Common Ground

Common Ground is collaborative systems change initiative in the domain of environmental governance and rural livelihoods in India, jointly led by several organisations and anchored by a secretariat organisation, called Living Landscapes. Common Ground leverages the unique opportunity presented by the Commons to address three linked crises of our times – livelihoods, climate, and social equality – by bringing a socio-ecological narrative into mainstream development models. Through a collaborative action framework, Common Ground focuses on ‘field setting’, so that entrepreneurial action by multiple actors is accelerated and multiplied, seeding the ecosystem with institutional apparatus and a distributed network of change leaders, to set the stage for sustainable impact beyond the scope of any single initiative, or organisation.

Foundation for Ecological Security

Set up in 2001, Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) works towards conservation of nature and natural resources through collective action of local communities. The crux of FES’ efforts lies in locating forests and other natural resources within the prevailing economic, social and ecological dynamics in rural landscapes. Towards this effort, the Promise of Commons is a collaborative initiative led by FES and its partners, which include community institutions, governments, NGOs, academia, media, and the private sector, to address the interconnected issues of environmental health, and social and economic wellbeing in rural India.

Landstack (Landstack Advisory Services Private Ltd.)

Landstack, as a leading land think tank in Global South, conducts policy and action research as well as capacity and ecosystem building around land governance. Since 2015 (earlier known as Center for Land Governance) it has been collectivizing land institutions and actors, information, and innovations to improve inclusive land tenure security for sustainable, just, and resilient development, recognizing the needs of communities, economies, and the ecosystems, locally and globally.

Landstack organizes India Land and Development Conference (ILDC), an annual gathering that brings together land stakeholders and enthusiasts from India and majority-world. Since its inception in 2017, ILDC has ignited vital conversation on critical land-related issues, fostering partnerships, collaborative research, and impactful actions, significantly contributed to a thriving land ecosystem in India. Through technological solutions, innovative research, collaborative partnerships, and community engagement, Landstack strives to build an informed land ecosystem that expands land governance space, synergizes land interactions and catalyze land stewardship for improved land relations and outcomes.

Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) – Mumbai

Established in 1936, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) is Deemed to be a University under section 3 of the University Grant Commission Act, 1956. TISS is one of the prestigious social science institutes in the country. Since its inception, the institute has been consistently and continuously responding to changing social realities through the development and application of knowledge, towards creating a people-centred, ecologically sustainable, and just society that promotes and protects dignity, equality, social justice, and human rights for all. There are four campuses of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences located in Mumbai, Tuljapur, Guwahati and Hyderabad. Over the years, the institute has expanded both its academic and outreach programs and has introduced several programs focusing on health, community organisation, disaster management, livelihood, social entrepreneur, labour, development, gender, and rights of weaker sections of the society, and more importantly on habitat studies.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP – India)

UNDP has been working in India since 1951 in almost all areas of human development. Together with the Government of India and development partners, UNDP has worked towards eradicating poverty, reducing inequalities, strengthening local governance, enhancing community resilience, protecting the environment, supporting policy initiatives and institutional reforms, and accelerating sustainable development for all.

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With projects and programmes in every state and union territory in India, UNDP works with national and subnational government, and diverse development actors to deliver people-centric results, particularly for the most vulnerable and marginalized communities. As the integrator for collective action on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within the UN system, we are committed to supporting the Government of India’s national development vision and priorities and accelerating the achievement of the SDGs for the people and the planet.  As part of the achieving Agenda 2030 of Leaving No One Behind, UNDP is actively engaged in tribal development initiatives at the National and State Level.

Collaborating for Resilience (CoRe)

Collaborating for Resilience (CoRe) is an international, non-profit, entrepreneurial change initiative working to address resource competition, and strengthen governance and livelihood resilience in interconnected resource domains and landscapes, including agricultural lands, forests, fisheries, inland waterways and coastal zones. With partners we foster innovations that sustain critical ecosystem services, build resilient local economies and increase social and economic well-being.

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We believe that complex, interconnected challenges require integrated responses to enable enduring change in social-ecological systems. We target the social, political, and institutional blocks to effective natural resource management and environmental security. By creating collaborative space for key actors, our partners enable communities to explicitly address the root causes of conflict, competition, and differences in power, and ultimately to contribute to more responsive and equitable governance.