Approaches and learnings from eight years of multi-actor partnerships: The Land for Life Toolbox

When we first published an article on multi-actor partnerships on the Civil Society Academy blog several years ago, MAPs were gaining attention as a promising — yet still experimental — approach to addressing complex development challenges. Since then, much time has passed, contexts have shifted, and our understanding has deepened. What has not changed, however, is the relevance of working across sectors, interests and power divides.

The Land for Life Toolbox is a return to this conversation — grounded not in theory alone, but in eight years of sustained practice and learning.

Land governance remains one of the most complex and contested policy arenas of our time. Questions of power, identity, livelihoods and rights intersect, often leaving those most affected with the weakest voice. Over the past eight years, the Land for Life initiative has worked to address these challenges through civil society–led multi-actor partnerships (MAPs) that bring together governments, traditional authorities, academia, the private sector and affected communities.

Launched in 2025 during the Global Land Forum in Bogotá, the Land for Life Toolbox brings together this experience. It was developed through a close partnership between the Civil Society Academy and Welthungerhilfe, working alongside a wide range of civil society organisations and partners in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The toolbox captures lessons from years of experimentation, dialogue and perseverance. It is both a reflection on what has worked — and what has not — and a practical guide for practitioners seeking to facilitate inclusive, long-term change through MAPs.

Seven principles for meaningful multi-actor partnerships

At the heart of the toolbox are seven principles, presented in the graphic below and deliberately clustered to show how they reinforce one another.

The first cluster consists of design principles. These focus on embedding a partnership in its wider land governance ecosystem, anchoring it in national and international agendas, and being clear about its purpose and scope. Experience from Land for Life shows that MAPs cannot operate in isolation: they gain legitimacy, influence and direction when they are connected to existing institutions, reform processes and global standards such as the VGGT and RAI principles.

The second cluster brings together collaboration principles. These address the quality of interaction within a partnership — inclusion, power dynamics, trust, collective leadership and dialogue. In land governance, where interests often collide and historical grievances run deep, how actors work together matters as much as what they aim to achieve. The toolbox, therefore, places strong emphasis on facilitation, safe spaces for marginalised groups, and actively managing power imbalances rather than assuming collaboration will happen by itself.

The third cluster consists of overarching principles. These cut across everything and highlight learning, adaptiveness and long-term sustainability as essential conditions for impact. Multi-actor partnerships are not projects with neat timelines; they are evolving processes that require continuous reflection and adjustment.

Together, these clusters form a coherent framework—not a checklist—for working in complex political environments.

How change happens: from small groups to systemic impact

The second core element of the toolbox is its understanding of how change happens. This is illustrated in the change process graphic below, which structures change into three phases and eight steps, adapted from the eight-step organisational change model (Kotter, 1996) and applied to systemic, multi-actor contexts.

The process begins with a small coalition of committed actors, a shared sense of urgency and a compelling narrative. It then moves through phases of building trust, generating early wins and expanding influence, before deepening change and strengthening systems. Crucially, the model is not linear. It reflects an adaptive management logic in which action, reflection and re-planning are repeated over time, while the long-term vision remains constant.

As Margaret Mead famously observed:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Land for Life repeatedly confirms this insight. Small, diverse groups — when well facilitated and strategically connected — can shift attitudes, influence policy debates and open space for reforms that once seemed out of reach.

Key lessons from eight years of practising MAPs

The toolbox distils a wide range of experiences into practical insights. Four lessons stand out.

• First, change takes time and trust. Meaningful dialogue cannot be rushed. Early investments in informal conversations and relationship-building were often decisive for later policy breakthroughs. Where follow-up was weak, momentum quickly faded.

• Second, power and inclusion must be addressed explicitly. Inclusion does not happen by default. Women, youth and customary land users face structural barriers to participation, requiring deliberate strategies such as decentralised platforms, legal mandates and tailored facilitation.

• Third, securing high-level political buy-in is difficult — especially from a civil society starting point. Engaging senior policymakers and powerful institutions takes persistence, credibility and strategic framing. Civil society–led MAPs often need to balance advocacy and dialogue, build alliances over time and demonstrate relevance before decision-makers engage meaningfully.

• Fourth, learning and adaptiveness are strengths, not weaknesses. The most effective platforms were those willing to reflect honestly, adjust strategies and let structures evolve. Rigid plans and overly detailed frameworks often undermined collective ownership and leadership.

These are only a small selection of the many lessons captured in the toolbox.

Explore the Land for Life Toolbox

The Land for Life Toolbox is not a blueprint. It is a field-tested companion for practitioners navigating complexity, conflict and uncertainty through multi-actor partnerships. By combining clear principles, a realistic change model and a rich set of lessons, it supports those working to strengthen land governance — and other areas where inclusive, systemic change is needed.

👉 Link to the Land for Life Toolbox

We invite you to explore the toolbox in full, engage with its tools and adapt them to your own context. Because lasting change rarely starts with grand designs — it starts with people, principles and the courage to work together.