Land Acquisition and Resettlement Planning Training Course

Duration 10 days 16 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Environmental and Social Specialists, Land Acquisition Managers and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-NRM-004

Before you join: Participants should have experience in project delivery, environmental and social management, land administration, community engagement, engineering, development finance or public-sector infrastructure.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Land acquisition for infrastructure, energy, mining, water, conservation and urban development projects can cause physical displacement, economic displacement, loss of access to common resources and disputes over compensation. Poorly scoped acquisition plans create delays, lender non-compliance, community grievances, contractor disruption and long-term reputational damage. Project teams need to identify affected people early, establish defensible entitlements, consult meaningfully and restore livelihoods rather than treating resettlement as a land transaction.

This course develops the practical skills required to plan and manage land acquisition, involuntary resettlement and compensation programmes. Participants work with IFC Performance Standard 5, World Bank Environmental and Social Standard 5 and the Equator Principles. They learn to define project footprints, conduct socio-economic baselines, prepare asset inventories, establish eligibility cut-off dates, value land and non-land assets, develop entitlement matrices, design livelihood restoration measures and manage grievances. The course also addresses vulnerable groups, host communities, land tenure risks, cultural heritage interfaces, contractor controls, monitoring and completion audits.

Teaching combines short technical briefings with realistic cases from transport corridors, renewable energy facilities, transmission lines, extractive projects and urban upgrading schemes. Participants analyse acquisition risks, prepare planning documents and review decisions against lender requirements. They leave with a reusable land acquisition and resettlement planning pack containing a stakeholder map, census and asset survey structure, compensation entitlement matrix, livelihood restoration framework, grievance mechanism and implementation monitoring plan.

The course suits professionals responsible for project development, environmental and social performance, land access, community relations, infrastructure delivery, lender due diligence and resettlement implementation.

What you will be able to do

  • Assess land acquisition and displacement risks using IFC Performance Standard 5 requirements
  • Prepare a census, socio-economic baseline and asset inventory methodology
  • Develop eligibility criteria, cut-off date procedures and a compensation entitlement matrix
  • Apply replacement-cost principles to land, structures, crops and livelihood assets
  • Design livelihood restoration measures for economically displaced households and enterprises
  • Establish consultation, disclosure and grievance management procedures for affected communities
  • Create a time-bound resettlement action plan implementation and monitoring framework
  • Present a complete land acquisition and resettlement plan for project review

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produce lender-ready land acquisition and resettlement planning documents
  • Assess compensation proposals against replacement-cost and eligibility principles
  • Handle displacement risks before they become project delays or disputes
  • Lead informed discussions with valuers, survey teams, authorities and communities
  • Build evidence for environmental and social due diligence roles

For your organisation

  • Reduce schedule disruption from unresolved land access and compensation claims
  • Improve conformity with lender environmental and social requirements
  • Create auditable records for affected persons, assets, payments and grievances
  • Strengthen livelihood restoration commitments for economically displaced households
  • Identify resettlement budgets, staffing needs and implementation risks earlier

Course modules

16 modules over 10 days

Participants can identify land acquisition and displacement risks across a project lifecycle.

  • Land acquisition pathways for public, private and concession projects
  • Physical displacement, economic displacement and restricted-access impacts distinguished clearly
  • Project footprint screening against settlements, farms and common-property resources
  • Avoidance and minimisation hierarchy applied during early project design
  • Land tenure patterns: statutory, customary, informal and collective rights
  • Schedule, cost, legal and social risks from delayed access

Participants can interpret key resettlement requirements and compare them with national law.

  • IFC Performance Standard 5 objectives, scope and core requirements
  • World Bank Environmental and Social Standard 5 applied
  • Equator Principles assessment expectations for project-finance transactions
  • Gap analysis between national law and lender requirements
  • Applying the higher standard where requirements conflict materially
  • Documenting legal authorities, permits, expropriation powers and appeals

Participants can scope a land acquisition due diligence review and prioritise material gaps.

  • Desktop due diligence using maps, cadastral records and satellite imagery
  • Field verification of occupied land, seasonal use and access routes
  • Screening legacy acquisition against current lender requirements
  • Risk register structured by impact, likelihood, owner and response
  • Land acquisition schedule aligned with engineering design milestones
  • Estimating preliminary compensation, restoration and implementation costs

Participants can prepare a stakeholder engagement approach for affected people and institutions.

  • Stakeholder mapping by rights, influence, impact and vulnerability
  • Identifying land users beyond registered owners and formal tenants
  • Consultation plans matched to project stages and decision points
  • Free, prior and informed consent considerations for Indigenous Peoples
  • Disclosure materials adapted for language, literacy and accessibility needs
  • Recording consultation evidence, commitments, concerns and follow-up actions

Participants can specify defensible survey methods for affected households, businesses and assets.

  • Census questionnaire design for households, enterprises and institutions
  • Socio-economic baseline indicators for income, assets and service access
  • Asset inventory protocols for land, structures, trees and crops
  • Household identification codes linking census, assets and payment records
  • Survey quality assurance through spot checks and data reconciliation
  • Data protection controls for personal and sensitive household information

Participants can establish eligibility rules and an entitlement matrix for different impact categories.

  • Eligibility categories for owners, tenants, occupiers and seasonal users
  • Cut-off date procedures preventing opportunistic settlement and asset creation
  • Entitlement matrix linking impacts, eligibility, compensation and assistance
  • Distinguishing compensation, resettlement assistance and livelihood restoration support
  • Documenting claims where formal title evidence is unavailable
  • Appeal routes for disputed eligibility and entitlement decisions

Participants can evaluate compensation methods against replacement-cost principles and local market evidence.

  • Replacement-cost principle compared with depreciated replacement value approaches
  • Land valuation using comparable sales, productivity and residual methods
  • Structure valuation based on materials, labour and transaction costs
  • Crop and tree compensation using yield, maturity and market-price evidence
  • Business disturbance allowances based on verified income interruption
  • Independent valuation review, disclosure and payment verification controls

Participants can prepare core planning measures for households requiring relocation.

  • Relocation options assessed against safety, tenure, services and livelihoods
  • Host-community assessment covering infrastructure capacity and social cohesion
  • Resettlement site selection criteria and environmental screening requirements
  • Housing design standards reflecting household size and cultural preferences
  • Moving assistance, transitional support and relocation scheduling procedures
  • Relocation completion checks before demolition or construction access

Participants can design livelihood restoration measures matched to affected income sources.

  • Livelihood analysis for farmers, fishers, traders and wage earners
  • Income restoration targets established from baseline household evidence
  • Land-based restoration options for agriculture-dependent households
  • Enterprise support packages for displaced shops and informal businesses
  • Skills training linked to verified labour-market demand and opportunities
  • Monitoring income recovery using disaggregated household outcome indicators

Participants can integrate differentiated support for vulnerable groups and rights holders.

  • Vulnerability assessment using household, disability, gender and dependency indicators
  • Targeted assistance for female-headed households and older persons
  • Accessible consultation arrangements for persons with disabilities
  • Gender analysis of land rights, compensation control and livelihoods
  • Indigenous Peoples screening, rights assessment and consent processes
  • Safeguards against elite capture, discrimination and exclusionary payments

Participants can establish an accessible grievance mechanism with clear escalation and closure controls.

  • Grievance mechanism principles: accessible, predictable, equitable and transparent
  • Intake channels for verbal, written, anonymous and digital submissions
  • Case classification for compensation, eligibility, conduct and access disputes
  • Service-level timelines for acknowledgement, investigation, response and closure
  • Mediation techniques for household, community and contractor-related disputes
  • Grievance database fields, trend analysis and management reporting

Participants can structure a resettlement action plan with implementable commitments and controls.

  • Resettlement action plan structure aligned with lender disclosure requirements
  • Impact assessment findings translated into specific mitigation measures
  • Implementation arrangements defining roles, authority and decision rights
  • Budget development covering compensation, staffing, contingencies and monitoring
  • Time-bound action plan linked to land handover and construction
  • Disclosure, approval and revision procedures for resettlement planning documents

Participants can manage resettlement implementation through roles, records, controls and reporting.

  • Implementation unit roles for land teams, consultants and local authorities
  • Contractor requirements for access management and community conduct
  • Payment controls using authorisation, receipts and beneficiary verification
  • Land handover protocols linked to completed compensation obligations
  • Change management for design revisions and newly identified impacts
  • Monthly implementation reporting against actions, budget and unresolved risks

Participants can design monitoring systems and determine when resettlement obligations are complete.

  • Input, output, outcome and impact indicators distinguished
  • Monitoring framework tracking compensation, relocation and livelihood recovery
  • Disaggregating results by gender, tenure status and vulnerability
  • Participatory monitoring methods with affected households and community representatives
  • Independent completion audit scope, evidence and corrective actions
  • Close-out criteria for outstanding grievances and livelihood commitments

Participants can assess historical acquisition problems and prepare corrective action measures.

  • Legacy resettlement screening for unresolved impacts and unpaid claims
  • Document review using deeds, payment records and consultation archives
  • Household interviews to test historical compensation and livelihood outcomes
  • Corrective action plan priorities based on severity and feasibility
  • Remedy options for land loss, income loss and procedural harm
  • Lender reporting on gaps, commitments, deadlines and accountable owners

Participants can build, review and present a complete land acquisition and resettlement plan for a defined project.

  • Project impact profile defining footprint, affected groups and displacement categories
  • Standards gap assessment comparing project arrangements with lender requirements
  • Census, asset inventory and eligibility approach documented clearly
  • Compensation entitlement matrix supported by replacement-cost valuation methods
  • Livelihood restoration, consultation and grievance measures integrated
  • Implementation schedule, budget, indicators and audit milestones presented

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Land acquisition due diligence checklist
  2. Census and asset inventory template
  3. Compensation entitlement matrix
  4. Livelihood restoration planning framework
  5. Grievance mechanism procedure
  6. Resettlement action plan outline

Who should attend

  • Environmental and Social Specialists — responsible for lender-aligned acquisition and resettlement plans
  • Land Acquisition Managers — managing access, negotiation, compensation and land records
  • Project Development Managers — identifying land and displacement risks before project approval
  • Community Relations Managers — leading consultation, disclosure and grievance response
  • Infrastructure Project Managers — coordinating resettlement commitments with design and construction
  • Lender Due Diligence Professionals — reviewing borrower plans against environmental and social requirements

Skills and tools covered

Resettlement action planningCompensation valuationLivelihood restorationStakeholder engagementGrievance managementSocial risk assessment

Tools and standards

IFC Performance Standard 5, World Bank Environmental and Social Standard 5, Equator Principles

How the course runs

Training methodology

The instructor uses short briefings to explain standards, planning methods and decision points. Case work follows a project from route selection through compensation, relocation, livelihood restoration and completion review. Group work tests census findings, entitlement decisions, valuation evidence and grievance cases. Simulations examine consultation meetings, disputed eligibility claims and lender review questions. Participants apply each method to a project scenario or their own assignment, receiving structured feedback on the documents and controls they prepare.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have experience in project delivery, environmental and social management, land administration, community engagement, engineering, development finance or public-sector infrastructure. They should be able to read project maps, budgets and basic legal or policy documents. Familiarity with local land tenure arrangements and stakeholder consultation is useful but not essential. No prior specialist knowledge of IFC Performance Standard 5, World Bank Environmental and Social Standard 5, surveying, property valuation or formal resettlement planning is required. The course does not require legal qualifications.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should understand basic project delivery, environmental and social management, land administration or stakeholder engagement. No previous experience with formal resettlement action plans or lender standards is required.

Bring a current or planned project map, land access challenge, compensation policy or resettlement document if available. Materials are optional, and project details can be anonymised for classroom discussion.

It is designed for professionals working on infrastructure, energy, mining, water, urban development, conservation or project finance. It is particularly relevant where projects affect land users, livelihoods, homes or access to natural resources.

Stakeholder engagement is one component of this course, but the focus is land acquisition and displacement management. Participants also address census methods, eligibility, valuation, compensation, relocation, livelihood restoration, monitoring and completion audits.

Participants can use the templates to screen a project, identify missing evidence and structure an action plan. They can also review existing compensation arrangements against lender requirements and replacement-cost principles.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30, providing about 6.5 contact hours. The first week establishes standards, surveys, eligibility and compensation methods; the second week addresses implementation, monitoring, legacy issues and the final capstone plan.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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