Presentation in the first workshop of the Exploring the Emerging Impacts of Open Data in Developing Countries project. Looking at the context of open data, and the research case study planned for 2013 - 2014. See http://www.opendataresearch.org/project/2013/jhc

1. INVESTIGATING THE IMPACT OF KENYA’S
OPEN DATA INITIATIVE ON MARGINALISED
COMMUNITIES: CASE STUDY OF URBAN
SLUMS AND RURAL SETTLEMENTS
ODDC NETWORK MEETING: APRIL 24 – 26, 2013, LONDON
Presentation by:
Zacharia Chiliswa, Programmes Coordinator
JESUIT HAKIMANI CENTRE, NAIROBI KENYA
ODDC Network Meeting, April, 2013
London

2. NATIONAL CONTEXT: POLITICAL
• Kenya is celebrating 50 years of independence: So far three
political transitions: 1978, 2002 and 2013
– 1990’s clamor for multiparty democracy and constitutional reform
were meant to constrain political power as exercised by the executive
and other public institutions.
• New constitution in 2010 after the 2007/08 political turmoil.
– Kenya continues to grapple with challenges posed by weak political
institutions, social inequalities and weak constrains on executive
power, impunity and ethnicity.
– Elections every five years characterised by odds of uncertainty and
turmoil.
ODDC Network Meeting, April, 2013
London
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3. NATIONAL CONTEXT: ECONOMIC
• Noticeable economic decline after the early years of stable
growth post-independence up to 1980. Poverty incidence now
stands at 45.9% (The World Bank, 2011).
• Kenya ranks as one of the ten most unequal countries in the
world, and the five most unequal in Africa: the richest 10% of
Kenya’s households control more than 42% of the country’s
total income.
– However, there has been marked growth in some sectors of economy
ODDC Network Meeting, April, 2013
London
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4. NATIONAL CONTEXT: SOCIAL
• In the last ten years there has been widening political space
for the media and civil society.
– However, Freedom House 2013 indicates that Kenya is among Sub
Saharan countries that have experienced decline in civil and political
freedom.
• There has also been growth in many sectors of the
economy, particularly, the ICT sector
– Kenya now has over 30 million mobile phone subscribers and 16.2
million internet users (Communication Commission of Kenya)
– The bulk of internet users access through their mobile handsets:
mobile phones have their limitations when it comes to data access and
reuse.
ODDC Network Meeting, April, 2013
London
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5. NATIONAL CONTEXT: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
• New constitution promulgated in 2010 & fully operational
after March 4th, 2013 general elections.
– New constitution devolves political, fiscal and administrative powers
to the 47 counties - and with it the question of transparency and
accountability is inevitable.
– Access to information and citizen participation in governance
processes in Kenya are constitutional requirements: through Article 1
giving sovereign power to the people of Kenya, and article 34 giving
the freedom to information.
• But,
– what datasets have potential to improve citizen engagement with
government?
– How do the public participate in governance processes?
– What is the quality of their participation and with what impact?
ODDC Network Meeting, April, 2013
London
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6. THIS STUDY
• This study seeks to track impacts in lives of people in
marginalized sectors of the Kenyan society.
– Drawing on the Barcelona Declaration on The Critical Role of Public
Service in Achieving the Millennium Development Goals that
recommends that, in order to improve transparency and
accountability, governments should promote wider use of
information, communication and technology to simplify and reduce
the cost of processes and foster broader access. It recognizes that
public decision-making processes should be transparent, accountable
and participatory.
ODDC Network Meeting, April, 2013
London
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7. THE KENYA OPEN DATA INITIATIVE
• On July 8, 2011 President Mwai Kibaki launched the Kenya
Open Data initiative
– Kenya was the second African country after Morocco to make
government data freely available on a public
portal, www.opendata.go.ke. The portal is an attempt by the
government release data on budget, revenue collection and
expenditure, healthcare, justice and education.
• The goal of the Initiative is to make core government
development, demographic, statistical and expenditure data
available in a useful digital format for
researchers, policymakers, ICT developers and the general
public.
ODDC Network Meeting, April, 2013
London
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8. THE DATA IN FOCUS
• This project is focused specifically on datasets that
potentially improve citizens’ knowledge of the governance
processes and access to services.
• Datasets that will be analyzed include:
– Per capita county expenditures, Per capita local authority expenditures
– Health facilities, Health spending per capita, by county
– Kenya secondary schools, Constituency Development Fund (2003-
2010)
• We will investigate the usefulness of this information in its
raw data form and whether communities are benefitting from
these datasets.
ODDC Network Meeting, April, 2013
London
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9. ASSESSING OPEN DATA SUPPLY TOOL
– Does the data exist: Yes
– Is it available online (from government) in any digital form? Yes
– Is the dataset provided in machine readable formats? Yes
– Is the machine readable data available in bulk? Yes
– Is the dataset available free of charge? Yes
– Is the data openly licensed? Yes, Creative Commons Attribution license
– Is the dataset up to date? Difficult to judge. Some fields are up to
date, but much of the data is based on past census, which could be
considered dated
– Is the publication of this dataset sustainable? Yes, except for the risk of
political shifts which could change the emphasis on open data
– Was it easy to find information on this dataset? Yes
– Are linked data URLs provided for key elements in the dataset? No
ODDC Network Meeting, April, 2013
London
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10. THE GOVERNANCE ISSUES OF THE STUDY
• How is Government’s open data helping marginalized groups and
communities to have better access to services such as education
and healthcare?
– Are people aware of the Open Data Initiative in marginalized
communities?
– How are people using the data?
– Has the Open Data Initiative improved government service delivery to the
marginalized urban and rural communities? If so, how has this occurred?
– What access models to open data have emerged?
– What are people mostly looking for in the open portal?
– What trends are emerging in the open data initiative?
– How will this influence the policy directions on open data initiatives in
other sectors?
ODDC Network Meeting, April, 2013
London
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11. Thank You!
Ahsante!
Jesuit Hakimani Centre
P.O. Box 21399 – 00505, Nairobi
Kenya
www.jesuithakimani.net
programmes@jesuithakimani.org