NOTES AgriculTurAl & rurAl DEvElOpmENT 43556 Land Policy and Administration information and communications iSSuE 38 Technology in land Administration projects fEBruAry 2008 By EDwArD cOOk, vicTOriA STANlEy, gAviN ADliNgTON, kEiTh BEll, AND mikA TörhöNEN Application of Information and Communications attribute terms starting from a situation with almost Technology (ICT) to land related projects is now a no data was available. The cost per property, applying widespread phenomenon, through both donor-sup- orthophoto-interpretation and field adjudication, was ported interventions and autonomous development. about US$8. These costs can typically run US$20 or Since the mid-1990s the World Bank has been increas- more in other settings. A similar approach is currently ingly involved in ICT land project implementations. being piloted in Andhra Pradesh, India, whereby par- The advantages have proven substantial in reducing cel boundaries are adjudicated in the field with digital the time required to complete transactions, improv- orthophotos on laptop. Cost benchmarking of this ing access to information by the public, as well as approach has not been carried out, or at least is not other government agencies, reducing the costs of yet available. data acquisition, and contributing to standardization of system design. The successful application of ICT to System Standardization ­ Introduction of auto- land projects has increased since the 1990s, as lessons mated systems brings with it a review of existing from the first tier of programs became clear and were paper-based data classification and management pro- subsequently applied. This note summarizes the dem- cedures, including the formats in which data is sub- onstrated advantages of ICT application, as well as the mitted to the land registry and cadastre. Anomalies key lessons learned. in system operation are found across regions within a country. Systems automation allows for a comprehen- ADvANTAgES Of icT sive review of these existing practices and their stan- dardization on a national level, which in turn results in ApplicATiON TO lAND improved efficiencies in systems operation. ICT appli- prOjEcTS cation can also spur a rationalization and simplification Data Acquisition ­ Data acquisition is more feasible of the forms utilized in interactions, both internally as and costs less by applying ICT than often-used tech- well as with the client. nology that are quite sophisticated. The use of high, Data Access, Service Standards, Planning, and but robust, technology for data acquisition (satellite Governance ­ Inherent in the application of ICT imagery, digital orthophotos, CORS, GPS) provides more simplification, increased efficiency, less cost, and is improved data access. There is now a long list of greater accuracy. In Cambodia, for example, 1 million project cases where customer service standards have properties have been registered in both graphical and benefited substantially as a result. The ready availabil- ity of digital land data facilitates government land use planning. It can also improve linkages with third par- ties, such as financial institutions involved in mortgage lending, and civil society organizations. IT solutions can improve governance. Web based solu- tions have improved transparency and can improve the security of tenure. Accessible information on who- owns-what tangibly hinders grand corruption. Along with the standardization and streamlining land regis- tration operations noted above, application of ICT can cut down on gate keeping and information capture, which are often sources of petty corruption. ThE wOrlD BANk At the same time, there is issue met. For example, it is impor- about equal access to web-based tant to consider things such as information. Arguments have reduced time for registration or been put forward that this can data provision, customer satis- act to skew information access in faction measurements (better favor of the better-off segments governance), and improved reli- of the population, which can ability/ accuracy of information clearly be the case where internet and records. There is also a need access is restricted. Strategies to to assess up-front the implica- balance information access need tions for staff reductions, reduc- to be developed and put in place. Various states in India tion in numbers of offices, reduced space needed for are working to make available land records and land archives as these have good financial implications, but registration data at the local level through a system of possibly adverse social consequences. The appropriate village kiosks. The business logic is to piggyback these system design can then be assessed on this basis. with other government services. Punjab Province in Pakistan has decided to invest in local level land records Management Expertise ­ The Bank and our clients service centers that likewise can evolve into providers of continue to underestimate the need for management a broader set of government services and information. expertise in implementing large ICT systems. Not only The establishment of tele-centers in a number of Central is good IT knowledge and experience required, but sig- American countries has improved access to information nificant contract and project management experience is and services at the local level. essential. This lends itself well to incremental ICT devel- opment, where the IT professionals can gain manage- Indonesia has introduced a system of mobile land reg- ment experience as they go along. In addition, training istration offices, which brings the system to the client. and, most often, international technical assistance (TA) To prevent duplication of data, this service, known as are needed. For the Pakistan--Punjab Land Records LARASITA, is conducted using laptops that are con- Management and Information Services Project, ICT nected to the main database through wireless connec- management has been moved from the implementing tivity (WLAN). Aside from reducing possible information agency to a parastatal organization with stronger capaci- distortion and deceptions due to using intermediaries to ties than existing civil service bodies. Early results of this access registration services, LARASITA aims to expedite arrangement are encouraging. Another possible model the process of land titling. is to have an IT project management work group. This consists of the contractor's IT project manager and the ApprOpriATE ApplicATiON Of client's IT project manager, plus their teams, who meet icT TO lAND prOjEcTS on a regular basis. The client's IT project manager's team would include a consultant company that will monitor Elaborated Business Case ­ One of the key lessons and supervise system development in coordination with in utilizing ICT in operations is the need to start with the the client. They will `sign off' on the various stages of strategy and business case. ICT development is not just development. In addition, a separate independent IT a hardware/software issue ­ it includes business process consultant (outside of the working group) with domain reengineering, and understanding different users and expertise is needed on a part time basis to provide an their requirements. The first step, therefore, should be independent review of the consultant company's per- a user needs analysis. This is both for external users formance. This avoids a tendency by the consultant to (notaries, lawyers, banks, etc.) and internal users (the accept too readily the contractor's deliverables and also registrars, clerks, archivist, etc.). It is important for the protects against any collusion between the contractor's client (land administration agency) to understand where and the client's teams. they want to get to with the ICT implementation and the why, who, how, what, before starting. Several projects Phased Implementation ­ Developing a phased earlier failed to do this, which resulted in difficult and approach to implementation of ICT in land administra- long implementation periods, and IT systems that were tion systems has usually worked well. One of the key lacking in buy-in at the local level and only partially reasons is that the client often does not know what to responsive to actual business needs. A recommended expect until the system begins to be developed. Often, approach is to agree up-front on service standards to be service standards can be gradually improved over time 2 as the ability to acquire and Slovenia, good use was made of manage information, along with digital orthophotomaps to get other system improvements, is immediate access to a wealth put in place. It is important, of spatial data. This approach is however, to have institutional also being followed in Ukraine, and legal/policy issues resolved Serbia, and Azerbaijan, and up front. Countries often was used in the Baltic States. In launch into ICT land projects Armenia, Georgia and Moldova hoping they will provide a way rapid cheap digital spatial data around difficult structural and was collected using simple sur- policy questions. These problems often simply derail vey methods and a newly trained private sector. the IT implementation. Both ECA and South Asia benefit from the existence of It is important that project design include sufficient time basic spatial data (usually at least 15 years old, and in for system specification and design, and that system the case of South Asia often 50 or more years old), that roll-out not proceed until this is well in place. Very often can serve as a relatively low-cost initial basis for parcel completion of system roll out requires more than the identification requirements. Alphanumeric data for both standard 5 year project cycle. cadastre and registration can be integrated at the start. In ECA, this approach has usually been combined with Piloting field methods and ICT applications is charac- institutional reforms that facilitate access to available teristic of successful projects. However, testing and spatial data for the registry. Good examples of this are piloting is often rushed because overall project imple- Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. mentation is running behind schedule. Piloting is far too often focused on the technical solutions alone. The System Maintenance and Sustainability ­ The main obstacles preventing the creation of a feasible land application of high tech solutions to a critical legal sys- register are seldom technical, but mostly financial and tem such as a land register should only be done once the capacities related. capacities to maintain are ensured in full. In the cases of Kyrgyzstan and Moldova, initial emphasis During design, development and implementation, train- was on the substance of the new registration systems, ing for IT staff, project managers, and users need to be with automated systems introduced first in only the considered. But training for users should focus on the higher volume registration offices. Over time, all offices business, not on the IT. Often ICT developments include in Kyrgyzstan were automated and a national data sys- changes to processes and standardization and staff in tem is now being developed. decentralized offices do not know the new way of doing business. Learning how to use the computer will not The strategy being adopted in India and Pakistan is to help them do their jobs ­ they need to understand the focus on the first phase of a land administration mod- business and changes to the processes and this cannot ernization effort on computerization of existing alpha- be left to IT trainers. So training must be comprehensive numeric database systems, with some business process and timely and this should be included in the ICT proj- re-engineering and improved inter-agency information ect timeline from the start. However, training without flows. More challenging institutional changes, as well a proper business case has proven ineffective as well. as relatively costly investment in spatial data, are now Upgraded IT skills make people employable in both pub- beginning to be addressed or have been slotted for sub- lic and private sectors and if salaries remain nominal and sequent implementation phases. working conditions poor, key people will soon leave. The approach to spatial data capture has been similar Usually, manual and computerized systems operate in East and Central Asia (ECA), where it was found that side-by-side for a period of time. It is important that the placing too much importance upfront on acquiring new project design considers the timeframe for conversion spatial data can delay important improvement in reg- from the paper-based system to sole operation of the istration and service delivery functions. ECA countries computerized system. This requires foresight in terms often have limited digital graphical data to start with of the legal and regulatory measures that are necessary and these systems tend to be more complex to build and to give legal force to the digital system. Continued implement. In other cases, though, such as Georgia and parallel running of the two systems not only imposes 3 net additional costs in comparison to the paper-based The establishment and maintenance of computing facili- system taken alone, but runs the risk of divergence ties is a risky undertaking when insufficiently skilled IT between the systems over time and possible discrediting staff is available. It might frustrate end-users when the of the automated system. computer center fails to deliver a trustworthy and reli- able ICT-support. Increasingly ICT-dependent organiza- Self financing agencies, which have flexibility in defin- tions outsource their computer center, making another ing their salary structure, are better positioned to retain organization responsible for daily operations, through relevant IT capacity than agencies that rely on budget service level agreements. Organizations such as Google/ funding and are restricted with general government staff Earth or Google/Map even keep systems and data avail- salary levels. If sustainability of an agency's IT capacity is able without any customer-service agreement providing questionable, outsourcing provides an opportunity for services from the shelf. Web services allow countries to increased sustainability. Clients may have reservations run guaranteed land information systems and databases, with outsourcing on the basis that the register manage- and to use services at any government level by staff ment is "a government duty." However, there are some not necessarily trained in ICT. Even in countries where examples where outsourcing has worked well. This has enough ICT capacity is available, organizations have been the case with computerization of the deeds reg- opted to change their ICT-architecture into web services istry in a number of Indian states, such as Maharashtra to get rid of the burden of daily technical maintenance. and Karnataka. In these public private partnership (PPP) These web services might, moreover, be composed as arrangements, the private sector is responsible for ser- package solutions based on standardized best practices, vice delivery, and maintenance and operation of the such as core domain models, enterprise software, and IT systems, while the public sector is responsible for GIS integration software. oversight and ensuring adherence to policy and legal requirements. Interestingly, in the Indian cases, soft- RefeRences ware development proceeded separately, relying largely on parastatal capacities. In the more traditional "build- Proenza, Francisco J. 2007. "Information Systems and Land Administration," Latin America and Caribbean Service Working own-operate" or "build-own-operate-transfer" models, Paper. FAO Investment Center. January 26, 2007. experience has been limited and not as encouraging. In the Philippines, under the Land Titling Computerization World Bank. 2007. "India: Land Policies for Growth and Project, attempts were made to computerize the sys- Poverty Reduction," Oxford University Press, New Delhi. tem of registration of deeds on a "build-own-operate" model with disappointing results. General IT capacity in World Bank. December 2007. "Enhancing Rural Development the private sector is very good throughout the world. through Improved ICT Infrastructure and Innovative Information Capacity built in the private sector is often the most Applications: Indonesia Country Report," Final Draft, World Bank, Washington DC. sustainable way of maintaining a public data system. However, even outsourcing IT management and mainte- World Bank. December 2007. "Enhancing Rural Development nance requires advanced IT capacity, but naturally less in through Improved Infrastructure and Innovative Information terms of the number of the skilled people required than Applications: Philippines Country Report" World Bank, any other alternative. Washington DC. The ARD Notes series on Land Policy and Administration aims to disseminate results from research and Bank ESW, describe innovative opera- tional practices, or point towards areas meriting further analytical attention. Significant contributions to their publication and content come from the DFID-World Bank land policy partnership, the World Bank-FAO collaborative program, the Knowledge for Change Trust Fund, the Global Land Tools Network, the multi-donor trust fund supporting implementation of the Gender Action Plan, and the Norwegian ESSD Trust Fund. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the World Bank Group or supporting institutions. THe WORLD BAnK 1818 H Street.NW Washington, DC 20433 www.worldbank.org/rural