[kictanet] [Skunkworks] Kenya IGF Online discussions Day 4: Open Data and e-government

Tue Jun 19 15:57:11 EAT 2012

3. What are the key drivers in the use of Open Data?

Here are a few thoughts that come to mind.

   1. Veracity of the data - almost entirely a perception challenge. How
   can those who would want to use the data be assured that it's 'clean' and
   accurate? One way is to create a tagging system that uses categories to tag
   data based on the level of veracity. This would also encourage government
   departments to release data before having to put it through lengthy and
   expensive verification processes. A clean-as-we-go-along approach.
   2. Availability of the right data - making available data no one wants
   is a problem. Kenya Open Data Initiative has some great datasets available
   many of which were requested by the public. Ensuring that data that is
   requested a lot is available is key to driving utilisation.
   3. Awareness - information on the existence of open data still resides
   with very few. I'm hoping initiatives like the KODI pre-Incubator (of which
   I'm a part of) will help improve this.
   4. Can the data be turned into 'edible' things? Open data in itself is
   not palatable to the general public. It is an ingredient that should go
   into creating 'things' they can consume. Doesn't even have to be tech
   things. Great print campaigns can be run using open data in addition to
   great 'edible' websites, SMS services or mobile apps.
   5. Open data champions within government ministries, civil society and
   academia are important to ensuring open data lives beyond the initial hype
   and finds sustainability. It is especially important in my opinion for
   government itself to become a consumer of open data by building capacity
   within the various departments to utilize it and enrich it with data from
   their own departments to aid in planning and decision-making.

Kind regards,

Muchiri Nyaggah

On Tue, Jun 19, 2012 at 9:06 AM, Kivuva <Kivuva at transworldafrica.com> wrote:

>
> On the other hand ,  according to Wikipedia, e-government refers to
>> digital interactions between a government and its Citizens
>>
>> *Questions*
>
>
>
>> 5. The government has embarked on a number of e-government initiatives,
>> to what extent has the Citizenry embraced e-government? What steps should
>> the country take to ensure the citizens fully embrace e - government?*
>> *The floor is open
>>
>>
> Thanks Barrack, let me take the open floor. :)
> I Like the UK's e-governmnet motto "Digital by default".
> http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/index.htm. It shows real commitment to take
> government services to the people, not the other way round.
>
> We have an e-Governance Secretariat established by the government of Kenya
> (http://www.e-government.go.ke/). The main objective in the website was to
>
> "oversee conceptualization, design and coordination of implementation of
> information technology activities in the civil service that are geared
> towards realization of full e-Government in public service delivery."
>
> Essentially, the term e-Government also known as Digital Government,
> refers to 'How government utilizes IT, ICT and other telecommunication
> technologies, to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness in the public
> sector' (Jeong, 2007)
>
> The government of Kenya approved a national ICT policy in consultation
> with relevant agencies which recognized the problems of the different
> disjoint government systems, duplication and lack of enabling
> infrastructure. Since then the government has created systems for applying
> for public service jobs (is it working?),  tracking status of passports
> (dead),  exam results notifications (working), a government procurement
> portal, and submitting tax returns and declaring customs online (perfect).
> Many other services are still at infant stage but it is still a step in the
> right direction.
>
> Other successful e-government strategies  by the government are:
>
>    1. Establishing a data center and implementation of a shared services
>    platform where common services are integrated and managed centrally to
>    improve services, reduce overhead costs and duplications as well as for
>    optimal utilization of the ICT human capital.
>    2. Laid fiber optic cable through the nation but they have not yet
>    provided last mile connectivity to government offices or other users.
>    3. Released Open Government Data through opendata datasets concept.
>    The data includes: various dimensions of population data; local and
>    national government authority expenditure; public health indicator data and
>    statistics including hospital locations; education data such as enrollment
>    rates and school locations; parliamentary proceedings (digital Hansard);
>    weather information and detailed census statistics on topics such as access
>    to electricity, water and sanitation. https://www.opendata.go.ke/
>    4. The government each years offers Local content grants to about 20
>    developers and artists of up-to $50,000 per project through a competitive
>    process.
>    http://www.ict.go.ke/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=356&Itemid=301
>    5. Promoting BPO/ITES activities in the country. The Hallmark is the
>    establishment of the grand Konza Technology Park which is billed as the
>    next African Silicon Savannah. http://www.konzacity.co.ke/
>    6. And finally, entrepreneurs are given loans to start Digital
>    villages code named Pasha (meaning disseminate). This initiative aims at
>    establishing Cyber Cafes that providing internet access and various online
>    services at the grassroots. http://pasha.co.ke/
>
> The initiatives are more that what I've outlines, and can be a good basis
> for a Masters or PhD dissertation. I did a slideshare presentation a years
> back with the same theme, but different components. You can access the link
> herehttp://www.slideshare.net/lordmwesh/e-government-7203413
>
> Is our e-government strategy working? Are we "more talk and no walk"? What
> can be done to push the stalled projects forward?
>
> Regards
> 10rdmwesh
>
> --
> ______________________
> Mwendwa Kivuva
> For
> Business Development
> Transworld Computer Channels
> Cel: 0722402248
> twitter.com/lordmwesh
> www.transworldAfrica.com  | Fluent in computing
> kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
>
>
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