Nikiegnounou Gnoumou

Executive Profile

Senior researcher with 15+ years of experience leading policy-relevant studies on land tenure as a driver of violent extremism in Burkina Faso, including evaluation of major donor-funded interventions. Skilled in translating complex research into actionable recommendations that inform program design and policy decisions.

Core Competencies

Conflict Analysis & Early Warning • Link Between Land Tenure Rights & CVE • Community & Project-Level MEAL Systems Development • Participatory Co-Development of More Inclusive Land Access and Tenure Processes for IDPs • Project and Research Management & Reporting • Workshop Design and Execution

Selected Achievements

• Land Use and NRM Specialist, USAID-funded RISE II Terres Eau Vie Project, executed by Winrock and TetraTech (Burkina Faso) (October 2023–November 2024): Led creation of 12 chartes foncières,(signed community land use plan that conforms with the current land tenure laws of Burkina Faso) strengthening land and water governance, preventing conflicts, and promoting inclusive registration for women, youth, and IDPs across eight communes.
• Country Coordinator, U.S. State Department–funded Harmonizing Policy and Practice to Counter Violent Extremism in Littoral West Africa, executed by IRI) (Burkina Faso) (May–September 2023): Oversaw 10 enumerators working in 20 cross-border communities in five regions of Burkina Faso that produced weekly reports used by stakeholders in five countries to guide policy and program decisions; organized and facilitated a series of four debriefing workshop to debrief four people from each of the 20 cross-border communes; attended two workshops that regrouped all of the key regional level partners from the five countries.
• Deputy Chief of Party, USAID-funded RISE II ASTER Project, executed by ONF-BF (Burkina Faso) (February 2020–April 2021): Provided strategic leadership in designing the first IDP land access and titling strategy in the Centre-Nord, Est, and Sahel Regions, coordinating international agencies and government offices to support this initiative, and successfully mobilizing NRC to implement the plan in the Centre-Nord communes (Kaya and Kongoussi).
• Deputy Team Leader, Canadian Cooperation–funded Le Voix et le Leadership des Femmes au Burkina Faso Project, executed by Oxfam (Burkina Faso) (March–May 2019): Trained and supervised 10 enumerators to map 700 women’s rights associations across 13 regions, enabling selection of 60 associations for in-depth interviews and rigorous data analysis.
• Regional M&E/Land Officer (Centre Est & Sahel Region) and later Regional Coordinator (Sahel Region), World Bank-funded PNGT Phase III Project (Burkina Faso) (September 2014–February 2019): Provided strategic leadership in co-designing and implementing a participatory process that established and trained 606 land commissions; reduced 130 land-related conflicts over four years and secured government support through annual grants for infrastructure across 58 communes; oversaw the final year and closeout of PNGT II in the Sahel, leading the delivery of critically needed infrastructure—including schools, health centers, a vaccination park, livestock market, boarding dock, and shops.
• Land Tenure and Conflict Management Advisor, MCA/BF–funded Land Tenure Project, executed by ARD with ODEC, Jade Production, ATEF, and Fit Conseil (Hauts-Bassins and Cascades Regions, Burkina Faso) (April 2010–Jul y2014): Led the creation of the regions’ first chartes foncières in Bama and Banfora, resolving 850+ land conflicts and enabling 4,000+ beneficiaries to secure registered land rights; innovations from this initiative informed subsequent projects, including ASTER and PNGT.

Education & Certifications

B.S. & M.S., Economics and Non-Profit Business Management, University Thomas Sankara of Ouagadougou, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Certifications: Certificate on Project Management with MS-Project; Certificate in Private Public Partnerships: How to Provide Better Infrastructures for Public Services; Certificate in Institutional Communication for Development

Languages & Tools

Fluent: French; Advanced Professional: English; Professional: Dioula, Bwamou, Mooré

Tools: MS Office Suite, SPSS, Delta M&E, Sphinx Lexica, Google Suite