It’s official; Nandi County’s Data Desk has been launched! The successful launch was held on 5th May 2022 amidst pomp and glamour at the County headquarters in Kapsabet, hosted by Deputy Governor Dr. Yulita Cheruiyot on behalf of Governor Stephen Sang, together with key county staff, civil society representatives and partners from different sectors. Being the second county to establish the facility that collects, curates, analyzes and publishes relevant county data, Nandi has demonstrated their dedication to fostering open government, in line with their commitment to the Open Government Partnership alongside Elgeyo Marakwet and Makueni counties.

We appreciate that the Open Institute have held our hand throughout this process

Dr. Yulita Cheruiyot, Deputy Governor, Nandi County

The data desk process was driven in part by Felix Sambu, Nandi’s Chief Officer in charge of Planning, who was one of the Fellows in the recently concluded Data Leaders Fellowship Programme for Chief Officers. 

Most recently, we signed an MOU with Nandi County to ensure that we had a common understanding of what the data desk would entail and how we would work together to make it a reality. 

A data desk provides a framework where data personnel can collect, clean, upload and continuously update data to any online platforms and all its components. We envision this system providing an open platform to allow for easy and seamless data management for the county. At the same time, the data desk must also provide access to data for different stakeholders: the public, including citizens and the media, county departments, private sector and others, to promote transparency and accountability of the county government to the people they serve.

The four-step process of setting up the data desk begun with buy-in, which we developed through working with county teams to ensure  that we were on the same page regarding the value of the Data Desk to improve decision making. Next, we met key data personnel in the county to understand their unique data needs in order to curate the data. Third, we worked closely with the teams to visualise the data provided on an online portal that showcases the county data; and lastly, we launched the data desk in the last step of the process.

Our journey with Nandi County does not stop here – we will continue to work closely to ensure the structures are in place to support the data desk as a sustainable data system in the county. 

Find out more about the data desk:

Our Data Desk Manual that outlines the data desk process is available for free download!