Open
County
Building the Foundations of Open,
Accountable County Government
In Kenya’s devolved government, county governments are closest to citizens, yet many still lack the systems, culture, and tools to govern openly and accountably. The Open County programme works with county governments to build the foundations of open government: data transparency, proactive information sharing, and meaningful citizen engagement.
The goal of Open County is not a one-off intervention, but a lasting shift in how county governments relate to the citizens they serve.
We work with counties to establish Data Desks, dedicated units that collect, curate, and publicly publish county data across health, education, agriculture, revenue, and development, supporting both the technical teams and the political buy-in needed to make this sustainable.
Achievements
2019
First Data Desk Launched in Kenya
Elgeyo Marakwet County becomes the first county to embrace open data
2022
Nandi County Data Desk Launched
Nandi becomes the second county in Kenya to launch a public Data Desk
2023
Open Government Partnership Award
Nandi County wins the Open Government Partnership Award at the OGP Summit 2025 for the Data Desk’s contribution to greater openness and accountability.
Call to action
Partner
with us
There are several ways to partner with us:
- Fund a Data Desk launch: support the systems, training, and staffing a county government needs to establish its own Data Desk.
- Sponsor expansion to a new county: help Open County move beyond Nandi into other counties ready to govern openly.
- Contribute technical or in-kind support: provide data tools, dashboards, technical expertise, or staff secondments.
- Co-design for scale: work with our team to build the partnerships and systems needed to reach more of Kenya’s 47 counties.
open county in action
