Licensing Open Data in developing countries: the case of the Kenyan and City of Cape Town Open Data initiatives

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dc.contributor.authorWillmers, Michele
dc.contributor.authorvan Schalkwyk, Francois
dc.contributor.authorSchonwetter, Tobias
dc.coverage.spatialKenyaen_ZA
dc.coverage.spatialSouth Africaen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2016-01-29T14:17:18Z
dc.date.available2016-01-29T14:17:18Z
dc.date.issued2015-12-01
dc.description.abstractOpen data practice is gaining momentum in the public sector and civil society as an important mechanism for sharing information, aiding transparency, and promoting socio-economic development. Within this context, licensing is a key legal mechanism that enables re-use without sanction. However, there is evidence of a “licensing deficit” and this raises questions regarding best practice and sustainability in emerging African open data initiatives, particularly in the context of intermediaries being encouraged to exploit shared data for economic and social benefit. This article asks two main questions: (1) What is the current state of open licensing in two African open data initiatives; and (2) to what degree is it appropriate to focus on licensing as a key indicator of openness? Utilising a case study approach, the research explored licensing dynamics in the Kenya Open Data and the City of Cape Town Open Data initiatives, examining the contexts in which these initiatives were established and their resulting licensing frameworks. The cases reveal evidence of strategic engagement with content licensing, driven largely by the need for legal protection, adherence to international best practice and attraction of the user base required in order to ensure sustainability. The application of licensing systems in both contexts does, however, suggest an emerging system in which data providers are “learning by doing” and evolving their licensing practice as portals and their associated policy frameworks mature. The paper discusses the value of open data licensing as an indicator of organisational change and concomitant importance of taking into consideration the institutional dynamics when evaluating the organisational licensing frameworks of city, national and other governments.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationWillmers, M., van Schalkwyk, F., & Schonwetter, T. (2015). Licensing Open Data in developing countries: the case of the Kenyan and City of Cape Town Open Data initiatives. <i>The African Journal of Information and Communication</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16612en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationWillmers, Michele, Francois van Schalkwyk, and Tobias Schonwetter "Licensing Open Data in developing countries: the case of the Kenyan and City of Cape Town Open Data initiatives." <i>The African Journal of Information and Communication</i> (2015) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16612en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationWillmers, M., van Schalkwyk, F. & Schonwetter, T. (2015). Licensing Open Data in developing countries: the case of the Kenyan and City of Cape Town Open Data initiatives. The African Journal of Information and Communication, 16(1): 26-37en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Willmers, Michele AU - van Schalkwyk, Francois AU - Schonwetter, Tobias AB - Open data practice is gaining momentum in the public sector and civil society as an important mechanism for sharing information, aiding transparency, and promoting socio-economic development. Within this context, licensing is a key legal mechanism that enables re-use without sanction. However, there is evidence of a “licensing deficit” and this raises questions regarding best practice and sustainability in emerging African open data initiatives, particularly in the context of intermediaries being encouraged to exploit shared data for economic and social benefit. This article asks two main questions: (1) What is the current state of open licensing in two African open data initiatives; and (2) to what degree is it appropriate to focus on licensing as a key indicator of openness? Utilising a case study approach, the research explored licensing dynamics in the Kenya Open Data and the City of Cape Town Open Data initiatives, examining the contexts in which these initiatives were established and their resulting licensing frameworks. The cases reveal evidence of strategic engagement with content licensing, driven largely by the need for legal protection, adherence to international best practice and attraction of the user base required in order to ensure sustainability. The application of licensing systems in both contexts does, however, suggest an emerging system in which data providers are “learning by doing” and evolving their licensing practice as portals and their associated policy frameworks mature. The paper discusses the value of open data licensing as an indicator of organisational change and concomitant importance of taking into consideration the institutional dynamics when evaluating the organisational licensing frameworks of city, national and other governments. DA - 2015-12-01 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town J1 - The African Journal of Information and Communication LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2015 T1 - Licensing Open Data in developing countries: the case of the Kenyan and City of Cape Town Open Data initiatives TI - Licensing Open Data in developing countries: the case of the Kenyan and City of Cape Town Open Data initiatives UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16612 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/16612
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationWillmers M, van Schalkwyk F, Schonwetter T. Licensing Open Data in developing countries: the case of the Kenyan and City of Cape Town Open Data initiatives. The African Journal of Information and Communication. 2015; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16612.en_ZA
dc.languageengen_ZA
dc.publisherThe African Journal of Information and Communicationen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentIntellectual Property Research Uniten_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Lawen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)*
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en_ZA
dc.sourceThe African Journal of Information and Communicationen_ZA
dc.source.urihttps://www.wits.ac.za/linkcentre/ajic/
dc.titleLicensing Open Data in developing countries: the case of the Kenyan and City of Cape Town Open Data initiativesen_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.subject.keywordsopen dataen_ZA
uct.subject.keywordskenyaen_ZA
uct.subject.keywordsdeveloping countriesen_ZA
uct.subject.keywordsopen licensingen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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