LREB Data Needs Workshop Report

The project aimed to support the Lake Region Economic Bloc (LREB) in developing a regional data repository to enhance its capacity to collect, analyze, and utilize data for decision-making. LREB is a consortium of 14 counties in Western Kenya, established to promote economic development and improve the prosperity of its citizenry. The bloc aims to achieve an average Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 10 percent per annum from 2012 onwards. To achieve this goal, LREB has identified the need to create an enabling environment for the productive sectors, including agriculture, tourism, trade, and industrialization, while ensuring quality social services and safeguarding evidence-based resource allocation. The project involved a workshop to establish the data LREB requires to achieve its mandate. The workshop objectives were to introduce MU-LISA and the TEACH Fund to LREB staff, discuss the data required to achieve LREB's mandate, enable participants to envision a data depository at the designated LREB website, engage participants on the importance of having a data sharing policy, and determine the level of preparedness of LREB staff to host a Data Center. The workshop had 23 participants, including the CEO of LREB, Pillar Heads, and Departmental Heads. The methodology included plenary sessions for presentations and discussions, as well as a case study of data requirements in the Tourism sector. The workshop presented an introductory presentation on MU-LISA, the TEACH Fund, and the project, a plenary session on milestones/objectives of the economic pillars in LREB, a presentation on indicators as used to measure milestones/objectives, a case study on the Tourism Pillar, and a presentation on the importance of a Data Policy and Open Data. The outcomes of the workshop included the identification of indicators used to measure milestones in the various economic pillars in LREB, determination of data required to evaluate the indicators, a discussion on how data from the Counties is shared with and used by LREB, and a way forward on setting up the data repository. The participants agreed that there was a need for training on data collection and analysis, and that LREB staff require skills in data cleaning and management. LREB does not have a data policy, which refers to a document that provides procedures on ownership, sharing, and use of data between LREB and the counties it constitutes. The open data concept allows members of the public free access and the ability to contribute to the data. The workshop considered a case study of the New York County Open Data platform, and it was agreed that the data repository would have a greater impact in the LREB counties. The final communique from the workshop included action points, such as MU-LISA working with LREB to create a database for the 14 member counties, focusing on the 10 economic pillars but more urgently on the COVID-19 pandemic situation in the member counties. LREB agreed to provide office space for the MU-LISA team members, and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was to be drafted between LREB and Maseno University within the next two weeks to capture the operational and financial management of the LREB Data Center.