Land administration has long been executed through state-based agencies such as cadastral departments,
land registry offices, ministries of land, or local governments with their own analogue or digital data
repositories. These organizations do not act in a vacuum but within larger institutional fields and forces.
The broader environment of land governance, in which public organizations operate, is characterized by
the interactions of multiple state and non-state actors, formal and informal practices, a multitude of
regulatory frameworks and increasing global interconnectivity. This environment has been witnessing
public sector reforms and increased adoption of (geo)Information and Communication Technologies (ICT),
including automatization techniques, mobile device-generated data, crowdsourcing and advanced remote
sensing technologies. In many places, more established forms of organizing meet the latest technological
developments. While some organizations are beginning to digitize paper-based workflows, others may
function through highly automated and digitized processes. At the same time, information technologies and
digital data are not merely neutral tools, but they reflect, transport and transform the practices and values
of organizations and institutional fields.
It is important therefore to understand and learn how to describe, explain, and assess organizational
change in response to changing environments, (geo-)ICT implementation using workflows and related
forms of data sharing, uses and dissemination.