Developing Data? Markets and Politics in a Digital Age

Digital data has become hugely valuable. The proliferation of mobile phones, digital financial services, and social media are transforming markets and politics in Africa, providing opportunities for new jobs and enterprises, as well as improved government services. However, there are considerable risks and impediments, including a lack of digital capacity, the spectres of surveillance and misinformation, and the deteriorating quality of work-life balance. Whether African firms, states, and populations can harness data for their own developmental purposes, and to what effect, requires collaborative engagement across sectors and countries.

This project will create a network comprised of academics, industry, civil society, and policymakers in order to analyse the transformations which are taking place as a result of digital data. The network will focus on two main themes - developing data markets and data politics - to capture the wide-ranging opportunities and challenges present in Africa. The network will also consider the regulation of data and the digital skills ecosystem, two areas that cut across both themes. It will focus on three countries - Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda - during the first phase of the project, with a plan to expand continent-wide if funded for the second phase.

The network will promote knowledge exchange, capacity building, and future research collaborations between members. These activities will be particularly prominent at the network's two workshops, which will be organised with our partner organisations in East Africa. The first, covering the theme of Developing Data Markets, will be hosted by the Centre for Intellectual Property & Information Technology at Strathmore University in Nairobi, Kenya. We will examine how digital data is furthering the creation of new sorts of businesses and what challenges come from the capture and sale of personal data. It will involve the participation of UK industry and, among other activities, will create opportunities for market exploration and skills transfer. The second will be run by the Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East & Southern Africa (CIPESA) in Kampala, Uganda and will focus on the theme of "Governing (with) Data". It will focus on the use of digital data by government, political parties, and civil society, as well as questions about emerging regulatory structures.

During both events, attendees will work to identify gaps in knowledge and to create a future research agenda. Other network activities will include creating a video series, which will involve interviews with a range of experts on digital data in East Africa and project members explaining basic concepts relating to data, to help make the field more accessible. In preparation for each workshop, the network will create a landscape analysis that will map what is known and what opportunities exist for new research and innovation. The project will manage a website and publish articles in East African online publications, in order to circulate knowledge about recent data-related developments.

The project has also set aside specific time for writing a proposal for phase two of the DIDA call, with the aim of using 2020 to build the basis for a transformative project on digital data across Africa.

This project has been designed to directly benefit the work of (1) industry in East Africa and the UK and (2) civil society and regulators that are concerned with the mitigation of risks associated with digital data.

Through the network, businesses will be able to share valuable knowledge and connections in order to foster growth and create new opportunities. This process will include exposure to the latest academic research on digital data in East Africa. The project's first workshop, on Developing Digital Data, at the Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Technology at Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya, will prove particularly useful to this group. It will be attended by representatives of UK industry, especially the Edinburgh-based Data-Driven Innovation Initiative, which brings the potential for skills transfer and new partnerships. Members of this group will also benefit from the video series, which will include interviews with people working in the data industry. Our network's Advisory Board includes representatives from East Africa's start-up scene, as well as multinational technology and financial firms, whose influence on our activities will expand the impact. Our focus on mentoring and the informal networking in the project will connect junior technologists and entrepreneurs with seasoned professionals who can provide guidance, new opportunities, and partnerships.

Civil society and regulators concerned with the use of digital data and its governance will also benefit from this project. In a fast-moving topic such as digital data -- where technical innovations and regulatory changes occur rapidly -- forums for the sharing of information are especially important. This network will incorporate civil society organisations that focus on the negative effects of using and regulating data, and other groups with similar concerns, such as ICT regulators, electoral management bodies, election observers, and political parties, and allow them to share contacts, information, and strategies. They will be particularly interested in the workshop on how data remakes states, citizens, and elections, to be hosted by CIPESA in Kampala, Uganda. Across East Africa, governments are moving to manage the transformations brought about by data, introducing new laws such as Uganda's social media tax, Kenya's new data protection law, and Tanzania's electronic communications regulations. These rules have been met with mixed views, and our network will provide space to discuss models for regulation that can further the aspirations for digital data to provide sustainable development to the region. Given that there are a similar set of challenges in each of these countries, this will facilitate significant South-South capacity building and help to establish cross-border communication between the organisations. The landscape analyses created to guide the workshops will provide a state-of-the-art assessment of what work is being done and what opportunities for new research and innovation are available. By working to strengthen groups that aim to mitigate some of the negative impacts of data use in East Africa, the project can ultimately result in benefits for those citizens who are currently being affected by these issues.