Open Data Initiatives and Governance in Burkina Faso: Promoting Transparency and Accountability

Open data initiatives have gained traction globally as a tool for enhancing transparency and accountability in governance. Burkina Faso is exploring these practices to address challenges such as corruption and inefficiencies within public institutions. A mixed-methods approach incorporating surveys, interviews, and case studies was employed to gather insights from different stakeholders involved in open data projects across Burkina Faso. Our analysis reveals that approximately 60% of surveyed public servants reported increased transparency through the use of open data platforms, while citizen engagement groups noted a significant rise (35%) in community-based decision-making processes facilitated by these initiatives. Open data initiatives have demonstrated potential to improve governance and accountability in Burkina Faso, though challenges such as limited access to technology persist. Further investment is recommended in digital literacy programmes for both government officials and citizens to maximise the benefits of open data. Strengthening legal frameworks around open data privacy and security is also crucial. Model estimation used $\hat{\theta}=argmin_{\theta}\sum_i\ell(y_i,f_\theta(x_i))+\lambda\lVert\theta\rVert_2^2$, with performance evaluated using out-of-sample error.