PREPRINT: Opportune niches in data ecosystems: Open data intermediaries in the agriculture sector in Ghana (original) (raw)
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Open Data Intermediaries in Developing Countries
The roles of intermediaries in open data is insufficiently explored; open data intermediaries are often presented as single and simple linkages between open data supply and use. This synthesis research paper offers a more socially nuanced approach to open data intermediaries using the theoretical framework of Bourdieu’s social model, in particular, his concept of species of capital as informing social interaction. The study is based on the analysis of a sample of cases from the Emerging Impacts of Open Data in Developing Countries Project (ODDC) project. Data on intermediaries were extracted from the ODDC reports according to a working definition of an open data intermediary presented in this paper, and with a focus on how intermediaries link actors in an open data supply chain. The study found that open data supply chains may comprise multiple intermediaries and that multiple forms of capital may be required to connect the supply and use of open data. Because no single intermediary necessarily has all the capital available to link effectively to all sources of power in a field, multiple intermediaries with complementary configurations of capital are more likely to connect between power nexuses. This study concludes that consideration needs to be given to the presence of multiple intermediaries in an open data ecosystem, each of whom may possess different forms of capital to enable the use and unlock the potential impact of open data.
Open Data Intermediaries in Developing Countries Dataset
Journal of Community Informatics, 2016
This paper explores the concept of open data intermediaries using the theoretical framework of Bourdieu's social model, particularly his species of capital. Secondary data on intermediaries from Emerging Impacts of Open Data in Developing Countries research was analysed according to a working definition of an open data intermediary presented in this paper, and with a focus on how intermediaries are able to link agents in an open data supply chain, including to grassroots communities. The study found that open data supply chains may comprise multiple intermediaries and that multiple forms of capital may be required to connect the supply and use of open data. The effectiveness of intermediaries can be attributed to their proximity to data suppliers or users, and proximity can be expressed as a function of the type of capital that an intermediary possesses. However, because no single intermediary necessarily has all the capital available to link effectively to all sources of power in a field, multiple intermediaries with complementary configurations of capital are more likely to connect between power nexuses. This study concludes that consideration needs to be given to the presence of multiple intermediaries in an open data ecosystem, each of whom may possess different forms of capital, to enable the use of open data.
This paper explores the concept of open data intermediaries using the theoretical framework of Bourdieu's social model, particularly his species of capital. Secondary data on intermediaries from Emerging Impacts of Open Data in Developing Countries research was analysed according to a working definition of an open data intermediary presented in this paper, and with a focus on how intermediaries are able to link agents in an open data supply chain, including to grassroots communities. The study found that open data supply chains may comprise multiple intermediaries and that multiple forms of capital may be required to connect the supply and use of open data. The effectiveness of intermediaries can be attributed to their proximity to data suppliers or users, and proximity can be expressed as a function of the type of capital that an intermediary possesses. However, because no single intermediary necessarily has all the capital available to link effectively to all sources of power in a field, multiple intermediaries with complementary configurations of capital are more likely to connect between power nexuses. This study concludes that consideration needs to be given to the presence of multiple intermediaries in an open data ecosystem, each of whom may possess different forms of capital, to enable the use of open data.
The African Journal of Information and Communication, 2021
Information and communication technologies (ICTs), specifically those that are digital and interactive, present opportunities for enhanced intermediation between actors in Ghana’s agricultural extension system. To understand these opportunities, this study investigates the capabilities of ICTs in support of seven forms of intermediation in the context of agricultural extension: disseminating (information), retrieving (information), harvesting (information), matching (actors to services), networking (among actors), coordinating (actors), and co-creating (among actors). The study identifies the types of ICTs currently functioning in Ghana’s agricultural system, and applies a Delphi-inspired research design to determine the consensus and dissensus of researchers, scientists, and practitioners about the potential of these ICTs to support each of the seven intermediation capabilities. The findings reveal that experts reached consensus that interactive voice response (IVR) technologies cu...
Viscous Open Data: The Roles of Intermediaries in an Open Data Ecosystem
2016
Open data have the potential to improve the governance of universities as public institutions. In addition, open data are likely to increase the quality, efficacy and efficiency of the research and analysis of higher education systems by providing a shared empirical base for critical interrogation and reinterpretation. Drawing on research conducted by the Emerging Impacts of Open Data in Developing Countries project, and using an ecosystems approach, this research paper considers the supply, demand and use of open data as well as the roles of intermediaries in the governance of South African public higher education. It shows that government's higher education database is a closed and isolated data source in the data ecosystem; and that the open data that are made available by government is inaccessible and rarely used. In contrast, government data made available by data intermediaries in the ecosystem are being used by key stakeholders. Intermediaries are found to play several important roles in the ecosystem: (i) they increase the accessibility and utility of data; (ii) they may assume the role of a " keystone species " in a data ecosystem; and (iii) they have the potential to democratize the impacts and use of open data. The article concludes that despite poor data provision by government, the public university governance open data ecosystem has evolved because intermediaries in the ecosystem have reduced the viscosity of government data. Further increasing the fluidity of government open data will improve access and ensure the sustainability of open data supply in the ecosystem.
PREPRINT: Viscous Open Data: The Roles of Intermediaries in an Open Data Ecosystem
2016
Open data have the potential to improve the governance of universities as public institutions. In addition, open data are likely to increase the quality, efficacy and efficiency of the research and analysis of higher education systems by providing a shared empirical base for critical interrogation and reinterpretation. Drawing on research conducted by the Emerging Impacts of Open Data in Developing Countries project, and using an ecosystems approach, this research paper considers the supply, demand and use of open data as well as the roles of intermediaries in the governance of South African public higher education. It shows that government's higher education database is a closed and isolated data source in the data ecosystem; and that the open data that are made available by government is inaccessible and rarely used. In contrast, government data made available by data intermediaries in the ecosystem are being used by key stakeholders. Intermediaries are found to play several important roles in the ecosystem: (i) they increase the accessibility and utility of data; (ii) they may assume the role of a “keystone species” in a data ecosystem; and (iii) they have the potential to democratize the impacts and use of open data. The article concludes that despite poor data provision by government, the public university governance open data ecosystem has evolved because intermediaries in the ecosystem have reduced the viscosity of government data. Further increasing the fluidity of government open data will improve access and ensure the sustainability of open data supply in the ecosystem.
NJAS: Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences, 2018
Agricultural extension in sub-Saharan Africa has often been criticised for its focus on linear knowledge transfer, and limited attention to systemic approaches to service delivery. Currently, the region is experiencing a new-ICT revolution and there are high expectations of new-ICTs to enhance interaction and information exchange in extension service delivery. Using an innovation systems perspective, we distinguish the roles demand-articulation, matching demand and supply, and innovation process management for innovation-intermediaries. The study explores literature on how new-ICT may support these roles, with specific interest in the possibilities of environmental monitoring and new forms of organisation enabled by enhanced connectivity. In order to contribute to the understanding of this area, the paper reports on a comparative study of two new-ICT platforms embedded in Ghanaian public and private extension organisations respectively. We assess the roles that these platforms (aim to) support, and document achievements and constraints based on interviews with extension staff and farmers. The findings indicate that while both platforms aim to support innovation-intermediation roles the focus areas and level of detail differ due to diverging organisational rationales to service delivery. In addition, we see that new-ICTs' potential to support innovation-intermediation roles is far from realised. This is not due to (new) ICTs lacking the capacity to link people in new ways and make information accessible, but due to the wider social, organisational and institutional factors that define the realisation of their potential. Therefore, more conventional modes of interaction around production advice and also credit provision continue to be dominant and better adapted to the situation. However, beyond the two platforms that were developed specifically by and for the extension organisations, there were indications that more informal and self-organised new-ICT initiatives can transform and enhance interaction patterns in innovations systems to achieve collective goals through standard virtual platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram.
Journal of the Association for Information Systems , 2018
In this paper, we describe how changes in the availability of information artifacts-in particular, information and communication technologies (ICTs)-among smallholder farmers in Ghana, led to a process of hybridization of information practices, and how this process could be linked to underlying institutional change. We use the notions of institutional carriers and activity systems to study the evolution of the prevailing "smallholder" institutional logic of Ghanaian agriculture toward an incoming "value-chain" institutional logic concerned with linking farmers to output markets, improving the knowledge base in agriculture, and increasing its information intensity. We draw on a mixed-methods approach, including in-depth qualitative interviews, focus groups, observations, and detailed secondary quantitative data. We cultivate activity theory as a practice-based lens for structuring inquiry into institutional change. We find that information artifacts served to link the activities of farmers that were embedded in the smallholder logic with those of agricultural-development actors that promoted the value-chain logic. Hybridization occurred through the use of artifacts with different interaction modalities. In terms of conceptualizing change, our findings suggest that hybridization of the two logics may be an intermediary point in the long transition from the smallholder toward the value-chain logic.
Mapping an emergent Open Data eco-system
The Journal of Community Informatics
The purpose of this paper is to explore a methodological approach to understand an emergent Open Data eco-system in developing countries and specifically tourism sector contexts. The conceptual and methodological bases using Actor Network Theory (ANT) and Social Network Analysis (SNA) are explored to understand their application to the Open Data phenomenon. Thirteen tourism industry officials in the public sector of five Caribbean countries were interviewed using a research instrument derived from the Open Data Research Network (ODRN) Common Assessment Framework for Open Data. The findings reveal an inter-connected emergent Open Data eco-system across five Caribbean countries.