The diagram shows the overall flow of the general processes involved in the certification process.

Different boxes show a summary of activities at each phase of the process. Each process has a lot more detail, which we will examine in each of the following modules of the manual.

Blue Boxes –processes that will be carried out by the CDLA Data Team.

Green Box –a summary of the Field Demarcation process.

Orange Box - a summary of the Claims Registration process.

Purple Box - a summary of the Objections, Corrections & Confirmation process.

Red Box – the issuance of Certificates & the transfer of data and systems to the Chiefdom/Villages.

At each stage of the process, there is a need to collect data; some of the data is SPATIAL data, and some of the data is TEXTUAL data.

There is therefore a need to ensure that there are systems, tools and protocols for managing all this data. The CDLA Data Team has the primary responsibility for managing and organising the data that is generated through the activities that are taking place in the field. It is all this data that will be used to generate the certificate. But the CDLA Field Coordinator and the CDLA Community Facilitators (CFs) have important roles to play in ensuring that the data collection takes place in an organised way and that it is transferred to the Data Team.

It is also important that the project is able to:

• Provide each claimant with a Receipt that they can keep until they have been issued their certificate;
• Leave all the data with (or at least quickly return to) the VLCs and the headpersons so that they can use it for reference later on.

In addition, these two kinds of data need to be linked – i.e. the SPATIAL data (the boundaries of the parcels that are marked on the maps) and the TEXTUAL data (all the details about the claimant, etc.) need to have some reference which relates them one to the other. This is provided by the use of Unique Parcel Number.

So, there are some key tools, principles and procedures that are used throughout the certification process:

Key tools and mechanisms

• Each data collection task in the process is driven by the completion of an Open Data Kit (ODK) Form. There are 4 different forms in total.
• The Parcel Number that is given to the claimant in the field is the link between the spatial data (boundaries) and the textual data (claimant details). This number stays the same throughout the process and is referred to as the UPN – the Unique Parcel Number.
• The UPN appears on a Receipt that is issued to the claimant by the community surveyor, which they keep until they exchange it for a certificate. They also use it to confirm their details in the Objections, Corrections & Confirmation process.
• The VLCs keep the marked-up Map Sheets made during the demarcation, and the data will be transferred to the CDLA Data Team by scanning them at the CDLA Office. They are then returned to the VLC in question.
• The VLCs each compile a hard copy Register of the data collected for each claimant, which remains in the village to be used by them to manage the process.

The different ODK Forms

There are 4 different ODK forms that are used as tools to manage the collection and transfer of data.

The Field Demarcation Form

The Field Demarcation Form is used during the demarcation process in the fields.

All the people that are conducting demarcation activities (the CFs and the CSs) are equipped with a device that enables them to use this form.

The form collects information about the person who is indicating the boundaries (who may or may not be the actual ‘owner’), the neighbours and other witnesses that are confirming these boundaries, and, most importantly, captures the Unique Parcel Number (UPN) that is then allocated to the land parcel.

The Field Demarcation Form is completed each time a new parcel is identified and marked on a Map Sheet.

The Village Claims Form

The Village Claims Form is used to record the details that the actual claimant of the land provides when they bring their Receipts to the VLC, during the registration process.

There is at least one device in the village that makes this form available to each VLC whilst they are registering the information from the claimants.

The form collects all the information which the VLC enter into the hard copy of the village Register. This includes the identification details of the claimant, any Joint Holders of the certificate and also Persons of Interest.

The Village Claims Form is completed each time a new registration is made by someone coming to the VLC with a receipt and providing the details required (if the device is available at this time), or at intervals when the details from the register will be captured into the forms.

The Objections, Corrections & Confirmation Form

The Claim Confirmation Form is used at the end of the Objections, Corrections & Confirmation process. It is used to transfer data to the CDLA office about the parcels that have been certified or amended.

There is at least one device in the village that makes this form available to each VLC once the Objections, Corrections & Confirmation process is complete and once they are ready to transfer the data.

The form collects information about the parcels that either (i) are confirmed by their claimants without the need for any changes to be made, (ii) about the parcels where some of the registration details may have changed, and (iii) about the parcels for which there have been an objection and which has therefore not been certified. All this information comes from the changes which have been made to the village Register during the process.

The Claim Confirmation Form is only completed at the end of the process, in order to ensure that all the changes/objections have been captured first into the register and that the VLC is happy to agree to the final certification.

The Certificate Issuance Form

The Certificate Issuance Form is used during the issuance process to collect data about the collection of the Certificates by the claimants. The data is transferred to the CDLA office.

There is at least one device in the village that makes this form available to each VLC during the issuance process, which is used by them to track the collection of certificates by the claimants.

The form just collects information about the certificates that are issued.

The Certificate Issuance Form is completed during the process, as each certificate is collected.