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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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…
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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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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Working with citizens in Kenya, using data to identify their development needs and priorities, we have had the opportunity to learn many things. One of the biggest observations that we have had is that many citizens are woefully invisible in the spaces where decisions are reached on public activities that should better their lives. Many…
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When communities have data, then action is possible – where solutions can be implemented directly by the community themselves, by the county government and by other organisations that may want to assist in development. This was the general resolution in the meeting with community leaders of Dundori location. The community meeting was convened by Chief…
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The Open Institute is happy to release Kobole, an initiative borne out of a collaboration with the International Budget Partnership (Kenya), the National Taxpayers Association, Development Initiatives and Institute of Public Finance (Kenya) called in an initiative dubbed #CollectiveKe. Kobole is a tool for Kenyans to calculate their total tax contribution – both their income tax…
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Today, we are excited to release datalocal.info, a web site through which we share our experiences working on citizen generated data projects since September 2015. Our Global Goals for Local Impact programme kicked off when we took the position that the Sustainable Development Goals are best achieved at hyperlocal level, outwards. We started with a…
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The Open Institute welcomes the news that President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday signed an executive order requiring all government entities and public owned institutions to publish details of tenders and awards from July 1, this year. We laud this action as a significant step in the fight against corruption. Public procurement is the number one risk of corruption…
Read articleToday, marks a new chapter in our lives. We have rebranded. For the past six years, we have come a long way – from once being horribly incubated by another organisation, to starting from scratch in a small room above a bar in Nairobi West to being a stable, growing inclusive organisation that works towards…
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