrepreneurial ideas -> Planning via multi-stakeholder approaches
Discussion points How is it that we can meet the expectations of local communities and companies? How to improve communication lines between companies and their neighbours? Innovative examples? How do companies see and organize themselves as part of the community? And how to prepare yourself for entering a community? How can district governments use such platforms to inform their policies? Suggestions for linking up in Tanzania, Mozambique and Uganda? Ongoing work? Existing initiatives?