Humanitarian OSM Team/Open Mapping Hub Eastern and Southern Africa/Open Mapping Grants 2021/Open Mapping Community Action Grants/Proposal/Mapping For Peaceful Elections
Problem statement or statement of opportunity
The statement must include:
- what the data gap, or opportunity is
- how the data you collect on your project will be used
If the applicant is the data users, the problem statement / letter must explicitly state what the data gap is, and how the data will be used (Max 300 words).
Over the past election years, Kenya has often experienced election violence, especially in the informal settlements. We have seen people move to their rural homes or places they consider safe just a few weeks prior to the election date for the fear of violence. Sometimes the violence erupts just because of a mere misinformation or even lack of information in itself. Through social media misinformation and rumours spread fast like a bushfire. In more polarized and volatile places like Kibera, Mathare and other slums, tension rises before, during and even after the elections. Many lives have been lost, properties burnt down and families displaced because of such violence. We have witnessed gender based violence showing a high increase during the election period. It gets even worse when the residents are not aware of which places they should avoid during turmoil, or where to go for safety or what to do just in case. The police become overwhelmed to respond to the individual calls for help. Allegations of vote rigging have easily turned into violence when there is no data or reliable media coverage of each polling station. Some of the violence can be controlled or avoided by making sure that the residents are well informed, equipped with elections related data, both online and offline. As well, working with peace networks and trustworthy security and police to plan well in advance can provide better outcomes.
Data Gaps:
- Lack of detailed polling station data such as locations and maps, number of registered voters, and accessibility of these polling stations.
- A lot of changes that have occurred since 2017 and hence need to update the data.
Describe how the solution you are suggesting responds to the data gap / challenge outlined by the data user
Please provide a clear and well defined solution to the data gap / opportunity (Max 400 words)
- Updating Kibera polling centres/stations data in OSM: updated locations, number of registered voters in each polling station, both male and female; main tallying centres. We also plan to map out accessibility of each polling station; ie, whether the polling center is accessible by wheelchair, provisions for people with vision impairment or for people who are deaf. We will then share the information with organizations that work with people with disabilities to lobby for these facilities to be made available.
- Updating Kibera security map: Map Kibera’s prior security map will be updated showing security lights, GBV centers, safe places (places where residents could seek refuge in case of election turmoil), police stations, and hot spots (places where violence often occurs). A lot of these facilities have been brought down during recent demolitions. In this case there is a need to update this data: this includes mapping and updating the status of the security features mentioned.
- Doing the same for one other location, likely Mathare which would be a new area for election mapping for peace.
- Counter misinformation: Map Kibera will use an already existing news channel called Kibera News Network for general elections coverage and to give people the right information and help dispel the rumours. This will also include re-activating the Voice of Kibera platform.
- Train more youths on data collection apps such as Kobo collect and ODK and how to contribute to OSM using platforms like iD editor, JOSM to edit and upload the data collected from the field. The training will cater for new beginners, intermediate contributors and advanced contributors.
- Stakeholders/data users; We will work closely with the local communities, local police/administrative officers, peace building initiatives, organizations such as Ushahidi, Mathare peace Initiative, Amani Kibera, Sub County Peace committee, Carolina for Kibera, Kibera Creative Arts to support their peace related programmes within the community, by sharing with them reliable data and identifying which areas they need to do more sensitization. We will also paint map murals on walls where the public can access relevant information in strategic areas.
Which impact areas does your project best fit?
Choose one of these options (Disaster(s) and Climate Resilience, Public Health, Gender Equality, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Migration & Displacement)
Sustainable Cities and Communities
Describe your project, list project aims and objectives and how you plan to achieve those aims and objectives.
This must include:(1) 1-2 clear aims and/or objectives for your project(2) a practical approach to how you will achieve your aims and/or objectives (3) a practical approach to remote and field mapping that clearly states how data sets (both already existing and generated within the project) will be enriched during planned activities (4) a practical approach to ensuring quality data is uploaded to OSM (consider data collection cleaning, training, validation and any imported data) [300 words max].
Objective 1: Mapping and Updating Election-Security Map
Practical approach:
- Organize meetings within the target communities to help us understand the data needs of each organization. From this feedback, we’ll use Kobo/ODK to collect data, edit and upload to OSM to update existing maps. We’ll then produce print maps to share with the groups above, and hold discussions on how the data can be used to foster peaceful elections and beyond the election period. We will also paint wall murals of the security maps.
Objective 2: Building a robust community of OSM contributors
Practical approach:
- We will host several training sessions for new mappers, intermediate mappers (those we have worked with before), and advanced mappers. The training will focus on introducing the trainees to tools for data collections, tools for contributing to OSM remotely, tools for creating data from the field, and tools for validating the data to ensure the data that is added to OSM is of high quality.
Objective 3: Election coverage
Practical approach:
- Through the Kibera News Network we’ll cover election related events, stories, campaigns and host candidate debates. We’ll re-activate the Voice of Kibera platform to enable the community to send in reports of events and stories happening within their villages, which are added to a map. Through the platform we can also help the community to verify any rumours going around. We’ll have an sms code where they can send the information and then share responses to them. In a case where the situation needs to be escalated then we can do so through the contacts that we have or through the UCHAGUZI for immediate intervention.
A practical approach to remote and field mapping
- Conduct several training sessions to introduce data collectors to OSM and mobile data tools such as Kobo collect and ODK. Some training will be held jointly with OSM Kenya and Youthmappers.
- Work primarily with youths from the target areas.
- Create a wiki page to share details of the project and our data process, documenting any new tags etc.
A practical approach to ensuring quality data is uploaded to OSM
- Deploy data quality tools such as OSMCha, OSMOSE, Keepright and JOSM validator before uploading data to OSM. Data validation will be done by MKT staff together with the team of data collectors on a regular basis. We will do a final validation with the plugin before uploading the data . We will also validate the data once it goes up to OSM, including HOT data quality trainees.
Describe how you will increase the number of OSM contributors in your country
Describe your approach to including women and underrepresented groups in your mapping activities. [300 words max][300 words max].
1. Conducting regular trainings through out the project for new and advanced mappers;
- In the training enrollment process we’ll ensure that we strongly factor in gender balance.
- Share the training with organizations that are working closely with women and girls in the community for their beneficiaries to to register and participate in the training.
- We’ll ensure to factor in gender balance when selecting data collectors for the field work.
- Ensure the opportunities are made available to the public (through Kibera News Network whatsapp broadcast group, passing the information to the OSM Kenya community whatsapp group, sharing the opportunity with different organizations that are working in the community with different groups) to ensure no one misses out on the chance, that includes the underrepresented groups.
2. Involve a wide range of volunteers during the data collections process, this include volunteers from youthmappers chapters in Kenya who will be interested in participating in the project.
3. Organizing training for the different stakeholders and organizations that we will be engaging in this project to train their staff and volunteers on OSM. We’ll set this training to run throughout the project and we’ll factor whether to have it remotely or in person.
Describe your approach to ethical data collection
Describe your approach to working with the local communities and local authorities in the location you plan to map and / or an approach that integrates key community leaders, gets permissions etc. [300 words max]
We’ll reach out to the local authorities from these 3 locations, to share about the project and how it benefits their office and to also get their consent to proceed with the project.
We’ll organize community forums within the different villages in the 2 locations, where we’ll share in details about the project, goals and how the community can make use of the data to address some of the issues surrounding the election process in their community.
In these meetings we’ll ensure to:
- Respect and uphold their views.
- Ensure no personal data is collected unless what has been agreed on and signed.
- Get their input on what kind of data they think will be important and will highlight issues that they are facing and that they can use to advocate for changes to be done.
During data collection, we’ll ensure that the data collectors have the right identification materials, train them on how to observe proper etiquette and to treat the respondent with the respect they deserve
Describe how you will approach sharing knowledge
Describe how you will approach sharing knowledge between the different stakeholders (specifically between OSM communities) and how this will benefit the project overall. [300 words max.]
- By re-activating the Voice of Kibera platform, we’ll be crowdsourcing reports and stories happening around elections and geolocating where they are happening from. This will include receiving any form of reports including rumours and misinformation that would threaten peaceful election, verify the information and share it back to the community through sms or through the Kibera News Network whatsapp broadcast. On the platform we’ll also map out where peace related events are taking place within the area and share it to the residents for them to attend.
- Collaborate with Ushahidi through their Uchaguzi project; share reports and stories that we are gathering through the Voice of Kibera platform, in the case where some of the cases require immediate attention to the relevant party to respond to it. For example if it’s a case of a group that is planning to attack another group then such cases need to be pushed to the administrative police to respond to it.. In the past we have also helped with some of the tasks within their situation room and we’ll be helping with that this time round.
- Collaborate with the OSM Kenya;
- Organize and host trainings together for the new mappers in order to build up the OSM community
- Offer opportunities for volunteers from the OSM community in Kenya this include the youthmappers chapter to participate in the data collection process.
- In the case of any other overlapping activities, we can coordinate together to avoid any duplication of data being collected.
Describe any risks that your project might come up against, and how you will mitigate against those risks.
Consider any local, regional, or national policies; logistical blockers that you foresee; knowledge or skills gaps etc [300 words max.].
Hostility:
During the election period there is usually a perception that any form of data collection being done is to be used to interfere or used for election irregularities such as stealing of votes. This could prove to be a major security risk for the data collectors.
Mitigation:
Some of the things that we intend to ensure the safety of the data collectors and to also ensure we are on good terms with the community. Is:
- Have them attend the meetings to get to know more about the projects and what are the benefits for the community.
- Ensure the village elders/representatives are present during the community forums
- Meet with the local authorities to explain about the project and get their consent.
- Have an introduction letter (that gives a summary of the project) signed by the local authorities, in the case where one has doubts about the exercise it can be issued to them to get to know about the project. The local authorities signature has a lot of power bestowed on it and no one would question it.
- For the team of data collectors, we’ll ensure we have a local resident in each team. This helps to diffuse the tension when the community sees that when one of their members is involved in the project exercise and in case of issue they are in a better place to address it.
Stakeholders
In the table below, list the name of each of the stakeholders, explain in detail what their role will be, what activities they will be responsible for, and the budget they will be allocated
| No | Name of community/organization | Budget | Partner type (administrative / data user / technical) | Role [100 words max.] | Responsibilities [100 words max.] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ushahidi | Data user/technical | 1)Help us to set up the Voice of Kibera sms reporting platform that runs on Ushahidi platform
2) Escalation of reports |
The Voice of Kibera sms reporting platform runs on Ushahidi and they will be helping with the technical support where need be.
In case we get reports that require immediate response such as police intervention in the case of violence, medical response for persons who have sustained injuries they will help to escalate this to right channels for immediate support. | |
| 2 | OSM Kenya | Technical | Assist with the training and validation of the data | We will be hosting several mapping training and we will work closely with the OSM Kenya community to host the training and they will help with leading some of the technical sessions. | |
| 3 | Youthmappers | Technical | Assist with validation of the data | We will closely work with the youthmappers chapters to help us with data validation. This will mostly be done remotely as most of them are located in other parts of the country. | |
| 4 | Amani Kibera | Data user | Community peace champions | They use sports, beauty contests, concerts to rally up the residents and use that opportunity to remind the community of the need to maintain peace before, during and after the elections. We have partnered with them to host the events and that’s where we share our Voice of Kibera platform for the community to know where to share any reports that they find alarming and to also consume the reports which we may come in different forms either it’s information, an alert about false rumours and where to get help in case they need one,
They will also be assisting us with validating the reports where necessary. | |
| 5 | Carolina for Kibera | Data user | Community peace champions | They use sports and peace concerts to rally up the residents and use that opportunity to remind the community of the need to maintain peace before, during and after the elections. We have partnered with them to host the events and that’s where we share our Voice of Kibera platform for the community to know where to share any reports that they find alarming and to also consume the reports which we may come in different forms either it’s information, an alert about false rumours and where to get help in case they need one,
They will also be assisting us with validating the reports where necessary. | |
| 6 | Local administration police | Data user | Maintaining law and order | In the past they have used our security maps to plan their patrols in areas that we mapped as insecure or areas that are prone to election related violence.
In the previous election when we would get an alarming report of possible violence we would liaise with them through phone calls for quick response. | |
| 7 | Sub County Peace committee | Data user | Act as community mediator and peace promoters | They work closely with the police to guide and give directions on which areas to put more focus on. In case of any conflict between different groups they hold mediation meetings to bring the two conflicting groups to talk and resolve the issues. They also play a role of giving early warning of conflict or violence to the government.
They will be using the reports we collect to be able to respond to any situation that may seem to fall out of control, They will be our point of contact for escalating issues to the police. | |
| 8 | Mathare Peace Initiative | Data user | Community Peace initiative | They are based in Mathare and do a lot of community mobilization in the for peace dialogues, peace walks, events where they preach about peace and the need of the community living in cohesion whether their preferred candidate wins the election or not. They will be using the Voice of Kibera to share any reports that are coming in from the community. They will be assisting us with validating the reports where necessary. | |
| 9 | Kibera Creative Arts | Data user | Community peace champions | They use sports, beauty contests, concerts to rally up the residents and use that opportunity to remind the community of the need to maintain peace before, during and after the elections. We have partnered with them to host the events and that’s where we share our Voice of Kibera platform for the community to know where to share any reports that they find alarming and to also consume the reports which we may come in different forms either it’s information, an alert about false rumours and where to get help in case they need one,
They will also be assisting us with validating the reports where necessary. |
Risk mitigation
Describe any risks that your project might come up against, and how you will mitigate against those risks. [300 words max.].
Hostility:
During the election period there is usually a perception that any form of data collection being done is to be used to interfere or used for election irregularities such as stealing of votes. This could prove to be a major security risk for the data collectors.
Mitigation:
Some of the things that we intend to ensure the safety of the data collectors and to also ensure we are on good terms with the community. Is:
- Have them attend the meetings to get to know more about the projects and what are the benefits for the community.
- Ensure the village elders/representatives are present during the community forums
- Meet with the local authorities to explain about the project and get their consent.
- Have an introduction letter (that gives a summary of the project) signed by the local authorities, in the case where one has doubts about the exercise it can be issued to them to get to know about the project. The local authorities signature has a lot of power bestowed on it and no one would question it.
- For the team of data collectors, we’ll ensure we have a local resident in each team. This helps to diffuse the tension when the community sees that when one of their members is involved in the project exercise and in case of issue they are in a better place to address it.
Tell us why your application is unique, and how the stakeholders involved in your application will compliment eachother to achieve impact
Budget Breakdown
Provide a detailed budget breakdown using this template that includes the allocated budget to each of the stakeholders listed above, and a detailed budget breakdown of what the allocated budget will be spent on. you can use this tool to convert your spreadsheet into a wiki table and paste the code below here
| Budget template: Open Mapping Community Action Grants ($10,000 - $20,000) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Budget overview | ||||||
| Total funds allocated | Organisation name | |||||
| 1 | ||||||
| 2 | $20,000 | Map Kibera Trust | ||||
| 3 | ||||||
| 4 | ||||||
| 20000 | Total | |||||
| Budget detail | ||||||
| Organisation recieving funds | What do you plan to spend the money on? | Unit being purchased | Expected cost (in US Dollars) |
Total cost for budget item | Why is it needed? (please give as much detail as possible) | |
| MKT | Wifi internet access | 1 | $50 USD per month | $50 | This will allow us to access internet within our office premises and even outside when conducting community stakeholders forums. At the moment we do have one garget of internet access so cannot accomodate more than 10 laptops and phones with large groups. Having wifi will enable us to grow our community and achieve our goals. | |
| MKT | Stake holders meeting/ Community Forums | 2 | $300 | $600 | To engage our members of the community and different stake holders we will need to hold at least two forums. The first forum will help identify changes in the safe and unsafe places and if there are any new GBV centers. The second meeting will entail sharing, verifying and validating the data collected during the exercise. | |
| 1 | MKT (OSMK,Youth Mappers) | Stipend for Volunteers | 20 | $12 | $6,240 | This will be able to pay our 20 volunteers from Kibera and Mathare during the security mapping as well as mapping of polling and data collection in general as well as sending in reports on the peak of elections. The amount includes their stipend for one month plus communication airtime. |
| 2 | Mural | 2 | $400 | $800 | The mural showing the safe and unsafe places will be drawn on a wall at some strategic places one in Kibra while another one in Mathare. This will enable the residents to access the vital information offline. | |
| 3 | Map Printing | 200 | $12 | $2,400 | We will print 200 A1 maps for distribution to different stake holders plus some random people in the community. One map costs $12 to print. | |
| 4 | Staff (partial) | 4 | $360 | $8,640 | Our 4 staff members will get paid $400 each per month for a period of six months, | |
| 5 | Airtime | 10 | $10 | $100 | The airtime is meant for our staff to help communicate and keep everything on track with the volunteers. Each will receive $10 one time. | |
| 6 | Utilities | 6 | $50 | $300 | The utilities amount will cater for office electricity, water, toiletories etc | |
| 7 | Bank Fee | 6 | $10 | $60 | Any bank related fees/charges will be charged from here. | |
| 8 | Training | 1 | $130 | $130 | Airtime for the participants during the training. | |
| 9 | ||||||
| 10 | Internet | 2 | $40 | $480 | The amount here will be used for paying of internet for the two modems @ $40 for six months. | |
| 11 | ||||||
| 12 | Training Materials | $200 | $200 | We will need some training materials such as note books, pens, marker pens , flip chart, hire projector | ||
| $20,000 | ||||||
Project Plan
Give your month-by-month project plan using this template provided. you can use this tool to convert your spreadsheet into a wikitable and paste the code below here
| Project plan template: Open Mapping Community Action Grants ($10,000 - $20,000) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| List the activities / milestones that will complete your project a success. This must include: (1) A detailed and practical approach to how you will implement your project (2) a clear project design with activities that intersect and compliment eachother (3) a straightforward and equal distribution of activities to demonstrate progression towards a common aim / objective |
State which organisation is responsible for achieving this milestone | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Key project milestones | Responsible | Month | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Month 1 | Month 2 | Month 3 | Month 4 | Month 5 | Month 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| List the activities / milestones that will complete your project a success | w1 | w2 | w3 | w4 | w1 | w2 | w3 | w4 | w1 | w2 | w3 | w4 | w1 | w2 | w3 | w4 | w1 | w2 | w3 | w4 | w1 | w2 | w3 | w4 | |
| Phase 1 (eg. Administration) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stakeholders mapping- identifying stakeholders to engage with in this Project | Map Kibera | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stakeholders meetings and community forums | Map Kibera | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Project planning- data plan, preparing training materials, setting up data collections tools, test runs | Map Kibera | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Baseline survey for the Una Hakika project | Map Kibera & Sentinel project | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Call up for data volunteers and selection- This includes sharing this opportunities in the stakeholders and community forums and sharing this on the OSM Kenya whatsapp group for the youthmappers chapters. | Map Kibera | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Recruiting community ambassadors for the Una Hakika project | Map Kibera & Sentinel project | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ...add more rows where appropriate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Phase 2 (eg. Data collection) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Training | Map Kibera and OSM Kenya | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Data import | Map Kibera | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Data collection in Kibera | Map Kibera and OSM Kenya | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Data collection in Mathare | Map Kibera and OSM Kenya | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Una Hakika- receiving reports from the community, validating and disseminating validated back to the community | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ...add more rows where appropriate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Phase 3 (eg. Data validation) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Data clean up | Map Kibera | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Data validation for data import | Map Kibera | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Verification of reports coming in from the community and those that will be coming from the Uchaguzi project | Map Kibera, Sentinel project & Ushahidi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stakeholders and community forums to share maps for final verification before final print out of the maps | Map Kibera | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ...add more rows where appropriate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Phase 4 (eg. Closing) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Map production and analysis | Map Kibera | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Map distribution | Map Kibera | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stakeholders and community forums to | Map Kibera | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Report writing and project wrap up | Map Kibera | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Declare any conflict of interest
No, there is not any conflict of interest.
Declaration
By submitting this application to the Open Mapping Hub Eastern and Southern Africa, you certify the information contained in this application is correct, and that if you are awarded a grant, you will use it only for the purposes described above. You will provide written documentation and receipts for all of your expenses to demonstrate this. You understand that the decisions made by the Open Mapping Grants committee are final.
Zacharia Muindi username: muindre
Endorsements
Community members are encouraged to endorse your project request here!
- I strongly support this project, it will support for peaceful election--````
- I strongly recommend this project because it will greatly support the forth coming elections and above help build the the OSM community in Kenya--~~~~
- I fully endorse this project because it will ensure that open data is used to promote democracy and peace in the community & country in general. The map entries will further assist in improving governance in the region.
- I fully endorse since the data collected will be used to identify gaps during the electoral process and how to solve the gaps.