Setting up Data Desks in Counties: Why we care about this.

Since 2013, we have been working together with counties and the World Bank in Kenya to develop systems to be transparent and engage citizens. The Open County Initiative provides a framework through which county-level engagement between county government, private sector and civil society is initiated and sustained. The programme also promotes an environment where citizens…

Training of the Open County Initiative to Elgeyo Marakwet County sector data champions

In the last post on this series, we were commencing activities in Elgeyo Marakwet and Baringo counties. We defined the Open County (OC) Initiative and argued that it provides a structured framework through which county-level engagement between county government, private sector and civil society can be sustained. This is with the focus being data use…

Integrating the Open County Initiative with Participatory Budgeting – a kickstart for Baringo and Elgeyo Marakwet Counties.

Since the implementation of devolution through the 47 county governments commencing 2013, different counties have developed and implemented different models of public participation in the quest to enhance accountability and governance. In the case of Baringo and Elgeyo Marakwet Counties, citizens (or wananchi) have stood up to be heard in their localities; they are actively…

The Government should take a stronger leadership role in OGP

Recently, we participated in a national Open Government Partnership forum was held in Nairobi. This forum, organised by the Constitution and Reform Education Consortium (CRECO),  brought together civil society, academia, media, private sector and multilateral institutions. The debate focused on the progress of implementation of the OGP Kenya commitments. At this forum, key issues emerging…

Release: DevolutionHub v2 Beta – One Stop Platform for Devolution Information

The Open Institute is really excited to release the beta version of a new iteration of DevolutionHub. DevolutionHub is designed as a one-stop-repository for all devolution documents in Kenya. The project was developed in recognition that there is a need in Kenya, to have an easy-to-use platform where the body of knowledge that is developed on…