An effective open data system will transform the lives of people by allowing them to make better decisions, a consultant on Open Data has said in Freetown this week.
Ms Jeanne Holm, a professor in Civic Innovation and Data Science at the University of California, US, who is heading a team of World Bank consultants on the mission to help Sierra Leone assess its readiness for the open data initiative, said that her findings revealed a readiness on the part of the authorities, but that obstacles like lack of access to internet and electricity constituted major challenges.
Open data is the idea of making data freely available to everyone to use and republish as they wish. It is being promoted as a good governance principle.
The World Bank, through its Open Aid Partnership (OAP), is working with the Sierra Leonean government through the Ministry of Information and Communication and the Rights to Access Information Commission to enhance the country’s open data initiative, which was launched since 2013.
The team of consultants is to provide guidance on how to design, implement and manage an open data initiative and make recommendations on key strategic actions to ensure the sustainability of the Open Data Portal launched in May this year.
Another concern of the consultant is the existence of a Secrecy Act in Sierra Leone, which prevents government officials to divulge information to citizens.
Ms Holm also said the recent experience with the 2014 Ebola outbreak provided a justification for an Open Data system.
She explained that the effectiveness in containing the spread of the virus depended on availability of information on the number of cases which guided the nation on the goal of attaining zero cases before being declared free of the epidemic.
“When people and businesses get access to data, they can do their jobs better and make better decisions,” she said.
Friday November 20, 2015
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