Interviews are considered more effective than questionnaires in understanding processes, strategies, perceptions, attitudes, values or awareness. They can be structured, semi-structured or open. Structured interviews involve a list of questions planned beforehand, posed in the same way to all the interviewees. Semi-structured interviews are based on a guide to subjects to be addressed and the questions can be posed differently and in a different order according to each interviewee’s responses. Finally, unstructured or open interviews do not require any type of guide and the questions are posed during the interview².

It is important to be clear about the type of information sought; the challenge is to identify data that directly meet the needs of the evaluation, which reflect the various perspectives and can be readily processed to obtain the level of analysis required. Given that interviews require interviewees to reveal their opinions, it is important that the interviewer and interviewee are are completely comfortable. Ensuring before the interview that responses are confidential will help respondents to answer openly.

When evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of LAIs, there are several categories of internal and external users to be interviewed to determine their perception and satisfaction level with institutional reliability, access to services, non-discrimination, speed of procedures and reduction in costs and time.

Internal users are civil servants and technicians from the institution itself or from other institutions involved with the provision of inputs or products in the various LAP-driven processes.

Four types of external users are identified:

1. On demand users are citizens who duly apply for a registration or cadastral procedure, on an individual basis, to regularize or register a property transaction, merger, mortgages, or cadastral or registration certification, or who apply for titling of property in their possession.
2. Automatic beneficiaries of land administration services, referring to individuals who took part in cadastral mapping and regularization, clearing and titling (RCT) processes through the corresponding LAIs, without having made an explicit request to receive the service.
3. Qualified users, who carry out procedures in the register or cadastre on behalf of interested parties for property transfer, modification or encumbrance procedures. They are usually notaries public, financial agency assessors, managers or surveyors.
4. Other users involved: it will be important to also consider the experience and opinion of other players, such as municipal authorities, for whom it is important to receive high-quality information from LAIs or neighbourhood associations and other civil organization groups interested in tenure regularization processes and dispute resolution.

Each procedure carried out by LAIs generates one or more work files, and these can be analysed to evaluate, verify or validate the processes performed.

The analysis of files can be carried out with or without an IT system for operational support. Systems generate and store information that does not physically reach the files, but they facilitate recording and accessing data and processes carried out. Very complete systems include all the documentation (on microfilm, scanned), but are very costly. Information collection processes relating to LAI files will very probably involve the analysis of mixed files combining physical and electronic information.

Types of files that are evaluated:

1. Cadastral mapping files, which comprise all the phases of data collection and processing, concluding with quality control of their registration in automated or manual systems.
2. Files concerning legal diagnosis of tenure, which comprise the parcel plan, documentation provided by users, information on the existence of disputes and their resolution where relevant, type or characterization of the beneficiary, etc., concluding with the titling or regularization of ownership rights.
3. Registration service files, which can be evaluated with submitted files by taking random samples of legal deeds or contracts concerning transactions, separation or donations, containing all the necessary documentation for their qualification and subsequent registration.

The aim of this instrument, based on evaluation processes, is to interview private users of the register to determine their perception of the quality of the services offered. This instrument should be applied in various registry offices before and after the project intervention, as well as in offices where the project had no influence. A sufficient number of interviews should be carried out so they reflect the diversity of the procedures normally carried out by users and compare the results with and without the project intervention. The surveys therefore need to be carried out over a period of at least one week in each of the offices where the evaluation is intended to be performed, or they should have at least a quantity equivalent to 10 percent of the average number of visits made in a month.

It is important to monitor this evaluation with workshops with focus groups of qualified users. This will then allow determination of the perception of private users and also of those with a higher level of knowledge of the services offered by land administration institutions (LAI) (see the Fact Sheet on Reduction in time and costs for further information).

Focus groups are group discussions focused on one or two subjects. The debate is led by a moderator, who plans the questions and helps the group to speak freely. Focus groups are intended to encourage exchanges between participants; exchanges within the group are important because they provide an opportunity to understand how subjects are viewed. Since the focus group is an activity that requires great concentration for 1 or 2 hours, it is important that the moderator is fully available and free from any anxiety or worry. It is important to have a natural, flowing conversation and to be very clear at all times about the information to be obtained, and it is therefore advisable to keep a copy of these questions to hand at all times to be able to lead the conversation.

For further information about qualified user focus groups, see the Fact sheet on Reduction in time and costs in this module, or the Fact sheet on Workshops for focus groups in module 4, for information on project beneficiaries