Achieve meaningful improvements with aid & sustain them beyond the aid period
Test for Success Before Investing
Improving Land Administration in Developing Economies
Maximising the Success of Aid Investment
Smarter aid decisions for stronger land systems and better futures for developing communities
Testing Today for Lasting Impact
Stop Guessing. Start Quantifying.
Improving Land Administration
in Developing Economies
Secure land and property rights play an important role in social stability and economic development. In developing economies, effective Land Administration can help reduce disputes, support stronger land markets, and create opportunities for development capital.
Why is Land Administration important?
Effective Land Administration supports secure and enforceable land and property rights. These rights are a major contributor to social stability, economic development, active land markets, and the ability to use land or property as collateral.
In many developed economies, these systems are well established. In developing economies, however, secure land rights may only exist in certain areas, for certain groups, or for those who can afford to access land services.
Why do Land Administration improvements need to be sustainable?
Over many decades, large amounts of Development Assistance have been invested in improving Land Administration systems in developing economies. While there have been notable successes, widespread and long-term success remains difficult to achieve.
Success means achieving improvement targets during the aid period and sustaining those improvements after aid ends. This can be challenging because local in-country budgets often cover salaries but leave limited funding for operations, maintenance and ongoing system improvements.
How can proposed improvements be tested before investing?
There is a need for a practical tool that can test proposed Land Administration improvements before major investment decisions are made. Simulation, using the Strategy Dynamics approach, can help assess whether a proposal is likely to achieve its targets during the Development Assistance period and remain sustainable afterwards.
By testing before investing, governments, agencies and development partners can gain clearer insights, reduce risk, and make more informed decisions about where aid funding is most likely to create lasting success.
This structure is based on the client’s draft, which covers the importance of effective Land Administration, the challenge of sustaining improvements after Development Assistance, and the need to test proposed improvements before investment.
and this is info from his document I jsut attached?
Key Value Pillars
What You Will Find
The Method
Simulation-Driven Strategy
Understand how Strategy Dynamics can be used to test Land Administration improvement proposals before investing. The e-book introduces a practical, system-based way to model performance, explore scenarios and improve decision-making.
The Audience
Who This Is For
This resource is designed for land agency officials, land administration specialists, aid and development agencies, development banks, project design teams, monitoring and evaluation specialists, NGOs, and others interested in Development Assistance and Land Administration.
The Experience
Author & Expert Perspectives
Written by Dr Ken Lyons, Emeritus Professor and retired land administration practitioner, this e-book draws on decades of experience in land administration, development projects, GIS, surveying, mapping and consulting.
A Voice of Experience - Pioneering Change
Meet the Author
Ken Lyons
Dr Ken Lyons
Emeritus Professor and Retired Land Administration Practitioner
Dr Ken Lyons brings decades of experience in land administration, surveying, mapping, GIS and development assistance. His work has included land administration development projects across a range of countries, with a particular focus on improving systems in developing economies.
The Case for Simulation
Common Questions About Simulation & Strategy Dynamics
Strategy Dynamics provides a practical way to test proposed Land Administration improvements before major investment decisions are made. These common questions explain how simulation works, how it supports better planning, and why it can help improve the long-term success of Development Assistance projects.
Common Questions Covered
Why use simulation for Land Administration projects?
Simulation allows proposed improvements to be modelled before major investment decisions are made. Instead of relying only on assumptions, a simulation model can show how different parts of the Land Administration system may perform over time.
This can help decision-makers explore possible outcomes, test different scenarios, and better understand whether a proposed improvement is likely to work in practice.
What makes Strategy Dynamics different from common planning methods?
Common planning methods such as the Logframe and Theory of Change are useful, but they are generally qualitative. Strategy Dynamics adds value by making the development logic more explicit, quantified and transparent.
This means it can show what is expected to happen, how it may happen, when it may happen, and how different causes and effects interact over time.
Why are Land Registry examples used in the e-book?
Land Registry examples are used because a Land Registry is one of the most important operational parts of a Land Administration system. It holds key information about land and property rights and is often central to public trust, economic development and government revenue.
If improvements cannot be achieved and sustained in a Land Registry, it may be difficult to successfully improve other parts of the wider Land Administration system.
Contact the author
We invite researchers, senior administrators and development professionals to explore this material, challenge the status quo, and consider how simulation can support better planning for land governance and development assistance projects.