Improving the inclusivity of data systems, particularly working with local governments and actors to facilitate greater data use.
Development Initiatives
By partnering with local governments, supported by their national counterparts, Development Initiatives aims to plays a catalytic role in digital transformation through a focus on strengthening foundational data systems: if every registry office, primary healthcare facility and primary school has the human and technical capacity to collect digital data the national data ecosystem will be strengthened with a sustainable backbone. Furthermore, if the data collected is used, both by those who entered it and local government, a virtuous cycle is created: increased data use drives improved data quality which in turn generates quantity.
In many low-income countries large proportions of the population are restricted in their rights as citizens and in their access to essential services. A lack of legal identity is compounded by outdated or non-existent health and education systems. Not only does this impact on the quality of services available to citizens, but also on the ability of local government and their agencies to plan and deliver these services.
In Uganda, we are working with district governments and the national IT authority to improve the collection of parish-level data and the sharing of data between government departments and with citizens.
In Kenya, we are working to improve the cost-effectiveness of county-level health spending through the strengthening and rationalisation of health information systems so that it becomes possible to make realistic comparisons between financial inputs and health outcomes.
In all cases we seek to employ appropriate technologies that can be owned, managed and developed by local actors.
Improvements to the data ecosystem can be measured over time. Quantitatively this involves: the number of facilities collecting digital data; the timeliness and comprehensiveness of data collected; evidence of the integration of data sources; and the relationship between financial inputs and development outcomes. Qualitatively, this involves an assessment by practitioners and officials of data trustworthiness and citizens' confidence in understanding it.