Open Data Initiatives and Governance Transparency in Djibouti: Implications for African Contexts

Open data initiatives have gained traction as a means to enhance transparency in governance and foster informed decision-making. Djibouti has initiated several open data projects aimed at improving public services, but their effectiveness remains under scrutiny. A mixed-methods approach combining quantitative analysis of public sector performance metrics with qualitative interviews among government officials and civil society organizations (CSOs). Analysis reveals a positive correlation between the number of open data releases and improvements in service delivery efficiency, though these effects are not uniform across all sectors. While Djibouti's open data initiatives show promise, they require more robust governance frameworks to ensure equitable access and meaningful utilization by stakeholders. The government should establish clear guidelines for data quality assurance and expand outreach efforts to engage a wider audience of users. Open Data Initiatives, Governance Transparency, Djibouti, Public Sector Performance 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.