As the year 2019 comes to a close, we are in a reflective state. This year was for us so transitory, that we intentionally deferred our strategic planning for the next few years. We needed to use it to simply understand what was in flux and that needed time. So we took the year to…
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We at the Open Institute, are proud to announce that our Founder, Al Kags, has been invited to join the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD). GPSDD comprises of Data Champions who aim to harness the data revolution to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Open Institute…
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We at the Open Institute are very excited as just this week we witnessed the launch of Kenya’s first sub-national data desk in Elgeyo Marakwet County (EMC), famously known as the home of Champions. The launch day was a big deal for my co-founder, Jay Bhalla and myself in particular. A data desk is essentially…
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Elgeyo Marakwet County is the first devolved unit in Kenya to establish a Data Desk, which is a government function that will collect, compile, analyze and disseminate the county’s data and in a bid to have devolved governments be more responsive to the needs of its citizens. H.E. Eng. Alex Tolgos, Governor of Elgeyo Marakwet,…
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We are very sad to learn of the passing of our friend, Peter da Costa. His death marks a huge loss for the development community globally and for us at the Open Institute. For us, Peter was perhaps the most consequential friend that we have had over the years – a consistent sounding board for…
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In all mining areas, we found that mining work, in general, is gender-segregated – women will not go down a mine shaft to do the actual mining. In most areas, women are only limited to working on sorting the gravel that makes up the crumbs of the mining exercise. The men, who went into the…
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Since 2013, we have been working together with counties and the World Bank in Kenya to develop systems to be transparent and engage citizens. The Open County Initiative provides a framework through which county-level engagement between county government, private sector and civil society is initiated and sustained. The programme also promotes an environment where citizens…
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In the last few weeks, we have travelled to different parts of Kenya to meet with artisan miners and listen to them tell us about their circumstances. We wanted to hear from them how they exercise their voices (if at all) in the making of decisions around their work. I joined the team in the…
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Public participation should not be just a way of ticking a box Communities in Lamu are united in its fervent opposition to the proposed coal plant that is to be established there. We went to the coastal town and met with various members of the community who were categorical in that they were not adequately…
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The 15th Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Partnership Platform Meeting was held on from 9th – 14th June 2019 in Nairobi, Kenya. This years theme was, “Enhancing trade and market access for accelerated agriculture transformation”. CAADP is “Africa’s policy framework for agricultural transformation, wealth creation, food security and nutrition, economic growth and prosperity for…
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