Pilot Implementation of the Land Governance Monitoring (2015)

The goal of pilot implementation of the Monitoring system in 2015 was to explore the feasibility of introduction of automated information system in Ukraine, which combines data on actual state of land governance at national and local levels.

The purpose of piloting the Monitoring of the It involved the audit of all existing sources of administrative data on land, assessment of consistency of data across the sources, its completeness and reporting schedule. A draft methodology for the monitoring was developed and coordination of data sharing among the agencies was tested.

Administrative data for pilot implementation was provided by six government authorities: State Statistics Service of Ukraine, State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre, State Court Administration of Ukraine, State Fiscal Service of Ukraine, State Water Resources Agency, The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine (SE “National Information Systems”).

Development of the monitoring indicators, data sharing, and interpretation of results was provided by the cross-agency Working Group on Land Governance Monitoring that was established by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine and included representatives of the above and several other government authorities.

Problems during the pilot implementation. Three main problems with administrative data were identified, which may affect the time for implementation of fully operational Monitoring system. First, there were issues with delays in data supply and lack of common structure for reporting. Besides, there are cases when data important for policy making is not recorded and/or is not provided in the form of regular reports (e.g. number and characteristics of the land plots that were expropriated for public use, area of land reported in tax declarations, etc.).

Next steps. The experience of pilot implementation suggests the following next steps to be taken: development of normative framework for automated regular reporting, data exchange, and for provision of monitoring results to public; and development of reporting software.