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ITC | Vacancy Assistant Professor Spatial and Land Economics

ITC University of Twente: Vacancy Assistant Professor Spatial and Land Economics

Deadline: 8th January 2021

ITC University of Twente is looking for an assistant professor in Spatial and Land Economics. Within the ITC’s mission, the claims for sufficient and secure food, water, energy, health, land and housing are important elements. As these resources are desired by all but not always sufficient for all demands, there is scarcity (globally and certainly at national or local scales). In most societies today, (scarce) resources are traded through markets which assign them a monetary value. Economics deals with the value, trade and distribution of such scarce resources. Because the world is increasingly realizing that there are important non-monetary values to (esp. natural) resources, the economic dimension is critical to understanding resource management issues, the related plans and decisions and their costs and benefits.

To ensure a full pallet of relevant disciplines linked to PGM’s focus areas of urban and regional planning and land administration, we are seeking to appoint a new colleague who will bring an economic perspective to the understanding of urban and land development processes, considering their social and ecological values and impacts. This perspective will also contribute to other fields at ITC, for instance, payments for ecological services (mainly with the department of Natural Resources) and disaster risk assessment (mainly with the department of Earth Systems Analysis).

You will conduct high quality interdisciplinary research in (a part of) spatial and land economics and contribute to research networks addressing economic issues with a geo-spatial perspective, particularly in the global South. You will teach Master’s level courses, supervise MSc research and contribute to the development of courses and new educational products (e.g. through blended learning or distance learning packages). You will supervise PhD students in combination with a departmental professor. You will initiate, acquire and implement new research, education and consulting projects for the department, adding an economic perspective that will contribute to a broader and more successful project portfolio.  You will undertake management and administration tasks within the ITC faculty.

Your profile

You should:

  • possess a PhD in spatial economics, land economy/valuation, urban economics, development economics or have a combination of degrees covering (parts of) these.
  • have experience in collaborative interdisciplinary research including with geo-spatial methodologies
  • have authored scientific publications covering (some of) the above.
  • have broad basic knowledge of the thematic fields of the department and the faculty.
  • have an aptitude for teaching, including lecturing and tutoring at an academic level.
  • have a track record in attracting funds to support your research.
  • have an affinity with a multi-cultural, post-graduate education environment.
  • be willing to undertake international travel for work in less developed countries.
  • have an excellent command of English – knowledge of or willingness to learn Dutch is an advantage

Our offer

We offer an inspiring and challenging international environment. You will be initially employed for two years. Prolongation of the contract after this period is a possibility.

  • Gross monthly salary between € 3,746.- and € 5,127.- (depending on experience and qualifications, job profile Assistant Professor, level 2)
  • A holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary
  • A year-end bonus of 8.3%
  • Excellent support for research and facilities for professional and personal development.
  • A solid pension scheme
  • Possibilities to save up holidays for sabbatical leave
  • Minimum of 41 holiday days in case of full-time employment

Information and application

Additional information about this position can be obtained from Prof. Dr. Richard Sliuzas (e-mail: r.sliuzas@utwente.nl) You are also invited to visit our homepage.

Please submit your application before 8 January 2021 (choose “apply here” below). Your application must include (i) a motivation letter outlining your research and teaching interests and (ii) a CV with references.

For more information, please find the vacancy here.

 

Include | The (business) case for social protection

INCLUDE – a Dutch-African platform that promotes evidence-based policymaking on inclusive development in Africa through research, knowledge sharing and policy dialogue, recently published a document that summarises the work INCLUDE has done on the link between social protection and inclusive development. Read the two-pager here.

 

 

 

Vice Versa | Communities need land rights to gain from investments

In the autumn of 2020, Vice Versa publishes a series of articles on transforming African food systems to provide sufficient and healthy food to the growing population, while at the same time generating income and employment for the increasing number of young people.

In this article, Siri Lijfering shows that communities being able to participate on an equal basis in land governance is key to achieve food security and inclusive development. How can securing land rights pave the way for responsible investments and what can we learn from experiences with the palm oil industry? To answer these questions the article turn to West Africa where two activists are fighting for their communities’ right to land. ‘If we want to move forward, we need to share the wealth that the land brings.’

Read the full article here!

Global Land Alliance | Community Participation and Inclusion during a Pandemic: Recent Experiences from Around the World

In this recently published blog, Laura Bermudez, Jordan Oestreicher, Christen Corcoran, Elyse Magen address the questions: How can we reconcile the hazards of social interaction in a COVID-19 world with the importance of community participation to the successful, and sustainable, implementation of on-going land projects?

With strict health standards in place, COVID-19 has significantly impeded the way land tenure projects are operating in the field. Many of the participatory aspects of land tenure projects have had to be either postponed or adjusted in order to reduce the risk of transmitting the virus. This has the potential to obstruct successful and sustainable implementation for projects seeking to formalize and secure land tenure, where community participation is of the upmost importance.

This blog provides examples of community engagement during COVID-19 in Mozambique, Ethiopia, Ecuador, Dominican Republic and Colombia.

Read the blog here!

Landesa | Secure Land Rights: A Sustainable Solution at the Intersection of Climate Change and COVID-19

In this blog on Skoll Foundation, Rachel McMongagle addresses the dual crisis of climate change and COVID-19.

“COVID-19 and climate change are impacting all of us, but the dual disasters have a disproportionate impact on communities in emerging economies. These impacts are felt most acutely in rural areas, especially among indigenous communities and minority groups, and by women and others who are marginalized within those groups.

One fundamental factor unites them in their plight: rights to the land they depend on for food, identity, and survival, are too often insecure. Land rights in rural areas were already crucial for securing dignity and escaping poverty; but COVID-19 and climate change make land rights an increasingly vital solution in rural areas.”

Read the full blog here!

IIED | Farmer-herder conflict: open your eyes, change the narrative, find solutions

New research by IIED’s Camilla Toulmin and Saverio Krätli uproots deep-set trend to help understand increasing violence in dryland Africa through the lens of ‘farmer-herder conflict’. They have been digging into the data and found no evidence to support impressions that farmer-herder conflict is increasing at a faster pace than overall violence in the respective countries.

Read the full blog here.

Image top page: Despite assumed narratives of farmer-herder conflict, both populations maintain peaceful relationships in most areas (Photo: Bob Denaro via FlickrCC BY 2.0)

University of Manchester | Blog: Overcrowding, not density, makes cities more vulnerable to Covid-19

Recently published blog by Professor Diana Mitlin, CEO of the African Cities Research Consortium

Covid-19 has brought a new realization to many governments and development agencies: investment in towns and cities is essential. People need to live in healthy neighbourhoods with access to basic services. In this context, some have argued that an essential response to Covid-19 is the ‘de-densification’ of urban areas.

This response is based on a misconception. The problem isn’t density itself; it is the overcrowding resulting from low-incomes, expensive housing and the lack of infrastructure and services – and this is caused by state neglect. The lowest income urban residents are facing a global health crisis. The risks associated with Covid-19 are exacerbated by debilitated – or outright non-existent – health services and infrastructures.

It is therefore critical that appropriate learning takes place so that interventions can be successfully designed.

Read the full blog here!

LandCollaborative Learning Cycle – Call

ILC’s LandCollaborative is looking for an interested and experienced organization – especially members and partners of LandCollaborative conveners – to collaborate in the development and implementation of a capacity building and learning cycle for Multi-Stakeholder Platforms on engagement with the corporate sector on responsible land-based investments in agriculture. This will be the outcome of a consultative and collaborative process approach, in collaboration with MSPs facilitators/practitioners, and the LandCollaborative coordination group.

Please find the related call and concept note here. Interested and experienced organisations are invited to apply by sending one page expression of interest and a succinct institutional CV highlighting previous experience on the topic by 13 November 2020 to s.manetto@landcoalition.org, copying y.mekonen@landcoalition.org. Please do not hesitate to contact them for additional information or clarifications.

LANDdialoog organiseert kennissessie landrechten IMVO-convenant sierteelt

Op 28 oktober organiseerde de LANDdialoog een kennissessie voor de Convenantpartijen in de Sierteelt. Landrechten en landgebruik is een van de 7 prioritaire thema’s binnen het IMVO-Convenant Sierteelt https://www.imvoconvenanten.nl/-/media/imvo/files/sierteelt/convenant-sierteeltsector.pdf

Er waren een drietal sessies, waarbij landrechten en landgebruik in relatie tot de sierteel vanuit verschillende invalshoeken werden benaderd. Het laatste deel gaf ruimte aan de leden van het Convenant om vragen te stellen vanuit hun positie binnen de keten.
LANDac – Guus van Westen opende met een sessie over internationale afspraken op het terrein van Due Diligence en het Nederlands handelingsperspectief (vrijwillige versus dwingende afspraken) gelieerd aan landrechten, landgebruik en de daaraan gekoppelde mensenrechten.

Het Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken – Frits van der Wal gaf inzage in het Nederlandse beleid en de implementatie op programma en ambassade niveau.
Resilience BV – Sander de Raad gaf een inkijk in issues ten aanzien van landrechten en landgebruik vanuit hun samenwerking met investeerders en gemeenschappen in Ethiopië, Rwanda en Mozambique in de Sierteeltsector. Interessante insteek vanuit hun context-sensitief investeringsprogramma is dat een goede verstandhouding en samenwerking met gemeenschappen voor beide partijen in het voordeel werkt.

De sessie werd goed ontvangen en riep interessante vragen op ten aanzien van hoe en waar deze binnen de keten en certificatie een plaats zou kunnen krijgen. De werkgroep due diligence en sector mapping zullen overleg hebben over de mogelijke vervolgstappen om de opgedane kennis met betrekking tot landrechten verder in te zetten om hier vorm aan te geven.

LAND-at-scale tender Colombia

The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) is seeking (an)  organization(s) to implement the LAND-at-scale intervention in Colombia. 

See the original post on the Land Portal website here.


Background

LAND-at-scale is a land governance support programme for developing countries. A large part of the world’s population depends on having secure access to land for their incomes. LAND-at-scale aims to contribute to fair and just tenure security, access to land and natural resources for all. 

The Dutch embassy in Bogotá, Colombia, submitted an idea to the LAND-at-scale program that was selected by the LAND-at-scale Advisory Committee and resulted in the following tender.


Project objectives

The overall long-term project impact of the LAND-at-Scale project is to contribute to improved livelihoods due to just, inclusive and sustainable land governance by filling the Multipurpose cadastre with information about land titles and natural resources of indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities, which is obtained in a fair, efficient and effective manner, and create security for the communities to invest in sustainable income generating activities in those areas.

The objective of the project is to finetune a Fit for Purpose approach with and for indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities with specific attention for income generation and natural resource protection, in order to create land tenure security and improve livelihoods. The approach and results should be documented and shared throughout the project with the appropriate stakeholders in order to scale up in other areas in Colombia.

The objective of this European procurement assignment is to support a participatory process to create a well-defined plan, and support the first steps for indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities to be able to attract (financial) resources to sustainably develop income generating activities while protecting and developing the natural resources in the communities. The results of this method and the lessons learned will be used for scaling up of the Fit for Purpose approach in other areas.

The focus on an integrated approach is meant to strengthen land tenure security for all in the community, while at the same time starting the discussion on what can be reached when land tenure is secure: how to plan for income generating activities which respect natural resources? How to plan for a sustainable future for men, women, youth, elderly, vulnerable people within the communities? By piloting and approaching land formalisation to spark broader development, the fieldwork of all implementors will be done simultaneously. Where -during and after mapping- Kadaster International will focus on the achieving land formalisation and thus governmental actors needed to upscale the FIT FOR PURPOSE approach, the other implementor(s) will mostly focus on the non-governmental actors who could become involved in land formalization processes, and find (financial) support for the chosen pilot areas to kick start their income generating activities and natural resource protection, for which the foundations will be laid during this project.

Please refer to the full tender documents (link is external) for a complete description of the proposed assignment, as well as tender procedure and requirements. In case of any differences between those documents and this announcement, the information in the official tender documents on Tendernet prevails.


Tender Timeline

October  19th, 2020 – Deadline questions and clarifications about the tender

November 13th, 2020 – Deadline tender submissions

December 14th, 2020 – Deadline selection of tender candidates

February 1st, 2021 – Contract starting date


Applications for the tender, as well as requests for more information can be submitted through Tenderned.