The Future of Devolution is Citizen-Led
Citizens in Kilifi met with their Governor and his cabinet to present their needs - with data.
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What Kenya’s Second Strategy for the Development of Statistics Must Deliver
In 2019, Kenya launched the first Kenya Strategy for the Development of Statistics (KSDS I) – our first attempt to organise how the nation produces, manages, and uses official statistics. It promised four things: a stronger national data system, better quality, smarter investments in people and technology, and wider use of data by citizens. Six…
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How Open Data Is Powering County Success – Reflections from The Devolution Conference
The Devolution Conference 2025 convened in Homa Bay marked a key milestone in Kenya’s political and development calendar. It was a moment to reflect on over 12 years of county-level transparency since the 2013 Constitution. For us at Open Institute, it marked more than a decade of collaborating with counties to build open, responsive institutions…
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Kilifi’s Journey to Community-Led Accountability
Over the past year, Kilifi County has emerged as a shining example of how communities, civil society, and government can come together to use data for meaningful change. With support from the Open Institute and through partnerships with youth-led community-based organisations, such as Kilifi Youth Assembly (KIYA) and the Maono changemaker network, citizens in Kilifi…
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Building Inclusive Data Systems in Kenya: From Dialogue to Action
What happens when people are invisible in the numbers? When communities are omitted from datasets that shape national policy? When stories that are rich, complex, urgent are reduced to a footnote or not recorded at all? In Kenya, where 2.2% of the population — over 1 million people — are recorded as having a disability,…
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Reimagining Data Systems: Principles for Building From the Soil Up
We propose ten principles for guiding the reimagination of digital and data infrastructure. The funding freezes and project shutdowns we are now witnessing across Africa’s public digital infrastructure are not just unfortunate side effects of shifting geopolitics. They are symptoms of a system designed with fundamental weaknesses. And those weaknesses have long been known: dependency…
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Setting the Stage for the East Africa Data Governance Conference
With technology advancing and data becoming key for decision making, East Africa is in need of a strong governance framework to balance the use of data with privacy, ethics, and security. To address this, the Open Institute in collaboration with Amnesty International Kenya will be hosting the East Africa Data Governance Conference on November 26-27,…
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A World at a Crossroads: SDGs Won’t Be Achieved Until…
In 2015, the world united behind 17 ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the aim of eradicating poverty, tackling inequalities, and addressing climate change by 2030. It was a bold vision for a fairer, more sustainable world. Yet, as we near the end-point, the progress toward these goals tells a troubling story. According to the…
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Building a society that works for Marginalised Women
For far too long, women in remote areas have struggled to be seen and heard. At the Open Institute, we’re committed to the ideal of leaving no one behind, especially those most marginalised. We have taken the view that achieving the sustainable development goals is best done at the local level – in all villages. …
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Promoting Quality Healthcare through Citizen Generated Data
We are currently experiencing a shift towards patient-centric care, where healthcare providers are expected to meet growing patient expectations while ensuring high-quality services. A 2021 report by KPMG revealed that 79% of healthcare facilities in charge believed the sector should adopt a more patient-centric approach to better address patient needs and preferences. Despite this, only…
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