Training needs assessment

February 18, 2018

In 2017 the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) undertook a “Needs assessment for short course training on land governance in Africa”, with the objective to identify, prioritize and urgently address the continent’s capacity gap in land governance. Based on an extensive literature review and stakeholder consultations followed by a ranking among survey participants the following priority areas were identified by PLAAS (each with detailed explanation and core elements for short-term trainings):

  1. First priority: Addressing the clash, disharmony and clash between statutory and customary land tenure
  2. Second priority: Understanding and driving or influencing land policy and land law formulation processes
  3. Third priority: Understanding and strengthening capacities for land conflicts management and alternative dispute resolution
  4. Fourth priority:  Understanding decentralization and institutional development dimensions of land governance
  5. Fifth priority: Seizing the potential opportunities and managing the risks associated with large-scale land acquisition and land-based investment
  6. Sixth priority: Understanding and addressing gender-based land tenure disparities

Based on the assessment study, PLAAS will, on behalf of ALPC, develop and implement regional trainings for professionally active land policy makers and practitioners, in collaboration with NELGA nodes and adapted to the realities of regions and countries.

The rapidly changing values, norms and tools in support of land governance in Africa require significant efforts to update the knowledge and upgrade the skills of serving land practitioners and decision-makers, in addition to increasing the efforts to train new land professionals at undergraduate and graduate levels.

Given that the current changes are anticipated to accelerate in the future, especially if the continent is to fulfill its aspiration of thriving economies in coming decades, capacity development needs to be a continuous effort, targeting current and future generations of land professionals and other allied actors.