IDLO’s legal empowerment research program aims to advance practical knowledge as a means of addressing the legal needs of the poor and other marginalized groups in developing countries. IDLO intends to use the knowledge generated to anchor and advance its strategic objective of using legal empowerment approaches to secure the legal rights of vulnerable populations and those in crisis.

IDLO is currently running six legal empowerment research projects:

1. Legal Empowerment: Practitioners’ Perspectives

2. Best Practices in Community Land Titling

3. Enhancing Legal Empowerment Through Engagement with Customary Justice Systems

4. Strengthening the Legal Protection Framework for Girls in India, Bangladesh, Kenya and Liberia

5. Research in Microfinance to Expand Income Opportunities for the Poor

6. Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Cultural Heritage of Indigenous Communities with a Special Focus on the Agricultural Sector

Each of these initiatives expand upon work that IDLO has undertaken in recent years. They were selected for their complementarity with IDLO strategic objectives and in response to growing recognition of the utility of these subjects in meeting broader development goals.