BACKGROUND

The Arab region is undergoing significant transformation amid complex and interrelated challenges. Home to approximately 436 million people, 90 per cent of the population is concentrated on just 4 per cent of the land, mainly along coastal areas and river systems. The region is highly urbanized, with 60 per cent of people living in cities, and notably young, with half the population under the age of 25. More than 60 million people are migrants or displaced.

Urban inequalities are increasing with wide intersectionality with economic and gender disparities, vulnerability in tenure rights, and loss of livelihood. The region is witnessing the commodification of housing and public land assets, large-scale projects displacing low-income communities, and planning systems reoriented toward the production of landscapes tailored to investment and wealth accumulation; this was the result of neoliberal policies adopted by most countries of the region since the end of the last century. At the same time, climate-related risks are intensifying food insecurity and driving competition over scarce resources. The region faces acute political, social, and environmental fragility, alongside severe exposure to climate change impacts such as drought, water scarcity, desertification, and land degradation.

While some countries have made notable progress, others are experiencing rising social tensions, economic instability, and conflict. Across the region, growing pressure on land governance systems and unmet expectations for public service delivery are contributing to instability. Land administration systems are often outdated, lack transparency and are requested to face multiple urgent and competing priorities, limiting governments capacity to implement necessary structural land governance reforms.

Against this backdrop, community mobilization in Arab countries has functioned as an agent of transformative change, acting as a critical catalyst that exposes and amplifies entrenched socio-economic and environmental inequalities. These mobilizations – as forms of dynamic agency whereby communities 

organize through informal or organic processes – enable marginalized groups to assert claims to their legitimate land and housing rights. Operating within governance landscapes marked by the chronic absence of inclusive and participatory mechanisms, grassroots mobilizations have generated alternative networks of organized solidarity and collective action.

ublic Works Studio – Public Works is a multidisciplinary research-based organization made up of urbanists, architects, designers, researchers, and legal experts critically engaged in public and urban issues in Lebanon. By taking a right to the city approach, Public Works addresses spatial inequality and social exclusion, as it affects residents whose livelihoods, housing, and surrounding environment are being destroyed by neoliberal urbanization and real estate speculation. The studio provides urban analysis and advocacy, informs public debates, and supports mobilizations around equitable cities and inclusive urban governance. It also initiates projects that study, shape and implement counter strategies to urban planning and policy making. 

The Arab Land Initiative – The Arab Land Initiative was established in 2016 by a group of Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) partners, led by UN-Habitat, to address growing land-related challenges in the region. It serves as a multi-stakeholder platform that brings together diverse actors to promote positive change in areas where effective land governance delivers significant benefits, including sustainable development, food security, climate action, women’s empowerment,peace , justice, and stability. Implemented through regional and national partners in collaboration with GLTN and UN-Habitat, the Initiative focuses on strengthening the capacity of stakeholders to improve land administration and governance across urban, peri-urban, and rural contexts. It supports inclusive and sustainable development by fostering dialogue among stakeholders and helping to balance power and knowledge asymmetries. 

The Research Innovation Fund – The Research Innovation Fund, established by the Arab Land Initiative with support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), supports young professionals and researchers in developing innovative research studies on land governance issues. The first edition of the Research Innovation Fund, launched in July 2020 and managed by the Urban Training and Studies Institute (UTI), reviewed over 80 proposals and selected 17 for development with support from senior experts. The published papers address diverse land-related issues, including socio-economic development, gender, youth, climate change, land administration, and land markets. The second edition of the Research Innovation Fund will be managed by Public Works Studio, in collaboration with the Arab Land Initiative, GLTN and UN-Habitat. As the managing organization, Public Works Studio will oversee the implementation of the program, including managing the call for research proposals, coordinating with researchers and partners, monitoring the progress of selected projects, and ensuring the successful delivery of the Fund’s activities. A key objective of this research fund is to support high-quality, methodologically rigorous research that enhances data availability and strengthens the empirical evidence base. 

OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH GRANT

administration contribute to positive outcomes such as adequate housing, sustainable development, food security, climate action, women’s empowerment, peace, justice and stability. The call also seeks to strengthen understanding of land and housing dynamics and their role in shaping broader socio-economic and spatial transformations. It encourages evidence-based analysis of how land governance systems influence development trajectories and respond to emerging challenges in the region. In parallel, the call acknowledges that urban mobilizations, both historical and contemporary, remain underexplored despite their growing relevance. To address this knowledge gap, the call also invites submissions of research papers aimed at deepening our understanding of mobilizations related to land and housing, as a fundamental entry point for comprehending the ongoing socio-economic transformations, societal changes, forms of conflict, and spatial reconfigurations taking place in the Arab region. Accordingly, we invite contributions that:

• Analyse how effective land governance systems shape access, management, and use of land, and assess their contribution to outcomes such as adequate housing, sustainable development, food security, climate action, women’s empowerment, peace, justice and stability.
• Examine land and housing dynamics through case studies from Arab countries, generating evidence-based insights and critical reflections that inform current policy and practice.
• Identify key lessons and transferable approaches from land governance experiences, highlighting what works, under what conditions, and why, with a view to informing future interventions.
• Provide rigorous and analytical assessments of land-related challenges, including the institutional, social, and economic drivers influencing governance systems and development trajectories.
• Where relevant, the call encourages drawing on examples of different forms of urban resistance, community mobilization and emergent counter spatial practices,  to contribute to a deeper understanding of the drivers and dynamics of these mobilizations, thus providing a precise and analytical treatment of the land issues under study.

These papers would thus contribute to building a more nuanced understanding of land dynamics and governance in the Arab region, ultimately fostering more inclusive, just, and sustainable futures. They will also provide opportunities for interaction and knowledge exchange among researchers, activists, and practitioners to build productive links between research and action.

THEMATIC AREAS

This call for research proposals invites applicants from diverse academic, professional, and disciplinary backgrounds to submit proposals addressing one or more of the following topics:

1. Land and housing in crisis-affected contexts
2. Women’s access to land and housing
3. Land and housing markets and financing

4. Rental housing
5. Housing sustainability and resilience
6. Land, food security, climate adaptation and climate justice
7. Social housing
8. Prevention of forced evictions
9. Enabling land management tools for housing provision
10. Land registration and digitalization
11. Youth and land
12. Land for inclusive and sustainable urbanisation
13. Land administration and its functions
14. Monitoring land governance

For case studies reflecting on community mobilization, sub themes where relevant can include:

Basic Services Provision: Communities campaign for equitable access to and improved quality of essential public services, including water, sanitation, waste management, education, and healthcare.

Forced Evictions and Tenure Security: Communities resisting mass evictions and advocating for the legal recognition of informal, customary, or historical tenure arrangements to secure residential stability and protect against arbitrary dispossession. Mobilization efforts challenging cultural and patriarchal or exclusionary inheritance regimes that systematically dispossess marginalized communities and individuals, particularly women and ethnic minorities.

Defense of the Urban Commons: Grassroots action protecting public spaces (rights to streets, squares, parks, waterfronts) from processes of enclosure, privatization, and securitization, thereby preserving these sites as essential for social reproduction, cultural practice, and political expression.

Achieving environmental and climate justice and food security: Grassroots efforts seeking to protect agricultural land, address food insecurity, resist the commodification of vital resources, and advocate for climate justice, climate resilience, and environmental rights. This also includes local groups monitoring and documenting HLP violations and the compliance of governments and private companies with environmental and land laws to provide transparent, on-the-ground data to empower marginalized communities, reduce corruption in land allocation, and ensure that official policies are subject to community accountability. 

STRUCTURE OF THE RESEARCH PAPER

The final research paper must include:

• An executive summary of 4 pages;
• Body of the research of max 50 pages;
• Relevant, copy-right free, images and maps.

The total word count must be between 6,000 and 8,000 words.

Paper format

• 8.5″ x 11”- page size (1″ margins)
• 11-point Times New Roman
• Line Spacing: Multiple 1.15

Final research papers will undergo a thorough review by a committee of experts and will be published on the Arab Land Initiative, Public Works and other partners websites.

RESEARCH GRANTS

The selected research papers will receive financial support totaling USD 3,500, distributed as follows:

• USD 1,500 will be paid after the selection results are announced and the research proposal is accepted;
• The remaining USD 2,000 will be paid after the final version of the research paper is submitted.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY?

This call targets students, young researchers, practitioners, and activists interested in conducting research on issues related to land governance, housing, spatial justice, social mobilization across one or more countries in the Arab region.

Eligible applicants include:

• Master’s and doctoral students in the fields of social sciences, urban studies, architecture, urban planning, geography, anthropology, political science, environmental studies, law, or related interdisciplinary programs;
• Researchers, academics, land professionals and land practitioners with expertise and/or field experience on land related projects in the Arab region.
• Young community organizers and individuals working in local initiatives or social movements related to housing, land, public services, and spatial rights.

Additional Application Criteria:

• Submissions from women are particularly encouraged.
• Applicants must be nationals or resident of a country of the Arab region.
• Applicants must be 40 years of age or younger.
• Applicants can apply individually or in groups (max. of 3), the group should be composed of nationals or resident of a country of the Arab region.
• Research papers may be submitted in one of the following languages: Arabic, English, or French.

REQUIREMENTS FOR SUBMITTING RESEARCH PAPERS

Submissions must include the following:

• The name(s) of the applicant(s), their professional or academic titles 
• Nationality and country of residence
• A copy of the applicant’s or team members’ ID card or passport;
• Proof of residence in an Arab country (if the applicant is not a national of an Arab country);
• The themes of the proposed research (selected from the list above);
• The proposed title of the research paper;
• Geographical scope of the research paper (one or more countries within the Arab region);
• The outline (or table of content) of the research paper;
• An abstract explaining the topic of the research paper (maximum 500 words).
• A current Curriculum Vitae (CV), or a list of published papers and/or research publications.

DEADLINES AND SUBMISSION DETAILS

Applications to the Research Innovation Fund must be submitted in accordance with the guidelines and timelines outlined below. Applicants are required to follow the specified submission format and ensure that all materials are received before the stated deadline. Late or incomplete submissions may not be considered. All eligible abstracts will be reviewed by a specialized committee, and shortlisted candidates will be invited to develop full research papers within the given timeframe.

• Send your application by filling this form
• Deadline for abstract submissions: August 30, 2026, 12:00 a.m. (Beirut time)
• Researchers whose proposals are selected will be notified by September 28, 2026
• Selected participants are required to submit the full version of their research papers by March 28, 2027, 12:00 a.m. (Beirut time)

CONTACT INFORMATION

For more information or inquiries, please contact: 

Rayan Alaeddine (Public Works): rayanalaeddine@publicworksstudio.com and 

CC : El Habib Benmokhtar (UN-Habitat): el.benmokhtar@un.org and Eleonora Serpi (UN-Habitat) eleonora.serpi@un.org