Co-creating land governance research agenda by, for, in, and on Africa: Experience of Network of Land Governance Researchers on Africa (NELGRA)

ABSTRACT

Africa and Africans’ response to the challenge of spearheading innovative research and in formulating comprehensive policies on land governance are very recent. Across the continent, the African Land Policy Centre (ALPC) has emphasized and prioritized knowledge acquisition and capacity development on land governance especially through its Network of Excellence for Land Governance in Africa (NELGA). Notwithstanding the strides made through NELGA, there are still gaps at both the regional and local levels in terms of impacts in developing research capacities in land governance. In the context of land governance, research networks are inter-connected groups who are dedicated to academic research in and on a specific subject or focus on the emerging paradigms of land management. Over the years, many institutions have been targeted with capacity building packages on land governance, with little focus on the researchers themselves and how their self-built research networks could be useful in promoting good and sustainable land governance. This paper argues that one of the strategies for facilitating the development (and/or expansion) of African research portfolios is the operation of semi-formal to informal research networks focusing on individual researchers that can enhance collaborations among African researchers to improve co-creation of knowledge based on locally observed and scientifically investigated scenarios.

KEYWORDS:

• Co-creation
• co-design
• co-production
• research networks
• land governance
• capacity building
• NELGRA
• Africa

Acknowledgments

The authors are extremely grateful to ADLAND, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, the University of Twente, the Technical University of Munich, and the other ADLAND partners for creating the opportunity for us to participate in the Research Development Workshop. We are particularly grateful to Prof John Tiah Bugri, Prof Seth Opuni Asiama, Mr. Mark Williams Adolwine, Mr. Jonathan Zinzi Ayitey, Dr. Eric Tudzi, Dr. Frank Gyamfi Yeboah, Dr. Kwabena Asiama, and all those who participated in the workshop that led to the formation of NELGRA. The views expressed in this paper do not represent the views of ADLAND or any of its partners or resource persons. They are purely the views of the authors based on their presence and participation in the workshop aforementioned. We also appreciate the participation and contributions of all the participants whose contributions and consensus resulted in the formation of NELGRA.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. ADLAND stands for Advancing Collaborative Research in Responsible and Smart Land Management in and for Africa.