Sub Saharan Africa has an immense challenge to rapidly and cheaply map millions of unrecognized land rights in the region. Existing approaches for mapping and recording these land rights have failed: land disputes abound, investment is impeded, and the communities poorest usually lose out. Good land records can help to deliver tenure security, dispute reduction, investment opportunities, and good governance: secure land rights are the cornerstone of much of the economic, environmental, and social security across the developed world. In this vein, its4land is using strategic collaboration between the EU and East Africa to deliver an innovative, scalable, and transferrable ICT solution - one that fits with the Eastern African context - whilst delivering mutual benefits to both the EU and Eastern Africa. The main objective of its4land is to develop an innovative suite of land tenure recording tools inspired by geo-information technologies, that responds to end-user needs and market opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa, reinforcing an existing strategic collaboration between EU and East Africa. The specific objectives for its4land are to 1) capture the specific needs, market opportunities, and readiness of end-users in the domain of land tenure information recording in Eastern Africa; 2) co-design, adapt, integrate, demonstrate, and validate a land tenure recording suite based on small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV's), smart sketch maps, automated feature extraction, and geocloud services; and 3) develop and valorize a governance model that realizes the innovation process by aligning end-users conditions, technological opportunity, business models, and capacity building requirements. Supporting the work, established local, national, and international partnerships drive the project results beyond R&D into the commercial realm. In addition, its4land utilizes an innovation process to deliver land recording services that are end-user responsive, market-driven, and fit-for-purpose. The transdisciplinary work also develops supportive models for governance, capacity development, and business. Gender-sensitive analysis and design is also incorporated. Set in the East African development hotbeds of Rwanda, Kenya, and Ethiopia, 3 major phases host 8 work packages that enable contextualization, design, and eventual land sector transformation. The experienced consortium is multi-sectoral, multi-national, and multidisciplinary. It includes SMEs and researchers from 3 EU countries and 3 East African countries.
