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An evaluative learning study of the Ghana Open Data Initiative

School of International Development, University of East Anglia (DEVCo)




Project type Research 



Country Ghana 



Support £75,000



In partnership with Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana)
“The Ghana Open Data Initiative aims to make public government data available in reusable formats to create business opportunities, drive innovation and promote transparency in government transactions.”
Start date
October 2015
End date
December 2016
Period: 15 months

Issue

The Ghana Open Data Initiative (GODI) aims to strengthen participatory democracy and promote efficiency, transparency and accountability in different sectors (e.g. health, education, business) and levels of the country’s government.

Part of this initiative is the development of mobile and web apps for Ghanaian and world markets: so far, seven have been developed.

However, it appears that these have had limited success to date, and it is not clear that the open data available is reaching those who need it.

Project

Working directly with GODI staff, and conducting in-depth case studies of the existing apps, the project will examine the ways in which these have been used, identifying barriers and enablers to their success.

This will provide insights into how the initiative can be developed and how it should be focused going into its next phase.

Partner

DEVCo is a leading global centre of excellence in research and teaching in international development. Committed to making a real difference in the world, its academics regularly advise on policy on major global challenges such as poverty reduction and environmental sustainability.

CDD-Ghana is an independent, non-partisan and non-profit organisation based in Accra. It is dedicated to the promotion of society and government based on the rule of law, appropriate checks on the power of the state, and integrity in public administration.This will provide insights into how the initiative can be developed and how it should be focused going into its next phase.

Learning

This project was cancelled before completion.