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 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