Through DG’s Visualizing Insights on Fertilizer for African Agriculture (VIFAA) program, we recently published a case study titled “Fostering Sustainable Agriculture through Data-Driven Collaboration and Partnership: Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Nigeria.” It dives deep into how the VIFAA program has impacted the fertilizer data and markets in Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Nigeria. In this blog, we explore the overall impact that the VIFAA program is making, review why the program is needed, and offer some key highlights from the case study.        

Fertilizer Data in Context: Why the VIFAA Program is Needed 

Significantly contributing to low agricultural productivity, African fertilizer consumption has historically lagged behind other regions. As of January 2023, Africa consumes only about 10% of the global average for fertilizer use. Limited access to affordable fertilizers, inadequate infrastructure, and challenges related to financing and knowledge dissemination are some of the factors that contribute to this disparity. However, a concerted effort by governments, non-governmental organizations, and international agencies is gradually changing this situation by promoting sustainable agricultural practices and increasing fertilizer use, which overall will improve agricultural productivity and increase food security.

These efforts to boost fertilizer usage often include providing subsidies, improving distribution channels, and raising awareness among farmers about the benefits of fertilizers. Despite these initiatives, the sector has long struggled with fragmented data, leaving decision-makers without a solid foundation for evidence-based approaches.  

Over the past few years, stakeholders have adopted a more strategic and data-driven approach, fostering a better understanding of farmer needs and key data sets such as imports, exports, and crop-specific formulations. This shift has also encouraged organic trust-building between private enterprises and the governments in which they operate.

Robust partnerships have been instrumental in this transformation. The International Fertilizer Development Center’s Data Initiative, AfricaFertilizer, Development Gateway: An IREX Venture, and Wallace & Associates, supported by funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, have collaborated to enhance the availability of validated fertilizer data across eight African countries through a shared initiative: the VIFAA program. The VIFAA program simplifies existing, validated metadata into more accessible visual formats. VIFAA provides policymakers and the private sector tools to improve decision-making through interactive, country-specific dashboards and web-based solutions.

The VIFAA program has benefited the target countries and established foundational data for the African Union Commission’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme. Covering Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Senegal, Malawi, Zambia, and Mozambique, VIFAA has revolutionized the fertilizer data landscape. Policymakers can now instantly access fertilizer balance sheets, price movements, stock positions, and traded volumes. Private companies can stay agile in volatile markets, ensuring a consistent supply of fertilizers for farmers.

Highlights from the Case Study

Under the VIFAA program, three countries—Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Nigeria—have particularly stood out, registering significant impacts across the board. This case study, “Fostering Sustainable Agriculture through Data-Driven Collaboration and Partnership: Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Nigeria,” delves into the transformative effects of the VIFAA program in these three nations, providing a comprehensive understanding of its impact and highlighting the pivotal role of data and strategic partnerships in driving agricultural development in Africa.

Some key positive outcomes, which are explored in more detail in the case study, include how:

1. Developing a country-specific dashboard for Ethiopia addressed some of the country’s concerns related to ensuring stakeholders have clear information on the global fertilizer market dynamics and that this information is trustworthy and trusted;
2. Establishing Fertilizer Technical Working Groups in Mozambique created a primary point of validation on any statistics and the impact this has; and
3. Creating the Nigeria Fertilizer Dashboard facilitated private sector actors to crowdfund in order to support the creation of additional nuanced datasets that VIFAA has been able to provide during the past two years.

Read the case study to discover even more about VIFAA’s successes in these countries and to learn more about how initiatives like VIFAA pave the way for a more productive and sustainable agricultural future on the continent. 

Since Development Gateway: An IREX Venture’s (DG’s) founding, we have prioritized working closely with multiple stakeholders—including everyone from local technical experts to government ministries and global partners—when developing digital solutions and gathering data. Through our Tobacco Control Data Initiative (TCDI) program and its sister program Data on Youth and Tobacco in Africa (DaYTA), we have learned that creating governance structures, such as advisory boards or steering committees, is one approach to ensuring that digital solutions appropriately meet stakeholders’ needs and foster future engagement from them. In this blog, we explore three insights on how governance structures can advance buy-in with individual stakeholders while connecting them to one another.  

Why Governance Structures?

Governance structures—which are best practice to have when conducting primary research—have been essential to DG’s tobacco control work, because many of our stakeholders have indicated their desire to be included throughout program implementation and not just at the end. Several have echoed the common refrain: “You can’t do something for us without us.” We’ve also found that governance structures help coordinate collaboration across our stakeholders, especially since we have a group of stakeholders with very different backgrounds, expertise, and areas of interest in our tobacco control work. These stakeholders also all have different perspectives and varied ways in which they engage with our work. Therefore, DG has formed various governance structures in both our TCDI program and DaYTA program. 

The Role of Governance Structures in TCDI and DaYTA

DG formed two advisory boards in the first phase of TCDI: one in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and one in Zambia. These advisory boards ensure that stakeholders are updated when the program meets key milestones, including when data, needs assessments, and research protocol are validated; the boards also supported the launch of illicit trade studies in the DRC and in Zambia.

DG’s successful implementation of these governance structures in TCDI paved the way for the formation of the following governance bodies to support DaYTA:

• A new Advisory Board in the DRC (building off the one from TCDI),
• The Survey Implementation Group and the Youth Advisory Group in Nigeria, and
• The Research Advisory Committee in Kenya. 

All of these structures have a similar composition and a shared mandate; each one consists of a small group of technical experts who provide technical direction and advice on the research implementation on youth tobacco use in Kenya, Nigeria, and the DRC.

DG also formed a steering committee in the DRC. Its purview is more strategic and less technical relative to the advisory board; it is led by a high-level public official from DRC’s Ministry of Health and includes stakeholders from civil society organizations, government, academia, and partners in tobacco control (like the World Health Organization) who are working to align the research with government policy.

Additionally, to ensure coordination across countries, we also convened a meeting of the full DaYTA consortium with representatives from all three countries—in-person to start, then a mix of virtual and in-person at key program milestones.

These governance structures have proved successful in giving stakeholders a clearly defined space in which to engage—both in a country-specific and cross-country manner. As we’ve implemented and improved our approach to these governance structures across TCDI and DaYTA, we’ve gathered three insights on how these structures can be beneficial for stakeholders and project implementers alike.   

IREX and Development Gateway: An IREX Venture (DG) are pleased to announce their collaborative work on the USAID-funded Early Grade Education Activity (ASAS) program. The ASAS program, which launched in August 2023 and will run through July 2028, empowers stakeholders within Jordan’s Ministry of Education (MoE) and throughout the country to deliver inclusive and holistic early-grade (EG) education. The project is designed to improve numeracy and literacy skills for Jordanian students from kindergarten to grade three. 

Throughout the program’s implementation, IREX, which is spearheading the project, will improve early grade preservice education and in-service professional development for teachers, while DG will provide technical expertise and in-country field assistance to improve several education data systems. The program will facilitate improved access to timely, relevant, and high-quality data to inform strategic and meaningful education policies, practices, and reforms. This data is critical for EG education planning and will be used to evaluate core areas like school performance, student learning, teacher distribution, resource allocation, and training initiatives. It will also allow decision-makers to plan effective and practical interventions that will support student learning and development across Jordan, especially for underserved areas. Overall, the program will strengthen Jordan’s EG education data ecosystem and improve outcomes for public school students and teachers across the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

Other partners supporting the ASAS program include School-to-School International, Queen Rania Teacher Academy, the International Rescue Committee, and the Change Agent for Arab Development and Education Reform.

Increasing educational data system effectiveness

The ASAS program is necessary for enhancing how education sector data is used and improving interoperability between data and digital tools. Having accurate and easier-to-use data empowers stakeholders to advance data-driven practices that meet the needs of students, parents, and teachers. 

Stakeholders working in technical and coordination capacities within the MoE encounter frequent challenges relating to data access, quality, and scalability. Currently, the MoE uses three major education data systems to collect data on learning outcomes: school attendance, classroom assessments, and e-training for teachers and administrators. Making these three essential education data systems compatible with each other will address persistent problems related to data governance, sharing, management, and analysis. Addressing these issues will ultimately improve stakeholder coordination, prevent duplication in effort and other redundancies, and facilitate data-supported decision-making across the whole of the education sector.

ASAS moving forward

In the initial stage of the ASAS program, DG worked closely with stakeholders in Amman, Jordan to conduct a data landscape assessment of the existing education data to establish a comprehensive roadmap of stakeholder needs and priorities. 

Following this assessment, the ASAS program will:

• Launch a new early grades undergraduate program at three public universities that is aligned with international standards and in-service teacher training;
• Institutionalize EG data quality assurance processes and assessments;
• Review and rationalize diagnostic assessment tools to cover holistic childhood development;
• Analyze the cost-effectiveness of teacher professional development; and
• Strengthen data systems utilized by the MoE and learning capabilities. 

Development Gateway: An IREX Venture’s (DG’s) “At a Glance” series explores the highlights in DG’s white papers and other publications. In this installment of the series, we explore the white paper titled “Evidence-Informed Policymaking: Education Data-Driven Decision Mapping in Kenya and Senegal,” which was produced from a study exploring the education data systems in Kenya and Senegal. The study—which was done by DG in collaboration with our strategic partner IREX and supported by the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation—was conducted to ultimately inform further research and reform by gathering stories and perspectives from stakeholders to shed light on the complexities of education data supply, access, and utilization.

This work is essential because effective decision-making in education hinges on relevant, comparable, and accessible data that is managed through efficient information systems. These systems enable policymakers to discern effective strategies, optimize resources, monitor goal achievement, and foster trust. Therefore, well managed education data systems are key components for optimized education systems.  

In the study, DG and IREX underscore the necessity of a harmonized approach to education data management. By prioritizing data governance, incentivizing data use, and ensuring interoperability of existing systems, Kenya and Senegal can enhance their education data ecosystems. These steps are crucial for fostering informed decision-making, optimizing resources, and ultimately improving educational outcomes. The insights gained from this study provide a valuable roadmap for future reforms and investments in education data systems. 

Dive deeper into these insights and learn more about education data systems in Kenya and Senegal in the white paper.

Over the past year, Development Gateway: An IREX Venture (DG) has worked with the United Nations Convention against Desertification (UNCCD), the Great Green Wall (GGW) Accelerator, the Pan African Agency for the Great Green Wall  (PAGGW) and the 11 GGW state parties to build the Great Green Wall Observatory. 

The Great Green Wall Observatory is the first-ever attempt at a multi-stakeholder, multipurpose digital platform to monitor the progress of the GGW Initiative, which seeks to combat climate change in Africa’s Sahara and Sahel regions. By providing access to finance and project management data, the Great Green Wall Observatory allows individuals to have oversight over the GGW Initiative projects being implemented in their communities.   

By providing financial and project management information for the 11 GGW states, the Great Green Wall Observatory increases collaboration, accountability, and transparency on the activities and projects of the  GGW Initiative and informs  local and regional engagement between financial and technical stakeholders and frontline GGW communities. As an openly accessible data platform, the Great Green Wall Observatory opens up the possibilities for improved outcomes, coordination, and measurement of the  impact of the existing and future GGW initiatives and paves the way for other climate action projects to grow and expand, as existing ones succeed.

Creating the Great Green Wall Observatory: A Collaborative Approach 

When DG creates a digital solution, key prerequisites for the establishment and sustainability of data and information system are established. In building the Great Green Wall Observatory, we focused on the following metrics: 

• Standardized data indicators and definitions availed through the GGW Harmonized Results Indicator Framework;
• Institutional mandate provided by the PAGGW and the respective National Agencies for the GGW;
• A system and data governance framework, provided by the Multi-stakeholder Data Task Force of the GGW; and
• Adequate technical and human capacity (e.g., people who are present and engaged in the project).

For data indicators, DG integrated data on financing and monitoring and evaluation indicators that the World Bank and the Africa Development Bank published into the Observatory. This data was drawn from the Harmonized Results Management Framework that the PAGGW adopted in 2012 to provide guidance on the design and measurement of progress for the Great Green Wall of the Sahara and the Sahel. The existence of the data standards and definitions is a key component of the Observatory. 

A data governance framework had already been established through the GGW Data Task Force, which provided DG with a route for validating components of and co-creating the Observatory.

Finally, the GGW Initiative has a host of deeply engaged and invested partners who are eager to see the Initiative succeed. Some of partners with whom DG had the pleasure of collaborating included: UNCCD, World Food Programme (WFP),  Food Agriculture Organization (FAO), IFAD, CIFOR-ICRAF, Sahara and Sahel Observatory(OSS), World Resources Institute, SOS Sahel, European Investment Bank(EIB), GIZ, World Bank, French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development(IRD), and the Austrian Development Agency (ADA).

The development of the Observatory also greatly benefitted from the open-source data that the World Bank and the Africa Development Bank published through the World Bank Policy on Access to Information and the AFDB IATI Data Portal. This data has allowed the Observatory to be a more robust platform which can generate more precise information than it would have been able to without this data.

Through this project, DG has seen the importance of open and accessible data for global climate action. We encourage partners, colleagues, and stakeholders to commit to the provision of open climate action data as they are able, in order to allow greater collaboration, innovation, and success for climate action efforts. In order for us to truly combat climate change, we need open data and we need each other.

Next Steps

As we celebrate this milestone for the Great Green Wall Observatory, we look forward to continued collaboration and partnerships on capacity building across the board for continuous improvement, learning, and knowledge sharing. To support this capacity building, the first training in a series was held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso from May 27 and 31, 2024. Capacity building will be essential to help the teams maintain quality control and ensure continued data use from all GGW stakeholders—both of which are key ingredients for the sustainability of the platform.

DG will also offer continued technical support to the PAGGW team as they build country-specific data use cases on GGW data. Gathering these use cases will also allow the GGW leadership to make inclusive decisions that incentivize the participation from women and youth in GGW’s restoration and landscape management efforts. 

As the impetus to build digital public infrastructure (DPI) systems continues to gain momentum throughout Africa, efforts are needed to ensure African governments have the tools, knowledge, and skills to define and implement their own DPI priorities. Achieving success in this endeavor requires: (1) country-led efforts to ensure country-specific opportunities and limitations are addressed while creating DPIs; (2) cross-country collaborations and shared learning mechanisms; and (3) integrated and unified action from the continent, rather than fragmented efforts. Drawing from Development Gateway: An IREX Venture’s (DG’s) work in implementing country-specific digital solutions that support a cohesive approach across a given region or continent (e.g., DG’s work in tobacco control data and youth), we have identified five insights on how to go about implementing DPIs at the country-level while having a cohesive approach throughout Africa.

Current State of DPI in Africa: Strategy, Initiatives, Legislation, and Resources

Creating DPIs aligns with the continent’s strategic vision for Africa’s future; specifically, the overall objective of the African Union’s Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa (2020-2030) is to “harness digital technologies and innovation to transform African societies and economies to promote Africa’s integration, generate inclusive economic growth, stimulate job creation, break the digital divide, and eradicate poverty for the continent’s socio-economic development and ensure Africa’s ownership of modern tools of digital management.” With this strategy in mind, building country-led DPIs will help transform African societies by providing easier access to public goods and services. Cross-country learning and action will promote  a cohesive approach to implementing DPI in the Africa context further transforming African societies. 

Currently, DPI is taking center stage in several regional initiatives. One example is the 50-in-5 initiative​​ aimed at sharing learnings, best practices, and technologies that can support the implementation journeys for DPI and has commitments from Togo, Senegal, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, and Malawi. There have also been several country-level initiatives throughout Africa, including Uganda’s NBI/EGI project, Ghana’s ‘e-Transform,’ Zambia’s efforts to foster digital inclusion and the Open Government Partnership including digital governance in some country-level commitments, as seen in Kenya’s  Action Plan (2023 – 2027). 

Additionally, according to DIAL, countries including Kenya, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Rwanda, and Senegal have already developed legislation and policies around topics relevant to DPIs, such as digital transformation and digital economy.

Finally, several resources that can support developing or expanding DPIs already exist, including the Centre for Digital Public Infrastructure and GovStack.

Challenges to Implementing DPI across Africa  

While the appetite and resources available for rolling out DPI systems in Africa are strong, the continent will need to address unique infrastructure challenges which aren’t present in other regions. For example, the percentage of Africa’s Internet users (i.e., Internet penetration rate) is much lower at 36% compared to Asia’s rate of 67.4% and compared to states in the European Union, which is an 89% rate. According to the World Bank, “[i]ncreased accessibility to broadband services, accompanied by enhanced affordability and service quality, leads to higher inclusion.” Therefore, to have DPI systems that truly serve residents, African states must prioritize Internet connectivity to achieve inclusion. 

In addition to the challenges faced throughout Africa, certain regions of Africa may face unique obstacles. For example, according to the World Bank, sub-Saharan Africa faces an underdeveloped digital infrastructure, inaccessible and unaffordable Internet connectivity, a gender gap, and other region-specific issues that could present a challenge to developing DPIs.  

In order for African countries to inclusively and equitably offer digital services at a societal scale, the continent must: align existing digital frameworks that are well-defined at the subnational, national, regional, and continental levels in order to address exclusion due to infrastructure challenges. Here are five insights that may support such efforts.

Five Insights on Building Country-Level DPI Systems to Support a Continental Approach

1. Countries should build DPIs from already existing frameworks, approaches, and initiatives in order to avoid duplicating and sidelining the progress African countries have made towards digital transformation. This can be achieved at the country-level by conducting landscaping assessments that will give a holistic understanding of the country’s existing data and digital ecosystem, regulatory frameworks, underlying existing systems, mandates, and skill gaps.
   
   At DG, we use the CALM assessment methodology to conduct data landscape assessments and recommend data and digital solutions that will benefit societies, especially children, women, and other underserved populations. We also adapt our open source solutions, like DG’s Aid Management Platform and Open Contracting Portal, for new contexts in order to address some of the needs identified from the assessment.
2. Africa should take a step-by-step, country-led approach that acknowledges digital sovereignty for countries to determine how best to build and implement their DPIs  based on their own context and priorities. This approach can include either scaling already existing solutions, private sector investments in infrastructure, and/or complementing physical access to cater to infrastructure barriers. An example of complementing physical access is in Rwanda where the government established kiosks where citizens can use mobile money transfers to sell and load public transport cards.
3. Countries should ensure that available resources are channeled to the most pressing needs. With all the currently available support and expertise, African governments must be strategic in how they own and drive DPI implementation.
4. Expertise should be built at the country-level in both the private sector and in government. These expertise can help ensure the sustainability of DPIs beyond the technical and financial support provided via all the currently available initiatives and help maintain the digital infrastructure and its use.
5. Foster cross-country collaboration and learning. Cross-country collaboration and learning mechanisms can be used to ensure DPI implementation at the country and regional level upholds Africa’s broader digital principles of safeguarding human rights, upholding security, and ensuring equitable access and sharing of benefits. Fortunately, Africa has several regional policy frameworks that countries can leverage as they build their DPIs, including the AU Data Policy Framework; the AU Convention on Cybersecurity and Personal Data Protection; the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights; the AfCFTA Agreement; and the African Union’s Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa (2020-2030). 

Next Steps

Across Africa, DG has made it a priority to ensure data and digital solutions are tailored to specific country needs and always with the final person using the system in mind; DPIs provide an opportunity to do this on a new scale. Working through our hubs in West and East Africa, DG continues to support governments in prioritizing digital systems that fit citizen needs and ecosystem approaches that ensure cross-country learning and cohesion.  

Stay tuned for the next installments of this DPI series in which we’ll explore practical approaches to rolling out DPIs; impactful use cases; challenges and solutions to implementing DPI; and more!

The Summit for Democracy recently convened in Seoul, South Korea, continuing US President Joe Biden’s global push for strengthening democracy in a year of many elections and challenges to democracy. The Summit featured a number of high-level discussions and breakout sessions, bringing together hundreds of participants from democratic governments, civil society, and the private sector to focus on the most pressing issues facing democracy. Development Gateway: An IREX Venture (DG) led a session on national commitments to technology as a driver for strengthening democracy and combating corruption. Our panel of experts from diverse specializations discussed specific recommendations to improve safe technology use to strengthen democracy. From that conversation, three important insights stood out. 

1. A greater focus on increasing youth participation in democratic processes is needed.

Meaningfully engaging young people into democratic processes requires progress beyond appointment in superficial roles, such as those found in non-power-wielding advisory boards. This limited engagement has perpetuated a broader neglect of youth involvement in addressing political issues, exacerbating the dearth of young voices in global discussions on democracy. Additionally, this inaction likely exacerbates the existing problem of the notable shift in youth perceptions towards democracy, particularly evident on the African continent. Corruption plays an evident role here—people who have lost trust in their government are less likely to actively engage with it. To effectively bring more youth to the table, it is imperative to demonstrate the relevance and value of democratic principles in their lives and establish meaningful opportunities for them to participate in decision-making processes. 

2. Holistic, innovative approaches are needed to combat corruption.

Acknowledging that corruption transcends borders and state bounds, there is a pressing need for strategies that go beyond addressing single sectors. More advocacy is needed in taking a whole-of-government approach to government processes, such as procurement processes and processes to implement essential digital public infrastructure. Dismantling siloed practices in government and fostering transparency across sectors will enable more effective and cooperative accountability. 

Furthermore, we cannot underestimate the importance of technical assistance in combating corruption within the framework of global accountability initiatives. Technology can be a key component to a country’s fight against corruption, yet there persists a pervasive technical skill and capacity gap that makes it challenging for governments to take advantage of the tools available to them. Governments and their partners must equip themselves with the necessary technical expertise to modernize traditional systems, effectively addressing the evolving landscape of digital-based corruption and safeguarding democratic processes from external interference.

3. Technological challenges and data privacy must be considered. 

While we’ve established the potential for technology to aid governments in combating corruption, there are also risks in the adaptation of some emerging technology. There is a growing acknowledgment of both the influence and complexities inherent in platforms like TikTok and other social media platforms, which wield significant power in shaping narratives and disseminating information, particularly among youth. While these platforms can offer unparalleled reach and engagement, they are also at increased risk for misinformation and the amplification of certain, generally more privileged voices over others. Moreover, there is a crucial conversation surrounding the importance of safeguarding data privacy and storage, particularly within the context of elections and advancements in artificial intelligence. As digital technologies continue to play an increasingly prominent role in political discourse and decision-making processes, ensuring robust safeguards for data privacy becomes paramount in upholding the integrity and fairness of democratic systems.

Reflecting on the third Summit for Democracy 

So what have we learned? In an age of rampant disinformation, we are aligned in the pressing need to prioritize voter education as a means of safeguarding freedom and fostering informed decision-making among citizens. We also need to make real progress towards youth-focused initiatives and youth-driven digital ecosystems, essential for sustaining the engagement of the next generation in upholding democratic values, and indeed, for the very survival of democracy itself. Additionally, we still must broaden our perspective beyond the national level, recognizing the significant role of city governments and civil society operating at subnational levels in propelling meaningful change. Often overlooked, these entities and their partnerships play a crucial role in translating national commitments into tangible actions that bolster democracy at the grassroots level.

Lastly, the coalitions developed during the Summit for Democracy must be continuously engaged in order to stay useful. This will help avoid fragmentation and reduce the strain of resources being spread thin as funding partners support civic action for democracy. As we look ahead to the Summit for the Future, more effective global cooperation will be critical to address the many challenges facing our world.

Development Gateway: An IREX Venture (DG) is pleased to announce that—with support from Accountability Lab (AL)—we’re developing an open-source AI tool that we hope to register as a Digital Public Good and can be used by those fighting corruption as they develop innovative digital tools. The need for the tool was identified in DG’s work with AL’s HackCorruption initiative. 

Once the tool is developed, users will be able to extract data from various types of documents. Having an open source tool for this type of work is essential to anti-corruption efforts because a lack of machine-readable data that cannot be easily aggregated adds to the opacity that can hide corruption. This tool will increase accessibility of and transparency around hard-to-access information, which will advance accountability. 

Why develop this tool?

The need for this tool was identified as part of DG’s work with HackCorruption regional hackathon teams. Several teams that participated in the South America hackathon in April 2023 discovered that they were limited in the work they could do by not having access to free tools to scrape information from documents, including government contracts. Having access to this sort of information allows anti-corruption tools to aggregate,  monitor, and identify potential corruption. 

Acting as a mentor to several of these teams, DGer Gabriel Inchauspe knew such AI tools exist, but none of them are open source and therefore, anti-corruption workers are limited in accessing them. Inchauspe and DGer Kelley Sams then collaborated with AL to obtain funding and define the scope of a project to create such a tool, which will support and ease the administrative burden faced by anti-corruption workers.

What will the tool do?

The AI tool—a beta version of which DG plans to launch by the end of 2024—will be based on publicly available source code and will be trained on ethically sourced data, with multiple rounds of testing done to ensure that the tool is statistically unlikely to produce non-existent or inaccurate information (i.e., hallucinate). 

In the first phase of developing the tool, it will be able to capture information from documents in English that are in a standardized format (e.g., pdf, JSON, Excel, OpenContracting formatting, etc.). A planned second phase is to expand the tool to be able to extract information from documents or photo files that are handwritten and/or contain languages other than English, including those using non-Roman alphabets. 

In addition to our long history of creating and implementing technical solutions to advance transparency, DG is uniquely positioned to develop this tool given our previous success in ensuring digital solutions are used and supported for years after development. After all, many tools in the anti-corruption space exist or are being created, but fewer are used and scaled. As we develop this tool, DG is committed to ensuring the tool’s design and usability are responsive to anti-corruption workers’ needs and ultimately, strengthen anti-corruption and accountability efforts.

Stay tuned for more as the tool is developed! 

Since partnering with Accountability Lab (AL) on HackCorruption in 2023, staff from Development Gateway: An IREX Venture (DG) and AL have mentored teams from the regional hackathons organized by AL’s HackCorruption initiative, which is aimed at leveraging innovative digital tools to identify and fight corruption. After serving as mentors to teams selected from the regional hackathons, DGers Gabriel Inchauspe and Kelley Sams along with AL’s David Sada have identified three “hacks” to mentoring anti-corruption change-makers  and ultimately, furthering transparency and accountability through the creation and use of digital tools.

1. Create a culture of anti-corruption

By organizing these  hackathons, HackCorruption aims for teams to develop technical solutions and approaches that combat corruption and that can be implemented and scaled. However, beyond these digital tools, the heart of the mission is to strengthen the culture of anti-corruption in the regions where the hackathons are held as well as transnationally. The mentorship team found that they need to remind mentees (and themselves) that while political, technical, or resource limitations can ultimately prevent teams from scaling their tools, strengthening anti-corruption culture is the most fundamental success in fighting corruption. After all, building a culture of anti-corruption work creates an environment that allows other anti-corruption efforts and initiatives to exist and flourish.

2. Clearly define the project scope and keep returning to it

Inchauspe, Sada, and Sams found that teams would sometimes deviate from the original idea they developed in the hackathons, as they faced roadblocks or problems. While projects can be adapted in response to barriers, the mentorship team encouraged their mentees to closely consider how their project was changing and why. Inchauspe, Sada, and Sams encouraged teams to ensure that their new ideas still met all requirements for the project (e.g., the solution had a transnational application as well as a regional or local one) and appropriately contributed to anti-corruption efforts (and wasn’t simply a cool technical tool). 

As projects advanced or were changed, the mentorship team also helped the winning teams ensure that they were collaborating with everyone with whom they needed to be working. For example, some teams weren’t as strong in technical development skills. Depending on the scope of the project, the mentorship team would advise these teams in subcontracting with technical developers. Inchauspe, Sada, and Sams ensured their mentees retained ownership of their projects by encouraging them to circle back to the original ideas proposed during the hackathon and communicating their vision clearly to subcontractors.

In addition to helping teams as they worked with partners, the mentorship team also ensured their mentees advanced their project management skills. After seeing one or two team members move forward with certain types of work while others didn’t know what to do, Inchauspe, Sada, and Sams encouraged teams to have different tasks assigned to each team member at any given time in order to ensure all aspects of the project were moving forward.

David Sada at a HackCorruption event.

3. Be open minded and aware of contextual differences

Just as the mentorship team had to ensure their mentees were approaching their project with technical, project management, and analytical skills, they also had to ensure that their own experiences and backgrounds weren’t limiting their mentees. 

Because each winning team was composed of individuals with different personalities who were working in a specific cultural and political context, the mentorship team learned to embrace these differences. Regarding personality differences, the mentorship team found that it was essential to identify how best each team member works, what excites and motivates them, and what they need to successfully move forward with their ideas. These discoveries were made by being in close communication with each team member and matching these discoveries against the needs of the team as a whole. 

To embrace the constraints of different political contexts, the mentorship team encouraged their mentees to understand that whatever steps can be taken in a non-receptive political system is a step toward cultural—if not institutional—capacity building for anti-corruption work. Circling back to the first hack identified above, Inchauspe, Sada, and Sams found that the most important thing isn’t if the teams are successful in implementing their technical solutions, but it’s that they keep going despite any barriers they may encounter. As part of this process Inchauspe, Sada, and Sams emphasized the need to understand the context where the solution would be implemented and the importance of adapting to what users really need.

Kelley Sams and Gabriel Inchauspe at a HackCorruption event.

What’s next?

In addition to offering mentorship to the selected teams, DG and AL will continue their collaboration by joining conversations at the policy-level on digital tools and corruption as well as developing an AI tool that DG plans to register  as a digital public good and can be used by those wanting to build anti-corruption solutions. With the most recent hackathon in SE Asia, climate financing played a particularly important role, and DG and AL look forward to joining broader conversations about how digital tools can contribute to preventing and combating corruption related to climate financing efforts. 

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — March 2024

On January 25, 2024, the governing committee—which includes Ethiopia’s Livestock State Minister Dr. Fikru Regassa—endorsed a comprehensive set of standards to guide the collection, storage, and maintenance of livestock data in Ethiopia (i.e., a data standard) that was developed through the a Livestock Information Vision Ethiopia (aLIVE) program, which the committee advises. The data standard specifically focuses on standardizing data on cattle, sheep, goats, and camels. This is a huge milestone for Ethiopia, a country with the largest livestock population in Africa.

Following 12 months of dedicated work and validation by a wide range of livestock stakeholders, the endorsement of the Livestock Data Standard marks a major milestone for both the program and for data management within Ethiopia’s livestock sector. This milestone was reached thanks to the efforts of team members and leadership at Development Gateway: An IREX Venture (DG) and Ethiopia’s Ministry of Agriculture (MoA); with our partners, including the Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC) and International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) as well as at least 19 other partner organizations; and with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Standardization of data collection and management is crucial to enhance the quality, availability, and usability of livestock data across various information systems in the country. Implementing this standardization involves the development of and adherence to common definitions, formats, indicators, and protocols for collecting, processing, storing, and sharing livestock data among stakeholders. One significant advantage of data standardization is the enhanced interoperability of information systems which enables seamless and secure communication and data exchange between different systems. Creating system interoperability is a key component of the aLIVE program. 

Establishing a comprehensive data standard is the first major accomplishment in the aLIVE program’s ultimate goal to build an interoperable platform consolidating livestock data for better data-driven decision-making in Ethiopia. Much of Ethiopia’s livestock data collection and management systems are incomplete and inconsistent, because they have been built and adapted independently of one another. In order to address the problem of fragmentation in Ethiopia’s livestock data, the aLIVE project is enhancing the interoperability of five core livestock data systems: ADNIS, DOVAR II, ETLITS, NLMIS and AADGG.

Ultimately, setting data standards for the livestock sector will better allow for the analysis of livestock data for planning, monitoring, evaluation, and learning purposes—which is vital in a country where agriculture is a critical part of the economy, accounting for about 40% of gross domestic product and 80% of exports. 

Streamlining Ethiopia’s Livestock Data to Advance Agricultural Prosperity

In addition to the benefits to Ethiopians, developing a standardized and interoperable livestock information system in Ethiopia can bring numerous benefits to the livestock sector itself. For instance, animal registration can help establish the identity, ownership, traceability, and health status of individual animals or groups of animals, leading to improved animal health management, disease control, breeding programs, and market access. Market data plays a crucial role in providing valuable insights into the supply, demand, prices, quality, and trends of livestock products and services. By analyzing this data, market efficiency, competitiveness, transparency, and profitability can be enhanced for both producers and traders. Similarly, health data is instrumental in improving animal health monitoring and safeguarding public health from animal-borne diseases. 

Co-Design and Collaboration: How the Livestock Data Standard was Developed

In order to develop the data standards, the aLIVE team held a series of co-design workshops in 2023 with the MoA, the five core livestock data system owners, and key stakeholders in the livestock sector.  

The team also held one-on-one meetings with the system owners to understand starting points and priorities for the data standards. In these meetings, the team gained an understanding of the overall data entry fields and the data collection process. The team was also able to reach preliminary agreements regarding the changes required in each data system in order to implement the new standards. After these meetings, a data standard task force (DSTF) was established comprising owners of the five priority systems, experts working with data on these systems, and staff from the MoA ICT directorate.

The aLIVE team then developed the initial data standard document by adopting international data standards (including standards from the International Committee for Animal Recording and World Organisation for Animal Health) and contextualizing the data standard to fit the data ecosystem of Ethiopia’s livestock sector.

The aLIVE program held its first data standard task force consultation workshop in Adama, Ethiopia in May 2023, during which the team presented the draft data standard document for review and feedback from various key stakeholders from across the livestock sector, including representatives from across the MoA, the Ministry of Trade & Regional Integration, the International Livestock Research Institute, and many other agriculture institutions. This feedback was then incorporated into the document, playing an important role in shaping the focus of the standards to fit stakeholder needs. For example, one key piece of feedback received was that it was important to place equal emphasis on species such as camels, goats, and sheep, in addition to cattle, which previously had been the primary focus. This feedback was particularly valuable as it prompted us to include standards in new areas, including animal grading and body conformation scores across all four species.

The second round of the DSTF workshop was held in July 2023, where the second draft was reviewed and further comments and feedback were collected. The document was then finalized at a validation workshop in November 2023.

Next Steps

The next phase in this process is familiarization and adoption of the Livestock Data Standard throughout Ethiopia’s livestock value chain. To help with this, the team is developing a data standard implementation guideline to serve as a roadmap for successfully implementing the livestock data standard across the five core livestock data systems. By following these guidelines, stakeholders can improve data collection and interoperability across systems, resulting in more efficient analysis and utilization of integrated data.