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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Our Open Extractives team was last week in Lamu County, where communities have been actively engaged in a fight against the establishment of a Coal Plant near the UNESCO Heritage island town. Lamu County is also the site designated by the government of Kenya for an expansive infrastructure programme called the Lamu Port, South Sudan,…
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Kenya has a vast array of natural resources. From Gold and Gemstones to soapstone and fluorspar to Titanium and Oil, Kenya is rich with natural minerals that have the potential to not only grow the economy exponentially but also to improve the well being of many ordinary citizens in all parts of the county. Decisions…
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Money makes the world go round, so the saying goes. It is certainly a measure of success, a means to freedom – of expression, of advancement, of growth. At its most basic, money is a crucial means of day-to-day survival for millions of people around the world. We were so excited when the Governor of…
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We have just completed week’s training (6th – 10th May 2019) with Data Fellows who have been identified by Elgeyo Marakwet County to lead the implementation activities of the Data Desk. The sessions were an engaging exchange; this post will focus rather on highlighting some of the critical matters arising. During the training, it was…
Read articleAll policy decisions are mainly influenced and discussed by government, large Civil Society Organisations and large Companies. Citizens are often invisible in these engagements. As our work increases and becomes more focused, we are happy to grow our team even more. Jonah will lead our Open Extractives Programme, which we are in the process of…
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Should Citizen Generated Data be official? If not, does it make it any less essential? There is a tension that has existed in the past few years about the co-existence of official statistics on the one hand and citizen generated data on the other. The development community continues to grapple with the “official-ness” (and therefore…
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In the last post on this series, we were commencing activities in Elgeyo Marakwet and Baringo counties. We defined the Open County (OC) Initiative and argued that it provides a structured framework through which county-level engagement between county government, private sector and civil society can be sustained. This is with the focus being data use…
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Imagine this. Imagine for a moment, if our public and private spaces were made more accessible with ramps, level flooring where needed, safe stairwells with railings, decluttered corridors with enough floor space, clear signage with ample lighting, pavements without cracks and potholes, working traffic and street lights, clearly marked bus stops with sheds to cover…
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A few years ago, at the Africa Open Data Conference, I spoke about the value of “Period Zero” in the planning and development of programmes. I was talking about the challenges that happen in implementing Open Data projects – and I think this is relevant across the development spectrum. In my speech, I advocated for…
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