No subject

Sun Mar 31 09:34:23 UTC 2013

ership/>
(cross-posted
from Development Initiatives
blog<http://www.devinit.org/africanising-the-open-government-partnership>
):
 Africanising the Open Government Partnership
June 17, 2013 in Open Government
Data<http://blog.okfn.org/category/open-government-data/>

*This is cross-posted with permission from the Development Initiatives
blog<http://www.devinit.org/africanising-the-open-government-partnership>
*

*=93OGP will be real, only when it starts to make sense to the citizens out
there=94* (Robert Hunja =96 World Bank)

The government of Kenya recently hosted the first ever OGP regional forum
in Africa. The event aimed to establish guidelines for OGP activities for
African countries; track and take stock of progress on the agenda to date
and to think about how to Africanise the global OGP movement further. It
attracted a range of delegates from across the continent involved and
interested in the pursuit of open governance =96 government representatives=
,
civil society actors, academia, the media, private sector, and multilateral
institutions(see link for
details)<http://www.ogpafrica.org/conference/speakers/>
.

Open governance is built on the principle of the universal right to access
to information on the conduct of government and it places its value in
enhancing effective public oversight. It aims to open up government
affairs, (previously kept secret) to make it easier to scrutinise public
officers and hold them to account. The argument is that access to
government information enhances public participation and facilitates the
audit of government actions. The Open Government Partnership
(OGP)<http://www.opengovpartnership.org/> is
a new multilateral global governance and transparency initiative formed in
2011. It aims to secure commitments from governments to promote
transparency, empower citizens and harness new technologies to strengthen
governance. The OGP outlines a set of principles augmented by a
declaration<http://www.opengovpartnership.org/open-government-declaration>
that
form the basis of the open government. To date 45 countries (three African)
have endorsed the declaration, 11 others (two African) are currently
processing commitments and many more across the globe are working towards
attaining eligibility <http://www.opengovpartnership.org/eligibility>.

At the heart of the event was the question of how different partners could
together put in place a strategy to strengthen open governance in the
continent and bring forth an African perspective to the global OGP
movement. Participants shared their experiences on the push for open and
transparent institutions, accountable to the people, and brainstormed ideas
on how the global OGP could respond. Discussions focused on: the role of
big data, public statistics, analytics and technology=92s role in improving
service delivery; managing extractive industries to ensure processes are
open, transparent, participatory and accountable; and how to leverage
technology and the media to bolster citizen engagement and enhance public
integrity.

Key issues emerging from the discussions included:

   - Inadequate understanding of the concept of open governance in Africa
   - The absence of strong champions for the agenda;
   - The impact of technocratic language used by OGP practitioners and how
   it fails to resonate with people at local level;
   - The lack of engagement among African leaders/governments and failure
   to share experiences;
   - The apparent overlap in governance monitoring mechanisms (OGP, African
   Union and United Nations, African Peer Review Mechanism etc ) and how th=
is
   could be stifling progress
   - The need to explore both supply and demand side issues in scaling up
   OGP
   - The quality of information coming through existing open governance
   platforms
   - The inadequate engagement of African legislatures and private sector
   who have great influence, political muscle and interest in good governan=
ce
   in the continent.

The Civil Society/Government disconnect

Participants made the point that success of the OGP depends largely on
trust and cooperation between government and civil society. Nonetheless,
deliberations over the two day conference illustrated the clear tension
between government and CSOs that must be addressed if we are to achieve
meaningful progress.

There is currently a clear disconnect between the motivations, intentions
and expectations of civil society and that of government, despite both
working towards the common good of the citizen. Much work related to open
governance appears to be taking place in silos with little coordination,
mutual awareness and strategy. Though the need for effective partnerships
between government and CSOs was emphasised, participants cautioned against
very cosy relationships that create complacency and that could potentially
jeopardise the watchdog role played by civil society.

=93The era of sloganeering, CSO obstruction, political activism is gone [..=
.]
CSOs must reorient and repackage their engagement with government [...
they] must begin to perceive themselves as partners with government=94

=96 (Fred Matiang=92i, Cabinet Secretary for ICT =96 Kenya)

It is our view that the African OGP steering committee must support states
and civil society to collaborate with sufficient space for objective and
constructive CSO monitoring and feedback in the role of =91critical friend=
=92.
This will ensure better delivery and further progress in open governance.

Transforming commitments into action

It is encouraging that three African states are already members of the OGP,
two others are processing commitments and a couple of others are eligible
and looking to submit applications for membership. However, real success of
the OGP will depend on implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the
action plans developed by participating countries. Otherwise OGP membership
risks being viewed as an end (utilised to score political mileage in the
global political economy) rather than a means towards a greater goal of
realising good governance and transparent and accountable government
institutions.

We think that the OGP support unit must play an active role in monitoring
participants to ensure they invest sufficiently in open governance, set
realistic goals in their action plans, implement and accurately report on
progress. Further, it must safeguard against monopolisation of the process
by government (capable of overstating progress and being overambitious in
planning) and minimising dialogue between CSOs and government The African
experience must, in turn, inform the wider movement.

 7 17 0 24

Related posts:

   1. OKF at the Open Government Partnership
(14.9)<http://blog.okfn.org/2011/07/21/okf-at-the-open-government-partnersh=
ip/>
    The following post is by Theodora Middleton, blog editor at the OKF.
   The new Open Government Partnership, a =93multilateral initiative that a=
ims
   to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency,
   empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to...
   2. Open knowledge at the Open Government Partnership conference in
   Mombasa, Africa
(13.5)<http://blog.okfn.org/2013/06/07/open-knowledge-at-the-open-governmen=
t-partnership-conference-in-mombasa-africa/>
    Last week, the Open Knowledge Foundation had the pleasure of attending
   the Open Government Partnership conference in Mombasa, Kenya. Participan=
ts
   from all over Africa as well as the rest of the world convened to discus=
s
   transparency, citizen engagement and open...
   3. Making the Open Government Partnership Work
(11.2)<http://blog.okfn.org/2011/10/31/making-the-open-government-partnersh=
ip-work/>
    The following guest post is by Matt Rosenberg, founder and editor of
   Public Data Ferret, a project of the non-profit Public Eye Northwest. In
   this special in-depth report, Matt looks at what it will take for the
   efforts of the...

*Written by: **Kenneth Okwaroh* <http://okfn.org/members/kenneth-okwaroh/>

*Kenneth is a researcher and analyst with the Development
Initiatives<http://www.devinit.org/> Africa
Hub. He tweets @Okwaroh*

Go to blog post:
http://blog.okfn.org/2013/06/17/africanising-the-open-government-partnershi=
p/

--=20

Christian Villum

Community Manager, Open Government Data + Local Groups Network
skype: christianvillum  |  @villum <http://www.twitter.com/villum>
The Open Knowledge Foundation <http://okfn.org/>
*Empowering through Open Knowledge
*http://okfn.org/  |  @okfn <http://twitter.com/OKFN>  |  OKF on
Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/OKFNetwork>
  |  Blog <http://blog.okfn.org/>  |
Newsletter<http://okfn.org/about/newsletter>

--e89a8f6435a2337a7504df8049d4
Content-Type: text/html; charset=windows-1252
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

<div dir=3D"ltr"><div><div dir=3D"ltr"><p style>From the <a href=3D"http://=
blog.okfn.org/2013/06/17/africanising-the-open-government-partnership/">Ope=
n Knowledge Foundation blog</a>=A0(cross-posted from <a href=3D"http://www.=
devinit.org/africanising-the-open-government-partnership">Development Initi=
atives blog</a>):</p>

</div></div><div dir=3D"ltr"><div><h2 class=3D"" style=3D"margin:8px 0px 10=
px;font-family:OpenSans,&#39;Helvetica Neue&#39;,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif=
;line-height:37px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:30px;background-color:rgb(2=
45,247,246)">

Africanising the Open Government Partnership</h2><div class=3D"" style=3D"c=
olor:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:&#39;Helvetica Neue&#39;,Helvetica,Arial,san=
s-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:20px;background-color:rgb(245,247,246)">

June 17, 2013=A0in=A0<a href=3D"http://blog.okfn.org/category/open-governme=
nt-data/" title=3D"View all posts in Open Government Data" rel=3D"category =
tag" style=3D"color:rgb(62,143,128);text-decoration:none">Open Government D=
ata</a></div>

<div class=3D"" style=3D"color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:&#39;Helvetica Neu=
e&#39;,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:20px;backgroun=
d-color:rgb(245,247,246)"><p style=3D"margin:0px 0px 10px"><strong>This is =
cross-posted with permission from the=A0<a href=3D"http://www.devinit.org/a=
fricanising-the-open-government-partnership" style=3D"color:rgb(62,143,128)=
;text-decoration:none">Development Initiatives blog</a></strong></p>

=93OGP will be real, only when it star=
ts to make sense to the citizens out there=94=A0(Robert Hunja =96 Worl=
d Bank)The government of Kenya recentl=
y hosted the first ever OGP regional forum in Africa. The event aimed to es=
tablish guidelines for OGP activities for African countries; track and take=
 stock of progress on the agenda to date and to think about how to Africani=
se the global OGP movement further. It attracted a range of delegates from =
across the continent involved and interested in the pursuit of open governa=
nce =96 government representatives, civil society actors, academia, the med=
ia, private sector, and multilateral institutions<a href=3D"http://www.ogpa=
frica.org/conference/speakers/" style=3D"color:rgb(62,143,128);text-decorat=
ion:none">(see link for details)</a>.

<p style=3D"margin:0px 0px 10px"><img src=3D"http://www.ogpafrica.org/wp-co=
ntent/uploads/2013/05/OGP-press-conference2.jpg" width=3D"450" style=3D"hei=
ght: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; border: 0px;"></p><p st=
yle=3D"margin:0px 0px 10px">

Open governance is built on the principle of the universal right to access =
to information on the conduct of government and it places its value in enha=
ncing effective public oversight. It aims to open up government affairs, (p=
reviously kept secret) to make it easier to scrutinise public officers and =
hold them to account. The argument is that access to government information=
 enhances public participation and facilitates the audit of government acti=
ons. The=A0<a href=3D"http://www.opengovpartnership.org/" style=3D"color:rg=
b(62,143,128);text-decoration:none">Open Government Partnership (OGP)</a>=
=A0is a new multilateral global governance and transparency initiative form=
ed in 2011. It aims to secure commitments from governments to promote trans=
parency, empower citizens and harness new technologies to strengthen govern=
ance. The OGP outlines a set of principles augmented by a=A0<a href=3D"http=
://www.opengovpartnership.org/open-government-declaration" style=3D"color:r=
gb(62,143,128);text-decoration:none">declaration</a>=A0that form the basis =
of the open government. To date 45 countries (three African) have endorsed =
the declaration, 11 others (two African) are currently processing commitmen=
ts and many more across the globe are working towards attaining=A0<a href=
=3D"http://www.opengovpartnership.org/eligibility" style=3D"color:rgb(62,14=
3,128);text-decoration:none">eligibility</a>.

<p style=3D"margin:0px 0px 10px"><img src=3D"http://www.devinit.org/wp-cont=
ent/uploads/musiimee-e1371029885785.png" style=3D"height: auto; max-width: =
100%; vertical-align: middle; border: 0px;"></p><p style=3D"margin:0px 0px =
10px">

At the heart of the event was the question of how different partners could =
together put in place a strategy to strengthen open governance in the conti=
nent and bring forth an African perspective to the global OGP movement. Par=
ticipants shared their experiences on the push for open and transparent ins=
titutions, accountable to the people, and brainstormed ideas on how the glo=
bal OGP could respond. Discussions focused on: the role of big data, public=
 statistics, analytics and technology=92s role in improving service deliver=
y; managing extractive industries to ensure processes are open, transparent=
, participatory and accountable; and how to leverage technology and the med=
ia to bolster citizen engagement and enhance public integrity.

<p style=3D"margin:0px 0px 10px">Key issues emerging from the discussions i=
ncluded:</p><ul style=3D"padding:0px;margin:0px 0px 10px 25px"><li>Inadequa=
te understanding of the concept of open governance in Africa</li><li>The ab=
sence of strong champions for the agenda;</li>

<li>The impact of technocratic language used by OGP practitioners and how i=
t fails to resonate with people at local level;</li><li>The lack of engagem=
ent among African leaders/governments and failure to share experiences;</li=
>

<li>The apparent overlap in governance monitoring mechanisms (OGP, African =
Union and United Nations, African Peer Review Mechanism etc ) and how this =
could be stifling progress</li><li>The need to explore both supply and dema=
nd side issues in scaling up OGP</li>

<li>The quality of information coming through existing open governance plat=
forms</li><li>The inadequate engagement of African legislatures and private=
 sector who have great influence, political muscle and interest in good gov=
ernance in the continent.</li>

</ul><p style=3D"margin:0px 0px 10px"><img src=3D"http://www.devinit.org/wp=
-content/uploads/OGP-e1371029874938.png" style=3D"height: auto; max-width: =
100%; vertical-align: middle; border: 0px;"></p><h3 style=3D"margin:10px 0p=
x;font-family:OpenSans,&#39;Helvetica Neue&#39;,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;=
line-height:30px;color:inherit;font-size:24px">

The Civil Society/Government disconnect</h3>Participants made the point that success of the OGP depends largely on tr=
ust and cooperation between government and civil society. Nonetheless, deli=
berations over the two day conference illustrated the clear tension between=
 government and CSOs that must be addressed if we are to achieve meaningful=
 progress.

<p style=3D"margin:0px 0px 10px"><img src=3D"http://www.devinit.org/wp-cont=
ent/uploads/Kaburo-e1371029861606.png" style=3D"height: auto; max-width: 10=
0%; vertical-align: middle; border: 0px;"></p><p style=3D"margin:0px 0px 10=
px">

There is currently a clear disconnect between the motivations, intentions a=
nd expectations of civil society and that of government, despite both worki=
ng towards the common good of the citizen. Much work related to open govern=
ance appears to be taking place in silos with little coordination, mutual a=
wareness and strategy. Though the need for effective partnerships between g=
overnment and CSOs was emphasised, participants cautioned against very cosy=
 relationships that create complacency and that could potentially jeopardis=
e the watchdog role played by civil society.

<p style=3D"margin:0px 0px 10px"><img src=3D"http://www.devinit.org/wp-cont=
ent/uploads/Jason-e1371029837435.png" style=3D"height: auto; max-width: 100=
%; vertical-align: middle; border: 0px;"></p><blockquote style=3D"padding:0=
px 0px 0px 15px;margin:0px 0px 9px;border-left-width:5px;border-left-style:=
solid;border-left-color:rgb(238,238,238);color:rgb(128,128,128);font-style:=
italic">

=93The era of sloganeering, CSO obstruction, political activism is gone [..=
.] CSOs must reorient and repackage their engagement with government [... t=
hey] must begin to perceive themselves as partners with government=94</bloc=
kquote>

=96 (Fred Matiang=92i, Cabinet Secretary f=
or ICT =96 Kenya)It is our view that t=
he African OGP steering committee must support states and civil society to =
collaborate with sufficient space for objective and constructive CSO monito=
ring and feedback in the role of =91critical friend=92. This will ensure be=
tter delivery and further progress in open governance.

<p style=3D"margin:0px 0px 10px"><img src=3D"http://www.devinit.org/wp-cont=
ent/uploads/Maassen-e1371029849269.png" style=3D"height: auto; max-width: 1=
00%; vertical-align: middle; border: 0px;"></p><h3 style=3D"margin:10px 0px=
;font-family:OpenSans,&#39;Helvetica Neue&#39;,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;l=
ine-height:30px;color:inherit;font-size:24px">

Transforming commitments into action</h3>I=
t is encouraging that three African states are already members of the OGP, =
two others are processing commitments and a couple of others are eligible a=
nd looking to submit applications for membership. However, real success of =
the OGP will depend on implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the act=
ion plans developed by participating countries. Otherwise OGP membership ri=
sks being viewed as an end (utilised to score political mileage in the glob=
al political economy) rather than a means towards a greater goal of realisi=
ng good governance and transparent and accountable government institutions.=

We think that the OGP support unit must pl=
ay an active role in monitoring participants to ensure they invest sufficie=
ntly in open governance, set realistic goals in their action plans, impleme=
nt and accurately report on progress. Further, it must safeguard against mo=
nopolisation of the process by government (capable of overstating progress =
and being overambitious in planning) and minimising dialogue between CSOs a=
nd government The African experience must, in turn, inform the wider moveme=
nt.

<p style=3D"margin:0px 0px 10px"><span class=3D""><span class=3D"" style=3D=
"color:rgb(0,0,0);display:inline-block;margin-right:3px;margin-left:3px;fon=
t-size:11px;line-height:16px"><span class=3D"" style=3D"background-image:ur=
l(http://w.sharethis.com/images/facebook_counter.png);display:inline-block;=
white-space:nowrap;font-family:Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;height:16px;pad=
ding-top:3px;padding-bottom:3px;width:60px;background-repeat:no-repeat no-r=
epeat">=A0</span><span class=3D"" style=3D"padding-left:3px;background-imag=
e:url(http://w.sharethis.com/share4x/images/Facebook_bubble_arrow.png);heig=
ht:14px;display:inline-block;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat"><span c=
lass=3D"" style=3D"border:1px solid rgb(202,212,231);padding:2px;font-famil=
y:serif;border-top-left-radius:4px;border-top-right-radius:4px;border-botto=
m-right-radius:4px;border-bottom-left-radius:4px;display:inline-block;heigh=
t:16px;background-color:rgb(236,238,245);margin-left:3px;margin-right:3px">=
<span class=3D"" style=3D"padding-left:2px;padding-right:2px;white-space:no=
wrap;font-family:Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;height:16px">7</span></span><=
/span></span></span><span class=3D""><span class=3D"" style=3D"color:rgb(0,=
0,0);display:inline-block;margin-right:3px;margin-left:3px;font-size:11px;l=
ine-height:16px"><span class=3D"" style=3D"background-image:url(http://w.sh=
arethis.com/images/twitter_counter.png);display:inline-block;white-space:no=
wrap;font-family:Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;height:16px;padding-top:3px;p=
adding-bottom:3px;width:60px;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">=A0</sp=
an><span class=3D"" style=3D"padding-left:3px;background-image:url(http://w=
.sharethis.com/share4x/images/Twitter_bubble_arrow.png);height:14px;display=
:inline-block;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat"><span class=3D"" style=
=3D"border:1px solid rgb(204,227,243);padding:2px;font-family:serif;border-=
top-left-radius:4px;border-top-right-radius:4px;border-bottom-right-radius:=
4px;border-bottom-left-radius:4px;display:inline-block;height:16px;backgrou=
nd-color:rgb(255,255,255);margin-left:3px;margin-right:3px"><span class=3D"=
" style=3D"padding-left:2px;padding-right:2px;white-space:nowrap;font-famil=
y:Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;height:16px">17</span></span></span></span><=
/span><span class=3D""><span class=3D"" style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0);display:i=
nline-block;margin-right:3px;margin-left:3px;font-size:11px;line-height:16p=
x"><span class=3D"" style=3D"background-image:url(http://w.sharethis.com/im=
ages/email_counter.png);display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;font-family=
:Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;height:16px;padding-top:3px;padding-bottom:3p=
x;width:60px;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">=A0</span><span class=
=3D"" style=3D"padding-left:3px;background-image:url(http://w.sharethis.com=
/share4x/images/bubble_arrow.png);height:14px;display:inline-block;backgrou=
nd-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat"><span class=3D"" style=3D"border:1px solid r=
gb(191,191,191);padding:2px;font-family:serif;border-top-left-radius:4px;bo=
rder-top-right-radius:4px;border-bottom-right-radius:4px;border-bottom-left=
-radius:4px;display:inline-block;height:16px;margin-left:3px;margin-right:3=
px"><span class=3D"" style=3D"padding-left:2px;padding-right:2px;white-spac=
e:nowrap;font-family:Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;height:16px">0</span></sp=
an></span></span></span><span class=3D""><span class=3D"" style=3D"color:rg=
b(0,0,0);display:inline-block;margin-right:3px;margin-left:3px;font-size:11=
px;line-height:16px"><span class=3D"" style=3D"background-image:url(http://=
w.sharethis.com/images/sharethis_counter2.png);display:inline-block;white-s=
pace:nowrap;font-family:Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;height:16px;padding-to=
p:3px;padding-bottom:3px;width:63px;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">=
=A0</span><span class=3D"" style=3D"padding-left:3px;background-image:url(h=
ttp://w.sharethis.com/share4x/images/bubble_arrow.png);height:14px;display:=
inline-block;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat"><span class=3D"" style=
=3D"border:1px solid rgb(191,191,191);padding:2px;font-family:serif;border-=
top-left-radius:4px;border-top-right-radius:4px;border-bottom-right-radius:=
4px;border-bottom-left-radius:4px;display:inline-block;height:16px;margin-l=
eft:3px;margin-right:3px"><span class=3D"" style=3D"padding-left:2px;paddin=
g-right:2px;white-space:nowrap;font-family:Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;hei=
ght:16px">24</span></span></span></span></span></p>

<div class=3D"">Related posts:<ol styl=
e=3D"padding:0px;margin:0px 0px 10px 25px"><li><a href=3D"http://blog.okfn.=
org/2011/07/21/okf-at-the-open-government-partnership/" rel=3D"bookmark" ti=
tle=3D"OKF at the Open Government Partnership" style=3D"color:rgb(62,143,12=
8);text-decoration:none">OKF at the Open Government Partnership=A0<abbr tit=
le=3D"14.900000 is the YARPP match score between the current entry and this=
 related entry. You are seeing this value because you are logged in to Word=
Press as an administrator. It is not shown to regular visitors." style=3D"b=
order-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dotted;border-bottom-color:rgb(1=
53,153,153)">(14.9)</abbr></a>=A0The follow=
ing post is by Theodora Middleton, blog editor at the OKF. The new Open Gov=
ernment Partnership, a =93multilateral initiative that aims to secure concr=
ete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens,=
 fight corruption, and harness new technologies to...</li>

<li><a href=3D"http://blog.okfn.org/2013/06/07/open-knowledge-at-the-open-g=
overnment-partnership-conference-in-mombasa-africa/" rel=3D"bookmark" title=
=3D"Open knowledge at the Open Government Partnership conference in Mombasa=
, Africa" style=3D"color:rgb(62,143,128);text-decoration:none">Open knowled=
ge at the Open Government Partnership conference in Mombasa, Africa=A0<abbr=
 title=3D"13.500000 is the YARPP match score between the current entry and =
this related entry. You are seeing this value because you are logged in to =
WordPress as an administrator. It is not shown to regular visitors." style=
=3D"border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dotted;border-bottom-color:=
rgb(153,153,153)">(13.5)</abbr></a>=A0Last =
week, the Open Knowledge Foundation had the pleasure of attending the Open =
Government Partnership conference in Mombasa, Kenya. Participants from all =
over Africa as well as the rest of the world convened to discuss transparen=
cy, citizen engagement and open...</li>

<li><a href=3D"http://blog.okfn.org/2011/10/31/making-the-open-government-p=
artnership-work/" rel=3D"bookmark" title=3D"Making the Open Government Part=
nership Work" style=3D"color:rgb(62,143,128);text-decoration:none">Making t=
he Open Government Partnership Work=A0<abbr title=3D"11.200000 is the YARPP=
 match score between the current entry and this related entry. You are seei=
ng this value because you are logged in to WordPress as an administrator. I=
t is not shown to regular visitors." style=3D"border-bottom-width:1px;borde=
r-bottom-style:dotted;border-bottom-color:rgb(153,153,153)">(11.2)</abbr></=
a>=A0The following guest post is by Matt Ro=
senberg, founder and editor of Public Data Ferret, a project of the non-pro=
fit Public Eye Northwest. In this special in-depth report, Matt looks at wh=
at it will take for the efforts of the...</li>

</ol></div></div><span style=3D"color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:&#39;Helvet=
ica Neue&#39;,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:20px;ba=
ckground-color:rgb(245,247,246)"><div><span style=3D"font-family:OpenSans,&=
#39;Helvetica Neue&#39;,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:24px;line-heig=
ht:30px"><b>Written by:=A0</b></span><a rel=3D"author" href=3D"http://okfn.=
org/members/kenneth-okwaroh/" title=3D"Kenneth Okwaroh" style=3D"font-famil=
y:OpenSans,&#39;Helvetica Neue&#39;,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:24=
px;line-height:30px;color:rgb(62,143,128);text-decoration:none"><b>Kenneth =
Okwaroh</b></a></div>

<div>Kenneth is a researcher and analys=
t with the=A0<a href=3D"http://www.devinit.org/" style=3D"color:rgb(62,143,=
128);text-decoration:none">Development Initiatives</a>=A0Africa Hub. He twe=
ets @Okwaroh

</div><div><span style=3D"color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:&#39;Helvetica Ne=
ue&#39;,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:20px;backgrou=
nd-color:rgb(245,247,246)"><br></span></div>Go to blog post: <a href=3D"htt=
p://blog.okfn.org/2013/06/17/africanising-the-open-government-partnership/"=
>http://blog.okfn.org/2013/06/17/africanising-the-open-government-partnersh=
ip/</a></span><br>

</div><div><span style=3D"color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:&#39;Helvetica Ne=
ue&#39;,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:20px;backgrou=
nd-color:rgb(245,247,246)"><br></span></div><div><p>--=A0</p><p>Christian V=
illum</p>

<p>Community Manager, Open Government Data +=A0Local Groups Network<br>skyp=
e: christianvillum =A0| =A0<a href=3D"http://www.twitter.com/villum" target=
=3D"_blank">@villum</a><br>The<a href=3D"http://okfn.org/" target=3D"_blank=
">=A0Open Knowledge Foundation</a><br>

<i>Empowering through Open Knowledge<br></i><a href=3D"http://okfn.org/" ta=
rget=3D"_blank">http://okfn.org/</a>=A0=A0|=A0<a href=3D"http://twitter.com=
/OKFN" target=3D"_blank">=A0 at okfn</a>=A0=A0|=A0<a href=3D"https://www.faceb=
ook.com/OKFNetwork" target=3D"_blank">=A0OKF on Facebook</a>=A0=A0|<a href=
=3D"http://blog.okfn.org/" target=3D"_blank">=A0=A0Blog</a>=A0=A0|<a href=
=3D"http://okfn.org/about/newsletter" target=3D"_blank">=A0=A0Newsletter</a=
></p>

</div></div></div>

--e89a8f6435a2337a7504df8049d4--