LUGARIT was commissioned by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) to develop a communication and dissemination strategy for the Housing, Land, and Property Joint Programme (HLP JP) in Syria; funded by the European Union and involving NRC, UN-Habitat, UNDP, and UNHCR, with FAO initially as a partner.

Our team assessed the program's operational ecosystem and conducted a 360-degree overview of stakeholders. We identified main gaps in the program's outreach. Despite the positive reputation of the HLP JP partners in the sector, we noted limited interaction with some relevant stakeholders and underutilization of its knowledge products. The program focused more on legal and normative analysis, while the bulk of demand in the field was related to practical tools linked to daily operations.

Initial research findings highlighted the divergence of stakeholders, operating in isolated bubbles with limited knowledge exchange, which would be improved through collaborative platforms and fostering communication propellers to connect them. Another major issue was the limited availability of HLP knowledge, especially in Arabic, indicating high demand for targeted knowledge to be disseminated according to local conditions, with varying administrative experiences, terminology, and actor networks.

The second part of the project focused on developing the communication strategy. The approach was to elaborate both external and internal objectives and then propose institutional and procedural steps to address needs and challenges. Externally, we suggested expanding stakeholder engagement and leveraging knowledge dissemination for impact by focusing on joint messaging and aggregating feedback from the different channels. Internally, we emphasized the need for assimilating a branding strategy, risk management, and monitoring. We proposed various options to manage these aspects, considering the sensitivity of the context and varying risk appetites of the partners.

The partners of the HLP JP started elaborating elements of the communication strategy as it became a critical input into the funding of the program in a subsequent phase.