Citizens' Perceptions on Open Government Data in Uganda

In addition to the study assessing Uganda’s Open Government Readiness, the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) assessed citizens’ perceptions on open governance.
Based on a questionnaire, the study established that in Uganda there is a high level of knowledge about open governance, as well as great expectations of the benefits which Open Governance Data (OGD) would bring. Amongst the benefits mentioned were raising accountability by duty bearers, minimising corruption, promoting transparency, encouraging citizen participation in governance, monitoring service delivery, and aiding private sector innovation.
However, concerns were raised about the potential for misrepresentations and misinformation, increase in violent demonstrations as backlash from disgruntled citizens and increased administration costs associated with preparing data for open access. These fears need to be managed by both the state and by civil actors advocating open governance, in order to convince both citizens and government that OGD is for the good of the country.
The study made clear indications of what departments/ ministries should open up their data as a priority, and also identified various forms of data that citizens need to have greater access to. Moreover, the study has shown that the level of openness in government departments is severely low, even though there are laws that call for openness, and despite having clear examples of how increased openness results into public good. Government therefore needs to show greater political will to become more open, and this will need to be manifested in bold actions rather than simple declarations.
Whereas the results are not representative of Ugandan’s perceptions on open governance, they show a critical mass for demand and usage of open government data. The study establishes a key reference point which government should build on to roll out OGD, and which civil society can use in advocating and raising awareness about open governance in Uganda.
The study was conducted in the context of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) Action Research Network, a project supported by the International Development Research Centre of Canada (IDRC).
Download the full report here.
See also assessment of open government data readiness in Uganda and Q&A with the research coordinator.
 

Study Shows Uganda is Ready to Implement Open Government Data


A new study conducted by the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) and the Association for Progressive Communications shows that Uganda is ready to implement a national programme of Open Government Data but success will not come easy.
Why should Uganda open up government data (OGD)? Because implementing OGD has been proven to increase transparency in the conduct of public affairs, undercut corruption, enable citizens to reuse information to deliver improved products and services; and leads to improvements in the delivery of education, health and water to citizens.
Conducted between January and April 2012, the study explored the political willingness, public administration readiness, and civil society interest in OGD. The study’s overall objective was to recommend actions needed for the country to implement OGD and move to openness levels that countries such as those grouped under the Open Government Partnership are working to attain.
The study found that some Ugandan institutions are performing well as far as making public their data and information is concerned. Furthermore, the legal and policy environment, infrastructure, and appropriate human resources are in place. However, with no clear structures, data collection guidelines and tools, the quality of data and its output is limited.
At the top leadership, it was evident that whereas there was willingness to open up government data, this was yet to translate into clear and total commitment. At the middle level, there existed the competence to implement OGD, but the lack of clear goodwill at the Executive level was an impediment.
Fear of the negative effects that the opening up of government data and information might have was noted as a bottleneck. With regard to competence to re-use the data by the public and private sectors, it was evident that there was substantial capacity to use and re-use the open data.
The study made a number of recommendations, one of the most important being the call on government to fully commit to open government. The commitment at the top executive level will pave the way for a number of opportunities for government, private and public sectors.
Besides, there is need to task a government body, preferably the National Information Technology Authority –Uganda (NITA-U), as the in-charge of championing OGD in the country There is also need for awareness creation for public officers, citizens, and private sector on the benefits of OGD. On the whole, it was recognised that a number of initiatives have been running but without effective coordination and direction. It is imperative therefore that leadership is established to champion OGD in a structured and coordinated manner.
The findings of the study will form the basis of advocacy, awareness raising, and network building of CIPESA’s wider campaign in promoting open governance in Uganda and the use of ICTs in democracy and governance.
The study was conducted in the context of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) Action Research Network, a project supported by the International Development Research Centre of Canada (IDRC).
Download the full report here.
See also citizen’s perceptions on open government data and Q&A with the research coordinator.
 

Making government accountable to citizens in Uganda and the region

Lillian Nalwoga from the Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) coordinated research on open governance in Uganda as part of APC’s Action Research Network project. “Citizens, academia, the private sector and civil society need to be more involved in the implementation of open governance,” says Nalwoga in an interview withAPCNews.
APCNews: What is the relevance of this research’s subject to you? Why do you think it is important to promote OGD frameworks in general and in particular on Eastern Africa? What are your comments on Uganda’s situation in the subregional context in this sense?
Lillian Nalwoga: The open government data (OGD) research is relevant to CIPESA’s work in enabling policy makers in the region to understand ICT policy issues and for various stakeholders to use ICTs to improve livelihoods. Most especially, the research is important for CIPESA’s wider programmes in the use of ICTs for democratic governance. Understanding Uganda’s OGD readiness and the perceptions and needs of citizens is an important aspect in gauging the level to which ICTs can be used in promoting an open government, as well easier and faster flow of information between public officials and citizens.
It is important to promote OGD frameworks in East Africa because of the benefits open governance provides. Benefits such as an increase in transparency and accountability would in turn enable citizens to access better social services. East African countries are at different levels of development in all sectors including ICT. Kenya scored highest in Sub-Saharan Africa with the launch of an open data portal in July 2011. The website (www.opendata.go.ke) allows Kenyan citizens to freely access government data on numerous sectors and population demographics. More recently, Tanzania has followed suit with the launch of www.opengov.go.tz. Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi are lagging behind their counterparts. Promoting OGD frameworks will allow the countries lacking openness of data to learn and share best practices on how to better promote their efforts especially under the East African Community (EAC). OGD frameworks within the region will allow for easier integration of EAC as member states will easily learn share and access developments in the region while allowing for better service delivery within the region.
In Uganda, promoting an OGD framework will not only make government accountable to citizens but also foster a crop of open public servants and departments. Citizens will get better services because they would know what they are entitled to and the resources available to meet their needs, thus reducing the current rampant corruption in the country.
APCNews: What were the main challenges faced during the research process?
LN: The main challenge faced was scheduling meetings with key informants from the executive level of government. Besides having busy schedules (and we, too, had a tight schedule in which to complete the research), we noticed that most senior government officials were reluctant to participate in research. They probably fear being quoted as criticical of government. But also the law forbids civil servants from making public comments without the authority of the accounting officer of a public department. An additional challenge was that many potential respondents thought open government data was something complicated that they were not qualified to comment about. It therefore took quite a bit of explaining to get them ready for interviews. But once the interviews were underway, virtually all respondents mentioned they were aware of OGD, and supported efforts for Uganda to open its government data.
The OGD concept is fairly new and it touches the hearts of all citizens. More time to capture data on a larger proportion of the population especially in rural areas was unfortunately not available. Besides, there is not much available literature on OGD in Africa, hence it was hard to capture success stories on how OGD could benefit or even spur development in Africa.
APCNews: Assessment of citizen’s perceptions on open governance in Uganda revealed that there is a high level of knowledge about open governance in the country, as well as great expectations for the benefits that OGD would bring to Uganda. Which do you think were the factors that helped build acknowledgement of the importance of the OGD?
LN: The compounding factors that led to this acknowledgement amongst respondents and the overall conclusion maybe drawn from the known country cases of open governance from which citizens have learned about the benefits of OGD. Many respondents cited cases where corruption cases were unveiled as a result of government publishing some department and project expenditures. References were continually made to what countries like Kenya are currently doing to promote OGD and the benefits that have resulted, in order to indicate that promoting for OGD in Uganda would lead to similar benefits.
Also, the launch of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) initiative last year, where Uganda was among the six eligible countries to join and yet opted out, was an eye-opener for some citizens who are keen on knowing why Uganda decided not to join the OGP.
APCNews: Uganda was one of the first countries in east and southern Africa to formulate a national ICT policy and an access to information law addressing the openness of government data in one of its objectives but, as the report points out, the legislation on this matter remains largely unimplemented. How do you think this gap between the policy and the legislation could be mitigated?
LN: Massive awareness about the existence of the policy among the public is needed so that people get to know its relevance, how to apply it in their everyday lives and what other information to demand. Besides, there is need to lobby and create awareness among legislators and public officials on the need to implement these policies. A good way to lobby would be to showcase how openness has led, or can lead, to public good without hurting the interests of any stakeholder groups, be it government departments, public servants, the private sector or citizens groups. There would also be a need to update legislation (such as the ICT policy and the Access to Information law) to make them more explicitly and progressively supportive of OGD.
APCNews: The study Open government data readiness study in Uganda concludes that Uganda is ready to implement OGD with appropriate support and guidance. What does this support and guidance imply in terms of advocacy? Which actors should be involved on this implementation, according to the knowledge gained during the research and what are the expected inputs from each one of the actors involved?
LN: To some extent, the government of Uganda is practicing some sort of openness but it is facing challenges in sustaining the platforms on which such data should be accessed. Moreover, most of the available data is not in a reusable format. Thus in terms of advocacy, there is a need to point to government areas that require more readily available data. As pointed out by most respondents, more openness is needed in areas such as government spending in health, education, water and energy sectors. Also, government needs to spend more time developing and supporting applications that assist in hosting the data in readily accessible formats. Actors such as citizens, academia, private sector and civil society need to be more involved in the implementation of open governance as each stakeholder has a complementary role to play. The citizenry must continuously demonstrate their need for the data by demanding it. The private sector, on the other hand, needs to design and develop applications that will make open data readily available in easy-to-use formats and also make innovations based on OGD. Civil society has to continuously create awareness about the need for this data among communities while stressing the importance of the free flow of information among government and the public.
This research was developed in the context of APC’s Action Research Network, a project supported by the International Development Research Centre of Canada (IDRC).
This article was published by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) News on May 30, 2012

ICT4Democracy in East Africa: April 2012 News

This article was published on May 18, 2012, about the ICT4Democracy in East Africa project, which brings together various partners in the region – among them CIPESA.
ICT for Service Delivery in Northern Uganda
Monthly Voluntary Social Accountability Committee (VSAC) meetings continued in April, with prevailing bad governance and poor service delivery issues reported in the districts of Gulu, Amuru, Apac, Kore and Oyam and uploaded on the Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) Ushahidi platform.
Among the reports and follow up action:

  • Stolen drugs and rude staff at the Chegere Health Centre II: the issues were brought to the attention of the assistant district commissioner and as a result, formal warnings were issued to the centre staff.
  • At another centre, Kidilani Health Centre II, there were reports of staff shortages, bad maintenance, and poor staff housing. After the issues were elevated to the health centre’s management, full time nurses are back on duty and health centre surroundings have been cleaned up. VSAC members are undertaking mobilisation exercises in the community to fundraise for improved centre staff housing.
  • Accountability for funds from the Northern Uganda Social Action Fund (NUSAF) for constructing of teachers’ houses in Tar Ogali parish was also raised in the area’s VSAC meeting. Committee members followed-up with the school management and were given assurances that the construction work would soon be underway.

WOUGNET reports that the continued support of district and sub-county leaders, as well as CSOs, continues to encourage the work of VSACs.
Meanwhile, Transparency International (TI) Uganda has embarked on an awareness raising exercise for its toll free call centre which will enable citizens to log complaints about health service delivery in the region. Agreements have been reached with a number of health centres to allow for the painting of the toll free number on strategic public access points on the centre premises.
SMS for Human Rights
In Tanzania, the Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance (CHRAGG) in collaboration with Bessbrook International Ltd. of Tanzania completed the implementation of the SMS for Human Rights Management Information System. The system has been installed and is being tested in a working environment. User feedback and opinions are being collected on automated responses from the system.
However, the system has so far been unable to allow for multimedia messaging and content. CHRAGG and Bessbrook are working to rectify this. Full system deployment is pending an SMS short code provision from the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority and toll free services from leading telecos.
mGovernance in Kenya
During April, iHub Research conducted user-centred design workshops as a basis for strategising on building mobile governance applications from citizen users’ perspective.
Activity planning for fieldwork to explore the conditions for successful mobile phone enabled governance across Kenya is also underway. Through its extensive grassroots based Human Rights Networks (HURINETS), the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) will assist iHub Research in choosing appropriate field sites across the country and facilitate interaction with local communities. iHub Research is also anticipating to engage Mzalendo in its research. The blog platform for holding leaders accountable and rating their work will offer feedback on the research questions to be included in the full data collection exercise.
Meanwhile, the Social Development Network (SODNET) has also agreed to share their raw data on Huduma to enrich iHub Research’s work. iHub research will use these findings to identify their key thematic areas of focus based on feedback from the platform. Huduma is a mobile phone short code platform for Kenyan citizens to voice the difficulties they encounter in using public services.
iParticipate Uganda
The Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) published and disseminated a report entitled ‘How ICT Tools are Promoting Civic Participation in Uganda’. The report illustrates how Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are aiding citizen participation in Uganda, but also points to the challenges that need to be overcome for these technologies to have a wider impact on governance. Read the full report here.
CIPESA also finalised the Open Governance in Uganda study. The study sought to establish Uganda’s readiness for open data, capture citizen’s perceptions on open governance in Uganda as well as form a basis for advocating for increased government openness in Uganda. During the study, awareness about open government and its benefits was raised, highlighting an urgent need for open governance in Uganda. The reports produced will go toward CIPESA’s wider campaigns in promoting open governance in Uganda and the use of ICTs for democratic governance.
In April, CIPESA represented Uganda at the Internet Society (ISOC)’s Global INET event in Geneva, Switzerland. Furthermore, CIPESA attended the Digital Migration Workshop for Southern and Eastern African Countries. Insights from the workshop are available here.
Other news
In April, the ICT4Democracy in East Africa network participated in the Stockholm Internet Forum that aimed to deepen discussions on how freedom and openness on the internet can promote social and economic development globally. Participants included media, civil society, academia, telecommunications, national and international development agencies. Organised by the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Internet Infrastructure Foundation and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the forum took place on April 18 – 19, 2012.
For more information, visit www.ict4democracy.org

Digitalizing Democracy: Initiatives in East Africa

By: Caroline Wamala
A number of organizations in east Africa are using ICT to hold leaders accountable, fight corruption, monitor service delivery, and contribute to building a democratic culture. The East Africa ICT4Democracy Network, supported by Spider, was launched in June 2011 to enable the participating organisations to have stronger impact, build a more sustainable initiative, and further enhance people’s capacity to act and participate in democratic processes.
Participating organisations are:

  • iHub, Kenya
  • Women of Uganda Network,
  • Kenya Human Rights Commission,
  • Transparency International, Uganda
  • Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance
  • Collaboration on International ICT Policy for Eastern and Southern Africa, Uganda

For further information about the projects, visit www.ict4democracy.org.
The core problem is that despite the concerted efforts by international agencies, governments and local donors, ignorance prevails about human and citizen rights among the majority of communities. This perpetuates a culture of poor or bad service delivery across all sectors.
In the developed world generally everyone is aware that water is a human right, health is a human right, in sub-Saharan Africa, or east Africa, people are unaware of these rights, clean water, or access to health is seen as a favour.”

Ashnah – CIPESA at M4D2012 New Delhi

Informing people about their rights to government services is the first step to engaging communities in holding their government accountable to better service delivery.
“So we are not just demanding accountability, we are making communities aware that you are entitled to freedom of expression, entitled to clean water, health etc. so we are engaging them, and they are participating, they are knowledgeable…we are going beyond survellieng and hold someone accountable.

Ashnah – CIPESA  at M4D2012 New Delhi

 Are ICTs the road to democracy?
 While ICT can raise awareness on good governance, spread information on human and citizen rights and help monitor service delivery, it is “merely an amplifier, that acts within the environment it is embedded in. ICT is not the panacea none of our projects think or say that technology is the answer, technology is probably solving 5% of the problem, the other 95% requires us as a people to come together. As long as the cohesion and symbiotic relationships in this network continue these projects will explode into some serious change and become sustainable, we are working together and mobile technology is creating effective change and the same model can be applied in other places, we are building something by learning from each other.

Angela and Hilda – iHub at the M4D2012 Conference in Delhi

 Caroline Wamala is Project officer at Spider and post-doc researcher at Karlstad University.
This article was published by the Swedish Programme on ICTs for Developing regions (SPIDER) on April 18, 2012, about the ICT4Democracy in East Africa project, which brings together various partners in the region – among them CIPESA – Editor