[kictanet] Data revolution in Kenya

[Grace Mutung'u (Bomu)]

Deja vu. Very reminiscent of the mid 2000s when ICT policies were being
developed. I do hope it gives momentum for our long awaited information
laws.
A few additional points (and personal observations) :

   1. The Forum is organised under the auspices of the Deputy President's
   Office.
   2. The meeting is very global in terms of content (as opposed to IGF
   which gets very technical). Perhaps this because the audience is cross
   cutting as are the themes and more about use of data. The discussion for
   instance will feature governance, access to info (open data portal),
   agriculture, health, climate change etc.
   3. Connected to point 2 above, the forum brings together a very wide
   audience. There is now wider understanding of IG issues because the people
   in the room for example are all data users, going by the number of smart
   phones alone. There are also testimonies on my data systems are being used
   for decision making eg Controller of Budget talking of national financial
   management systems.
   4. Challenges: capacity, access, paradigm (the culture in government),
   accuracy
   5. My best anecdote so far: Hon Wycliffe Opranya (Kakamega Govenor)
   stating that he is not aware of Kakamega's GDP. His point being that there
   is a case for data collection, correction and analysis at national,
   sub-national and local levels.

Regards,

2015-08-28 11:59 GMT+03:00 Mwendwa Kivuva via kictanet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>:

> So the Data Forum is happening in Nairobi, with the aim of harnessing the
> data revolution for sustainable development. Well, the meeting started an
> hour and more from schedule (They say it’s a Kenyan thing), but luckily,
> participants had the chance to showcase their social skills and chitchat
> with their neighbors ... data scientists, policy makers, innovators,
> entrepreneurs, academicians, media, and all  …
>
>
> In mid 2011, government institutions were able to release public data
> through the Kenya  Open Data Initiative with full of executive support.
> Support from the top, say President. It was the first African government
> north of the Limpopo to do so. It was a big deal then, it still is. It
> seems Uhuru’s government is keen to continue with the same, although since
> coming into power in 2013, they seem to have dropped the ball. From 2011,
> the next update for data sets available at opendata.go.ke only came
> through mid 2015. It’s a big deal still, *but for it to remain so; there
> must be a policy to require the relevant government agencies, and even ICT
> Authority of Kenya to continuously release data as it becomes available*.
> We should also have proper legislation (freedom of information act, data
> protection act, Official Secrets Act,) to enable agencies release data in
> the confines of the law.
>
>
> The importance of open data is not in doubt. According to Socrata, the
> American firm dedicated to providing social data discovery services for
> opening governments; “The impact of data as a utility is real — informing
> the daily decisions of government employees and citizens in ways that
> improve quality of life, unleash new economic opportunity, and increase
> operational excellence in government”.
>
>
> Well, how are these researchers, policy experts, think tanks (I love the
> word), innovators, and civil society using the datasets to inform the
> society on which direction to take as a country? Moving from the fabled UN
> Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
> as DP William Ruto would put it, how are we using these datasets to realize
> SDGs? These are the questions the conference seems to address.
>
> It’s great to see the Government of Kenya seeks to host the World Data
> Forum in Kenya in 2016.
>
>
> Sincerely,
> ______________________
> Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya
>
> "There are some men who lift the age they inhabit, till all men walk on
> higher ground in that lifetime." - Maxwell Anderson
>
>
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-- 
Grace L.N. Mutung'u
Nairobi Kenya
Skype: gracebomu
Twitter: @Bomu

<http://www.diplointernetgovernance.org/profile/GraceMutungu>
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