oss for public service - united...

University of Nairobi

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possible contribution by the University of Nairobi

Prof. W. Okelo-OdongoDr. Wanjiku Ng’ang’a

School of Computing and Informatics

OSS for Governance and Public Administration : Strategic role of

Universities


outline

ICT for Governance and Public AdministrationOSS as an optionRole of UniversitiesApproach by UoN

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ICT for Governance and Public Administration

Efficiency, cost-effectiveness and citizens’participation are critical objectives for any governance and public administration agendaICTs, if properly leveraged can provide required efficiency and effectiveness

Improving government processes (e-Administration)Connecting citizens (e-Citizens and e-Services)Building external interactions (e-Society)

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Deployment of ICTs for governance and public administration requires careful resource planning

Human capacityICT infrastructure and servicesReengineering work processesSecurity Considerations…

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Digital changeover warrants careful consideration of

Investments in technology (costly)Technology ownership (who owns the technology?)Human capacity to manage e-environment

Choice between Proprietary vs. OSS!

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OSS for Governance and Public Administration

Choice between Proprietary vs. OSS!

Benefits of OSS over ProprietaryOpportunity for software research, development, and commercializationLower costsIncreased reliability and securityEnhanced agility and interoperabilityVendor independenceSocial good - unrestricted availability of source code makes knowledge readily available to all of society

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Why consider OSS in the African context?Competing financing needs => cheaper to adopt OSSFlexibility – customized to fit exact requirementsJob creation (software development by the youth)Promotes cross-domain IP sharing and code reuse for accelerated development…..

Case studies of OSS adoption globally– Brazil, China, Norway, Malaysia, South

Africa,….7



Factors hindering OSS adoptionHuge skills gap in OSS and Open StandardsLack of Technical Support for OSS applications and servicesOSS Learning curve (for end-users)Integration with legacy systemsProprietary systems viewed as ‘easier’ option

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Role of UniversitiesPrimary objective of universities

Build human capacity across the boardUndertake research and development for the betterment of society

Well placed to enhance adoption of OSS by:Training highly-skilled personnelUndertaking appropriate research that informs policy and practice e.g. technology adoption studiesOSS-based R&D as a public knowledge good

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University of Nairobi’s Approach

• UoN background [www.uonbi.ac.ke]Oldest university in Kenya (1956)Very well ranked university in East Africa, and AfricaSix colleges, each with 5 or more Schools, FacultiesStudent population approximately 45,00018,000 are government sponsored27,000 are privately sponsored. About 9,000 are postgraduate students Has 1300 academic staff members of which 260 are full and associate professors.

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School of Computing Informatics

Human ResourcesFaculty (22) : PhD (9), MSc (13)Students : PhD (21), MSc (100), BSc (360)

Academic programmesUpto-date, competitive Masters and Bachelors programmesPractical-oriented programmes with emphasis on project-based workDeveloped M.Sc in FOSS Software Engineering as part of the AVOIR network

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SCI info

Infrastructure• Well-equipped labs • High speed internet connectivity• Central location in Nairobi

Collaborations and partnerships • Public sector: Directorate of e-

Government, Kenya ICT Board, Judiciary, MoHEST,….

• Industry: Nokia, SAS, IBM, Google,…12


SCI research and outreach strategy

Centre for Computing for Development (CC4D) housed at SCI

Vision of CC4D is to be “a global point of reference for ICT Research and Innovation for sustainable development”

Mission of CC4D is to “generate, share knowledge, and produce innovative technological solutions that address societal problems by nurturing and mentoring a community of researchers, undertaking cutting edge research, and forging partnerships”

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CC4DCC4D focusing on key thematic areas:

ICT4De-GovernanceMobile Financial ServicesICT in EducationICT in HealthICT in Agriculture

e-ScienceDistributed Computing

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UoN’s ApproachC4DLab is the operational R&D arm of CC4DHuman resource in the Lab drawn from

SCI facultySCI students (PhD, Masters and Undergraduates)External Researchers drawn from

• Other UoN faculties• Other local and international universities• Other research institutions• Industry, Public sector• ….

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University of Nairobi operational Model

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UoN’s Approach

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Operationalization• Formal Agreements between UoN and ‘Clients’

=> bilateral/multilateral MoUs formalizing working relationship

• Financing for University-based R&D activities– Lab overheads– Market/customer research– Training and capacity building activities– Support & Maintenance costs

• Mantra: Rather than spend lots of $$ on Proprietary software, channel it to support University OSS-based R&D!

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ConclusionICTs critical for governance and developmentNeed for highly-skilled ICT workforceUniversities play important role in high-level human capacity developmentTechnical Universities and ICT faculties form critical link in advancing innovative use of ICT for governance and developmentUoN’s model applies human resource (Faculty + Students) in solving real-world problems in collaboration with various stakeholdersUoN’s model very appropriate in enhancing the adoption and utilization of OSS for governance in Africa

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SCI modern Labs

Support staff technicians


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SCI Library


22CBPS Environment


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School of Computing & Informatics (SCI)

UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI

Computing Human Resource and Solution Development for the Nation and the Region

Thank you!

oss for public service - united...

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