Open Government Data in Africa: A preference elicitation analysis of media practitioners

Abstract

Open Government Data (OGD) continues to receive considerable traction around the world. In particular, therehave been a growing number of OGD establishments in the developed world, sparking expectations of similartrends in growing democracies. To understand the readiness of OGD stakeholders in Africa especially themedia, this paper (1) reviews current infrastructure at OGD web portals in Africa and (2) conducts a preferenceelicitation analysis among media practitioners in 5 out of the 7 OGD country centers in Africa regarding desiredstructure of OGD in developing countries. The analysis givesa view of the relativeimportance media practitionersascribe to a selected set of OGD attributes in anticipation of a more functional OGD in their respective countries.Using conjoint analysis, the resultindicates that media practitioners put premium on ‘metadata’and ‘data format’respectively in order of importance. Results from the review also reveal that features of current OGD web portalsin Africa arenot consistent with thedesired preferencesof users. Overall,the study provides a general insight intomedia expectations of OGD in Africa, and also serves as a foundational knowledge for authorities and practi-tioners to manage expectations of the media in connection with OGD in Africa.