[CODATA-international] Digital Feudalism

Kiringai Kamau kiringai.kamau at godan.info
Wed Oct 16 12:48:50 EDT 2019


Thanks, Alex for yours!

Your discussion makes the reason to have a more focused discourse among
stakeholders which this platform provides part of. It would make good sense
to align this with some of the data think Tanks and present the case for
in-depth analysis for a continental level discussion. We are gearing for
the ACFTA, which will drive intra-Africa Trade. Investment in
infrastructure is definitely critical for this.

The GODAN Africa Agenda is to promote a concensus on an Open data paradigm
that anonymizes data for access, use and reuse for innovation.
Intra-country data needs to be as raw as the users may seek to do. It makes
sense for each country to plan its own strategy on hosting, but GODAN
supports countries think through the internal processes. Alone, however, we
are not able to do it which is why we are a network to work with those who
share our vision of making evidence available for decision making using
data openness.

The best locale for the kind of discussion we seem to hold is at the AU or
ECA, who could kick start the discussions then regions and countries can
take that forward but from the perspective of breaking the big pan African
challenge into smaller achievable milestones. If we do have any
representatives of the AU, ECA, or any institutional initiatives that
believe in the goal of GODAN, in this forum, kindly inbox me so that we can
side chat on the possibilities.

Sincerely,

Kiringai

This discu

On Wed, Oct 16, 2019 at 5:21 PM Alex de Sherbinin <
adesherbinin at ciesin.columbia.edu> wrote:

> Dear Kiringai,
>
> Thanks for your thoughtful response. I don't think that the cloud makes
> in-country or regional investments in the establishment of data
> repositories redundant. A repository could use the cloud for storage or
> backup and still require domain expertise for the curation, documentation
> and stewardship of data according to community standards. Note that the
> CoreTrustSeal certification requires repositories to identify their domain
> and mission, which is considered critical for understanding the needs of
> the user community.
>
> One of the issues I have with the current approach to putting data in open
> repositories (Dryad, Figshare, etc.) is that the data are often not well
> documented (unless accompanied by a journal article) or discoverable, e.g.
> through catalog searches. Something else I've encountered in Africa is a
> reluctance by national governments to entrust their data to cloud services
> hosted in Europe or North America. There may really be no threat to data
> security or breaches at all, but there is a perception that such a threat
> exists or that this is a form of neo-colonialism (exportation of data).
> Lastly, someone else raised the issue that the cloud requires monthly fees.
> Unfortunately this may represent an obstacle to donors, who can pay for
> infrastructure but not necessarily monthly fees. Perhaps those policies can
> be changed in recognition of the new reality. Or perhaps a
> continental/regional approach could mean that a repository is supported by
> fees coming from multiple member countries.
>
> I am not opposed to a continental/regional approach to data repositories,
> but where do we begin? With the AOSP? The African Union? And is it just one
> big open repository serving all domains from health to agriculture to
> climate or biological sciences, or could we envision various domain
> repositories being set up with core funding serving continental or regional
> needs (say under the umbrella of ECOWAS or CILSS in the West African
> context)?
>
> In any case - I wanted to make this point to the group at large, in case
> others have thoughts. I would like to follow up with you for some more
> discussions on possible GODAN-WDS collaboration in the region.
>
> Alex
>
> On Sun, Oct 13, 2019 at 12:56 AM Kiringai Kamau <kiringai.kamau at godan.info>
> wrote:
>
>> Alex,
>>
>> As you well mention, the Cloud makes in-country investments redundant.
>> and may to some extent be unnecessary. As Africa moves to centralize rather
>> than decentralize within the Continental Free Trade Area and the Malabo
>> Agendas, we may want to think of Africa's open data space as the policy
>> environment where much of what emerges from your workshop/conference will
>> get better mileage for realization.
>>
>> GODAN's Africa Agenda is to support a melting pot of innovation using
>> data. It is my view that once data is openly available, the temptation of
>> taking it away to any place or location after a project is done becomes
>> unnecessary. We make a deal of data theft because someone having it has
>> better mileage in what they can propose to us...what if everyone has
>> access, can use and reuse the data for innovation-based not on information
>> asymmetry but rather on their ingenuity?
>>
>> If we could do this, then the pan African institutions would focus on
>> what brings development rather than other parochial interests...investment
>> would be promoted and development achieved.
>>
>> I would be keen to discuss with your team on the possibilities of moving
>> to a more centralized open data space that can inspire innovation as we
>> work together within the GODAN Agenda. Unfortunately, we shall be finishing
>> the Africa Geospatial Data and Internet Conference in Accra at the time
>> yours kicks off.
>>
>> Inbox me for further discussion on how we can work together.
>>
>> Kiringai,
>>
>> On Sat, Oct 12, 2019 at 9:53 PM Alex de Sherbinin <
>> adesherbinin at ciesin.columbia.edu> wrote:
>>
>>> This conversation offers a good opportunity to make everyone aware of a
>>> conference coming up on 23-25 October in Dakar: "Open Science in the South:
>>> Issues and Perspectives for a New Dynamic"
>>> https://opensciencesud.sciencesconf.org/.
>>>
>>> At this conference I am co-organizing with a colleague from WDS (Arona
>>> Diedhou) and partners from Agrhymet, Centre de Suivi Ecologique and WASCAL
>>> a workshop on developing West African research data repositories. One of
>>> the arguments I plan to make is that the absence of national / regional
>>> repositories, along with policies in countries requiring repatriation of
>>> data (or at least maintenance of a copy in country), there will continue be
>>> a lack of "restitution" of research findings and development project data
>>> in the region. I'd be happy to know if others are making such arguments, or
>>> if indeed in the age of the cloud this seems too parochial. Obviously this
>>> would require training and funding.  If anyone can point me to initiatives
>>> that would support this effort, that would be most welcome.  I am hoping to
>>> convince IRD, the lead organizer, that investment in this area would be a
>>> tangible output from the conference.
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>> Alex de Sherbinin
>>> vice chair, WDS scientific committee
>>>
>>> On Sat, Oct 12, 2019 at 9:42 AM Kiringai Kamau <
>>> kiringai.kamau at godan.info> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Kassim, Niek
>>>>
>>>> As you rightly say, most of the projects are undertaken from a top-down
>>>> perspective, with limited sharing of knowledge among all the actors ... the
>>>> beneficiaries rarely get to see the definition of the mission and the
>>>> impatience to get started by those coming with the project funds creates no
>>>> opportunity for any preparedness among the beneficiary partners. Where
>>>> knowledgeable persons exist, they may only be hosted within institutions.
>>>> In many cases, such institutions are not core/key actors in the
>>>> problem/project definition. They are only invited, by a higher privileged
>>>> office/officer, when everything has been defined and pathways of
>>>> implementation determined at a political level they cannot question.
>>>> Economic or political interests are the pathways that those with interests
>>>> use to take advantage of a system they may know presents the opportunity to
>>>> give them leeway to mine data for their use and leave with it. The projects
>>>> therefore are not defined with any other intention other than the data
>>>> sourcing for a song and empty promises by those portending to possess the
>>>> knowledge that will develop a beneficiary country.
>>>>
>>>> Realizing this challenge, the Global Open Data for Agriculture and
>>>> Nutrition convened with ministers of the South-South an Open Data
>>>> Conference in Nairobi where a Declaration was formulated. We are currently
>>>> supporting African countries to evolve policies and frameworks that can
>>>> advise compliance to national, regional and global agendas and in the
>>>> process build local capacity key of which is data governance. I am
>>>> convinced that we can sport feudal inclinations on behalf of partner
>>>> countries in projects and therefore request anyone formulating a project
>>>> that they feel should be bottom-up and create local knowledge should link
>>>> up with GODAN through Suchith or myself (in case your area of focus is
>>>> Africa).
>>>>
>>>> Thanks, Suchith for sharing the Feudalism concerns.
>>>>
>>>> Kiringai Kamau
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Sat, Oct 12, 2019 at 10:16 AM Mwitondi, Kassim <K.Mwitondi at shu.ac.uk>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> This is an instance of a biased data ownership. A few years ago I was
>>>>> working with a young African researcher on an agro-forestry research
>>>>> project. No sooner had we started than I realused that her centre had only
>>>>> some descriptive statistics but no direct access to the biomass data which
>>>>> she and her colleagues had spent months collecting from two islands! The
>>>>> vast chunk of the data had left with the development partners at the end of
>>>>> the project. It turned out, nobody at the centre had any knowledge or
>>>>> pressing interest to pursue the data and there was already new initiatives
>>>>> to run another project, which in my view was almost a duplicate of the
>>>>> first, but this time with a different development partner.
>>>>>
>>>>> To cut the long story short, I have come across several cases of data
>>>>> ownership of this nature and my view is that it doesn't help much coining
>>>>> terminologies, as the best that can be achieved is a blame culture. Would I
>>>>> call that data capitalism? Colonialism? Feudalism? I never would! I have
>>>>> learnt, over the years, that proper problem identification is a major
>>>>> stride in working out the solution. Blaming it on one part marginalizing
>>>>> the other when it comes to data generation, access and ownership is
>>>>> stripping everyone on the project of a fundamental responsibility in
>>>>> managing the project.
>>>>>
>>>>> Apparently, the problem starts with the project write-up. If the
>>>>> project recipient is fully engaged from project initiation to delivery,
>>>>> they surely should know how to access the data, as that is a key project
>>>>> deliverable. My personal experience is that there are a several factors
>>>>> that lead to this kind of situation. One, many project ideas are top-down,
>>>>> that is, they are not developed within the working conditions of the
>>>>> recipients. Two, there are often many gaps in engagement, mainly caused by
>>>>> near disparate motives on many projects, with the funders, experts and
>>>>> recipients not necessarily having the same perception, motives or
>>>>> knowledge. Put the two together and add the determined project timeline,
>>>>> you have a near disaster. But the tripartite interests to run projects
>>>>> continues and we are creating a vicious cycle. What is the solution? It
>>>>> must start from the recipients who must align each incoming project with
>>>>> their respective development strategies. They must present themselves as
>>>>> equal partners in defining the project problem and tracking and measuring
>>>>> its outcomes. They should be able to quantifiable identify what worked and
>>>>> what didn't and any there should be national institutions charged with such
>>>>> responsibility. I could be writing all night, I would rather stop here for
>>>>> now.
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks.
>>>>>
>>>>> KSM
>>>>>
>>>>> Dr Kassim S. Mwitondi
>>>>> Sheffield Hallam University
>>>>> Faculty of Science, Technology and Arts
>>>>> Communication & Computing Research Centre
>>>>> 9410 Cantor Building, City Campus
>>>>> 153 Arundel Street
>>>>> Sheffield, S1 2NU
>>>>> United Kingdom
>>>>> Tel. +44-114-2256914 (Direct)
>>>>> Tel. +44-114-2255555 (General)
>>>>>
>>>>> https://www.shu.ac.uk/about-us/our-people/staff-profiles/kassim-mwitondi
>>>>> ------------------------------
>>>>> *From:* CODATA-international <
>>>>> codata-international-bounces at lists.codata.org> on behalf of Trimpact
>>>>> - Niek <niek at trimpact.nl>
>>>>> *Sent:* 11 October 2019 18:12:22
>>>>> *To:* 'Ernie Boyko' <boykern at yahoo.com>; 'CODATA International' <
>>>>> codata-international at lists.codata.org>; 'Suchith Anand' <
>>>>> Suchith.Anand at nottingham.ac.uk>
>>>>> *Subject:* Re: [CODATA-international] Digital Feudalism
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Dear all,
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> This is indeed a huge problem. I also recently learned that
>>>>> information data from NGOs are best perhaps shared with some ministries in
>>>>> Bamako, Mali, but not within a region where the work is being done. This
>>>>> implies that local decision makers remain dependant on the information/data
>>>>> stream back from the ministries which may take some months, if ever. This
>>>>> can never be the purpose of the work executed.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Since most of the projects are financed with public funding for the
>>>>> benefit of de people in the given (development) country and
>>>>> data/information belong in fact to the real funds provider of the work
>>>>> (i.e. tax payers), claims of intellectual property rights that data belong
>>>>> to the project executors seem not applicable. Consequently, data and other
>>>>> information (e.g. lessons learned) should be shared at large to the
>>>>> population and other relevant stakeholders to avoid duplication of efforts.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> A discussion worthwhile to be continued.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Kind regards,
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Dr. Niek van Duivenbooden
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>   *Bringing value to life*
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Mezenlaan 138  -  6951 HR Dieren  -  The Netherlands – T +31 61 13 81
>>>>> 061
>>>>>
>>>>> KvK: 64218422   - niek at trimpact.nl - www.Trimpact.nl
>>>>> <http://www.trimpact.nl/>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> *Van:* CODATA-international <
>>>>> codata-international-bounces at lists.codata.org> *Namens *Ernie Boyko
>>>>> *Verzonden:* vrijdag 11 oktober 2019 15:26
>>>>> *Aan:* CODATA International <codata-international at lists.codata.org>;
>>>>> Suchith Anand <Suchith.Anand at nottingham.ac.uk>
>>>>> *Onderwerp:* Re: [CODATA-international] Digital Feudalism
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Thank you Suchith,
>>>>>
>>>>> I have not heard that term before but I did run into   related term
>>>>> this week at the DDI-CODATA workshop here in Dagstuhl.  The term is Data
>>>>> Colonialism.  This often happens when a foreign entity (e.g., a development
>>>>> agency/project).e data are collected in a developing country and are taken
>>>>> out of the country.  They will leave behind some summary tables but will
>>>>> take the rich data and metadata away.  This makes it difficult to develop
>>>>> the data analysis and management skills within the country.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks for the message.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Cheers, Ernie
>>>>>
>>>>> +1-613-290-2804
>>>>>
>>>>> *Larrimac:  More than a golf course!*
>>>>>
>>>>> *CODATA: Making data work together to improve science to support
>>>>> decision makers.*
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Friday, October 11, 2019, 08:51:29 AM EDT, Suchith Anand <
>>>>> Suchith.Anand at nottingham.ac.uk> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> I came across a recent op-ed by Prof. Mariana Mazzucato on “Digital
>>>>> Feudalism”  at
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/platform-economy-digital-feudalism-by-mariana-mazzucato-2019-10?utm_source=Project+Syndicate+Newsletter&utm_campaign=d192f2bc47-sunday_newsletter_6_10_2019&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_73bad5b7d8-d192f2bc47-105013549&mc_cid=d192f2bc47&mc_eid=a8cee90b20
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Prof. Mazzucato is a leading researcher and thinker on Technology and
>>>>> Innovation, advisor to the European Commission on research and innovation
>>>>> strategy, and author of two important books on the subject “The Value of
>>>>> Everything” and “The Entrepreneurial State”.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> The report on “Mission-oriented Research and Innovation in the
>>>>> European Union” might be of interest
>>>>>
>>>>> https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/mazzucato_report_2018.pdf
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Since the use of cloud platforms for GIS data analysis is having a
>>>>> huge impact on the GIS community, the subject is of relevance. I
>>>>> would like learn more on this
>>>>>
>>>>>    1. Are there any examples of Digital Feudalism in GIS?
>>>>>    2. How will Digital Feudalism in GIS affect our future generations?
>>>>>    3. What policies are governments, regulators doing to reduce
>>>>>    Digital Feudalism in GIS?
>>>>>    4. What policies and curriculum are universities, educators
>>>>>    adopting to reduce Digital Feudalism in GIS?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Best wishes,
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Suchith
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee
>>>>>
>>>>> and may contain confidential information. If you have received this
>>>>>
>>>>> message in error, please contact the sender and delete the email and
>>>>>
>>>>> attachment.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Any views or opinions expressed by the author of this email do not
>>>>>
>>>>> necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nottingham. Email
>>>>>
>>>>> communications with the University of Nottingham may be monitored
>>>>>
>>>>> where permitted by law.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> CODATA-international mailing list
>>>>> CODATA-international at lists.codata.org
>>>>>
>>>>> http://lists.codata.org/mailman/listinfo/codata-international_lists.codata.org
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> CODATA-international mailing list
>>>>> CODATA-international at lists.codata.org
>>>>>
>>>>> http://lists.codata.org/mailman/listinfo/codata-international_lists.codata.org
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>>
>>>> _____________________________________________________________________________________________________
>>>> Kiringai Kamau
>>>>
>>>> *GODAN Africa Lead*
>>>> Programme for Capacity Development in Africa (P4CDA Africa)
>>>>
>>>> *GODAN Head Office*
>>>>
>>>> 845 Sherbrooke Street West, *Montreal*, Quebec, Canada H3A 0G4
>>>>
>>>> Macdonald Campus, McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Road,
>>>> Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> *Programme for Capacity Development in Africa (P4CDA)*
>>>>
>>>> PO Box 1618, 00100 GPO Nairobi, 1st Floor, Nyaku House, Argwings
>>>> Kodhek Road
>>>>
>>>> Cell: +254 722 800 986/+254 733 375 505
>>>>
>>>> *Email*: *kiringai.kamau at godan.info <kiringai.kamau at godan.info>* or
>>>> kiringai at perfect.africa
>>>>
>>>> *Website*: www.godan.info or www.perfect.africa, *Tweeter*:
>>>> @kiringaik, *Skype*: kiringai.kamau
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> CODATA-international mailing list
>>>> CODATA-international at lists.codata.org
>>>>
>>>> http://lists.codata.org/mailman/listinfo/codata-international_lists.codata.org
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> --------------------------------------------------
>>> Alex de Sherbinin, PhD
>>> Associate Director, Science Applications Division
>>> Deputy Manager, NASA SEDAC
>>> CIESIN, The Earth Institute at Columbia University
>>> P.O. Box 1000 (61 Route 9W), Palisades, NY 10964
>>> Web: www.ciesin.columbia.edu and http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu
>>> Tel. +1-845-365-8936,  Skype: alex.desherbinin
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> _____________________________________________________________________________________________________
>> Kiringai Kamau
>>
>> *GODAN Africa Lead*
>> Programme for Capacity Development in Africa (P4CDA Africa)
>>
>> *GODAN Head Office*
>>
>> 845 Sherbrooke Street West, *Montreal*, Quebec, Canada H3A 0G4
>>
>> Macdonald Campus, McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Road,
>> Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9
>>
>>
>>
>> *Programme for Capacity Development in Africa (P4CDA)*
>>
>> PO Box 1618, 00100 GPO Nairobi, 1st Floor, Nyaku House, Argwings Kodhek
>> Road
>>
>> Cell: +254 722 800 986/+254 733 375 505
>>
>> *Email*: *kiringai.kamau at godan.info <kiringai.kamau at godan.info>* or
>> kiringai at perfect.africa
>>
>> *Website*: www.godan.info or www.perfect.africa, *Tweeter*: @kiringaik,
>> *Skype*: kiringai.kamau
>>
>>
>
> --
> --------------------------------------------------
> Alex de Sherbinin, PhD
> Associate Director, Science Applications Division
> Deputy Manager, NASA SEDAC
> CIESIN, The Earth Institute at Columbia University
> P.O. Box 1000 (61 Route 9W), Palisades, NY 10964
> Web: www.ciesin.columbia.edu and http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu
> Tel. +1-845-365-8936,  Skype: alex.desherbinin
>


-- 
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Kiringai Kamau

*GODAN Africa Lead*
Programme for Capacity Development in Africa (P4CDA Africa)

*GODAN Head Office*

845 Sherbrooke Street West, *Montreal*, Quebec, Canada H3A 0G4

Macdonald Campus, McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Road,
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9



*Programme for Capacity Development in Africa (P4CDA)*

PO Box 1618, 00100 GPO Nairobi, 1st Floor, Nyaku House, Argwings Kodhek Road

Cell: +254 722 800 986/+254 733 375 505

*Email*: *kiringai.kamau at godan.info <kiringai.kamau at godan.info>* or
kiringai at perfect.africa

*Website*: www.godan.info or www.perfect.africa, *Tweeter*: @kiringaik,
*Skype*: kiringai.kamau
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