Research Task List - GitHub

[opengov-africa]

OpenGov Africa – Data Team Research Task List

@OpenGovAfrica/wg-data (please comment below if you’d like to work on any and you’ll be directed to the specific issue page with your selected task).

Task Title	Research Objective	Key Questions	Data Sources to Explore	Expected Output	Deadline Priority
Budget vs Manifesto Alignment Study	Examine whether national budget allocations reflect major campaign promises in selected African countries	What were the top 5 campaign promises in the last election? What percentage of the national budget is allocated to those sectors? What is actual expenditure vs allocation?	National budget documents, appropriation bills, electoral manifestos, parliamentary records, ministries of finance, audit reports	Comparative dataset (Promise vs Allocation vs Expenditure), short analytical memo (5–7 pages), structured spreadsheet	High (Align with current fiscal year implementation)
Debt vs Social Sector Spending Analysis	Compare debt servicing expenditure to health and education spending	What percentage of total expenditure goes to debt servicing? How does this compare to health and education allocations? Has this trend increased over 5 years?	National budgets (last 5 years), IMF country reports, World Bank debt data, ministries of finance	Clean dataset (5-year trend), country comparison table, brief data summary	High (Relevant to fiscal pressure debates)
Youth Representation Dataset	Measure youth political representation compared to youth population share	What percentage of the population is under 30? What percentage of parliament/cabinet members are under 40? Is there legal provision for youth quotas?	National statistics bureaus, IPU data, electoral commissions, parliamentary websites	Structured dataset (Population vs Representation), country ranking table	Medium
Public Procurement Risk Mapping	Identify common risk points in public procurement processes	What are the stages of procurement legally defined? Where do audit reports show irregularities? What percentage of contracts are sole-sourced?	Procurement laws, public procurement portals, audit institution reports, anti-corruption agency publications	Process map summary, dataset of reported irregularities, analytical memo	High
Access to Information (FOI) Implementation Review	Assess legal strength and implementation of access to information laws	Does the country have an FOI law? What are statutory response timelines? Are there enforcement mechanisms? What is the compliance rate?	National legislation databases, civil society FOI reports, government information commissions	FOI country dataset, compliance tracking sheet	Medium
Fiscal Governance Institutional Mapping	Document the formal budget process and institutional roles	Who proposes the budget? Who approves? Who audits? Are timelines respected? Is there public participation?	Constitution, public finance laws, parliamentary procedure documents, auditor general reports	Institutional process brief per country, governance flow documentation	Medium
Anti-Corruption Enforcement Dataset	Track anti-corruption cases and enforcement patterns	Number of corruption cases prosecuted annually? Conviction rates? Average time to resolution? Sectors most affected?	Anti-corruption agencies, judiciary annual reports, transparency NGOs	Multi-year enforcement dataset, short statistical summary	High
Education Workforce Governance Study	Assess governance of teacher recruitment and compensation	What percentage of the education budget goes to salaries? Are there teacher shortages? What are pupil-teacher ratios?	Education ministry budgets, UNESCO data, national statistics offices	Sector dataset + governance brief	Medium
Health Expenditure vs Outcomes Review	Compare health budget allocation with key health outcomes	What percentage of GDP is spent on health? Trends over 5 years? Infant/maternal mortality trends?	Health ministries, WHO country profiles, budget documents	Comparative dataset + 3–5 page analytical summary	High
Social Protection Effectiveness Study	Evaluate poverty reduction spending effectiveness	What is total social protection spending? What percentage reaches beneficiaries? Coverage rate?	Ministries of social welfare, budget reports, World Bank social protection data	Dataset + performance summary table	Medium
Migration Governance Data Mapping	Track migration policy and remittance flows	What migration laws exist? What are annual remittance inflows? Are migrant protections codified?	Central bank reports, migration policy frameworks, IOM data	Structured migration dataset + brief memo	Low
Environmental Spending & Enforcement Review	Compare environmental budget allocation with enforcement actions	What percentage of the budget goes to environmental protection? Number of enforcement actions per year?	Environment ministries, environmental protection agencies, budget documents	Environmental governance dataset + short analytical note	Medium
Election Transparency Systems Review	Document election management transparency mechanisms	Is the voter register public? Is result transmission digital? Are audit mechanisms in place?	Electoral commission publications, election observer reports, legal frameworks	Election transparency comparison table	High
Public Service Digitization Assessment	Evaluate level of government digital service delivery	Which services are digitized? Is open data portal operational? Frequency of updates?	Government portals, ICT ministry reports, open data portals	Digitization score dataset + short report	Medium
Food Systems Budget & Subsidy Analysis	Examine agricultural spending and subsidy transparency	Total agricultural allocation? Subsidy breakdown? Import vs domestic production data?	Agriculture ministry budgets, trade statistics, FAO data	Structured agriculture dataset + policy note	Medium

[sweta234]

I like to do it

[opengov-africa]

Is there anyone in particular you’d like to work on? @sweta234

Please look at the project board here: Research and Data Project Board then pick issue under the todo list from 1-10 as those haven’t been assigned to anyone yet.

Thank you

[opengov-africa]

Hi @sweta234 have you been assigned a task from the list of issues?

[LikandoAfrica]

I wanted to tackle "Education Workforce Governance Study" from the list. However, upon trying to verify the status of the same, I see that it is a project 'In progress.' Does this mean that it cannot be tackled any other researcher because it has been taken or can another researcher pounce on it also?

[opengov-africa]

Hi please comment on the said issue to signify this. There is still an opportunity to contribute there as collaborators were asked to pick 5-6 countries. So this means that you can work on a separate set of countries. I hope this helps @LikandoAfrica

[LikandoAfrica]

Thank you for the feedback!!

[ucheamaka72-web]

Hi @opengov-africa, I’d like to work on the Fiscal Governance Institutional Mapping task. Please direct me to the specific issue page. Thank you!