February 2014

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The Open Data Delusion

The open data movement has grown exponentially in a relatively short period of time. Many countries and cities have been rolling out initiatives and embracing the potential value that comes with opening up their data. However, as much as open data holds great promise, there is a real danger of initiatives failing.

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Summary of Open Data Day Kenya

High energy, high engagement and many ideas characterised this year’s edition of Open Data Day in Kenya. Open Institute hosted the event in 3 cities in Kenya: Mombasa in partnership with Mombasa Tech Community, Kisumu in partnership with LakeHub, and in Nairobi with help from PAWA254. The objective was to help spread open data by making…

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Gauging the needs and challenges of the global open data community

This is a cross-post by Julia Keserü from the Sunlight Foundation, taken from the Global Open Data Initiative blog. A few months back, the Global Open Data Initiative (GODI) sought input from the transparency community to learn more about the needs and challenges associated with open data. We wanted to know what definitions, guidelines and resources the community relies…

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Gearing up for Open Data Day Kenya

The International Open Data Day is a gathering of citizens in cities around the world to develop applications, liberate data, create visualisations and publish analyses using open public data to show support for and encourage the adoption of data policies by the world’s local, regional and national governments. Open Institute is excited to be hosting Kenya’s edition of…

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Making transparency real: Why Open Duka is important

Recently in the Kenyan press, it emerged that there was ambiguity as to the company that may have been awarded the controversial Kshs 327 billion contract to build the Standard Gauge Railway in Kenya. Registered decades apart, both companies operational in Kenya are named “China Road and Bridge Corporation” – although one is registered in…

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Open Institute Launches the Open Duka Platform

The Open Institute is pleased to announce the launch of the Open Duka platform. Open Duka was conceptualised as a catalytic tool for transparency, accountability and governance. As a tool, Open Duka showcases the power and use of data that is liberated from multiple sources and organised in one platform. Open Duka is open source. The…

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