Open Governance

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Submissions on the Data Protection Civil Registration Regulations (2020) in Kenya

The Ministry of ICT issued an invitation to members of the public to comment on the data protection regulations on civil registrations through the press. We submitted our comments, which you can read in detail here. We essentially raised five points of concern with the regulations: issues around the operation of consent under the Regulations,…

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Finding ways for the invisible to become visible

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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Can Co-Working on a Deadline Create Better Public Policy?

Four cities across the world are preparing to launch the “GovCombinator.” Jean-Louis Sarbib (left), Dennis Whittle (middle) and Nathaniel Heller (right) are promoting a new process for solving city-level problems. They call it “GovCombinator.” (Christopher Swope) WASHINGTON, United States—On the fifth floor of a glassy office building here, just a few blocks from the White…

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Introducing the Badili Initiative

  We are happy to unveil Badili (Swahili for Change), which is an on-line resource to share stories and experiences, initiatives, content, and generally track progress on the data revolution in Africa. This initiative, driven in partnership with Development Initiatives – Africa Hub, Hivos East Africa and the Association of Freelance Journalists, is a contribution to the growing momentum…

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Follow the Money: How to design a financial transparency and role-playing game

The following post is by Beatrice Martini, capacity builder and event curator, and a co-facilitator of T/AI’s Follow the Money Workshop last month in Berlin. Cross-posted from beatricemartini.it. When we talk about financial transparency,numbers and data are understandably what first comes to mind. But are the platforms and portalscollecting all that, the real starting point of our…

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Players or Spectators – 6 Observations of CSO participation in OGP

Our founder, Al Kags is happy to publish Players or Spectators – Observations on CSO Participation in the Open Government Partnership, a culmination of a study that he conducted while interning at OpentheGovernment.org in August and September this year. “The experience that I gained at OpenTheGovernment.org under the guidance of Patrice McDermott and her colleagues…

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Give Your Input to Kenya’s Draft OGP Action Plan

Kenya is one of the 65 participating countries of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), a multilateral initiative that seeks to make governments more open, accountable and responsive to citizens. Overseen by representatives from governments and civil society organisations, the multi-stakeholder effort aims to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption and harness…

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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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