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Where are the citizens in Devolution?

Yesterday at the World Bank in Washington DC, I had the pleasure to spend lunch hour reflecting with colleagues there about the progress that Kenya is making with bringing government closer to citizens – especially using devolution. In my reflections, I also discussed not just the practical gaps that exist in making devolution work, but…

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How sustainable is OGP?

Having been involved in promoting the Open Government Partnership over the past couple of years in Africa, I have had a couple of experiences that have introduced a nagging worry at the back of my head that has continued to grow. Today, in conversation with colleagues at OpentheGovernment.org, where I am spending my days, the nagging worry codified…

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Data for Accountability Workshop

Open Institute, in collaboration with FEMNET, is holding a two-day workshop on August 20th & 21st for civil society organizations in Kenya on using data for advocacy and accountability. Designed to demystify data and equip participants with skills for collection, analysis and communication of insights from data, the workshop will be a highly practical hands-on…

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Research Study: Journey to Consensus

The African continent through the African Union’s Common African Position (CAP) on Post 2015 Development Agenda expressed its desire to approach the Post 2015 Development agenda on a unified front in order to avoid the pitfalls experienced in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). There were consultation gaps in the initial preparation and…

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Engaging Civil Society in Turkana County on Open Data

This week, our team went to Lodwar, Turkana County in Nothern Kenya, to conduct a workshop as part of our SDI Data Support Program. We worked with 8 participants from the Centre for Advocacy, Relief and Development (CARD) and TUBAE – African Development Trust, both local civil society organizations based in Lodwar. The following slides…

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Open Institute at #OKFest2014

Anne Muigai (OI Knowledge Lead) and Simeon Oriko (OI Community Lead) are in Berlin for this year’s Open Knowledge Festival (#OKFest2014). Anne will be speaking at the following sessions: Open Government Data Updates from around the world on Wednesday, July 16 • 12:00 – 13:00 (more info: http://sched.co/T1ngi4) and Money, Politics and Transparency on Thursday, July 17 •…

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Post-2015 Has Provided Us All With A “Big Tent”

In their paper The Benefits of a Big Tent: Opening Up Government in Developing Countries, J Goldstein and J Weinstein argue for a “big tent”; one term under which open data and open government communities can pursue a common goal. I believe the term is fitting for the post-2015 processes and the unprecedented opportunity they present stakeholders…

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