2026· Information Technology for Development· Vol 32, pp. 309-326· 0 citations
TL;DR
The participatory data governance (PDG) framework is introduced, which operationalises data governance into four key elements and provides an analytical tool to examine how and to what extent community members influence decision-making on the data systems that shape their lives.
Abstract
Digital data play an increasing role in development projects in the Global South, yet ensuring that the data needs of local communities (particularly marginalised groups) are met remains a critical challenge. Building on Richard Heeks’ structural data justice model, this paper conceptualises data governance as the locus where power relations materialise into data (in)justices. It introduces the participatory data governance (PDG) framework, which operationalises data governance into four key elements and provides an analytical tool to examine how and to what extent community members influence decision-making on the data systems that shape their lives. Applying the PDG framework to case studies in the Global South shows that participation varies across key data governance elements within single projects and enables a more fine-grained and critical analysis of how institutional contexts structure opportunities for meaningful participation and progress towards data justice.
This paper critically examines the evolving landscape of data governance in Africa, with particular emphasis on its intersection with digital inclusion and sustainable development. Drawing on policy frameworks, institutional practices, and expanded case evidence particularly from Nigeria where the study interrogates structural challenges such as policy fragmentation, infrastructural deficits, limited human capacity, and trust deficits, while also addressing critical power dynamics including data colonialism, corporate capture, and surveillance risks. The paper adopts a qualitative analytical approach with explicit document selection criteria and thematic analysis, for synthesizing continental frameworks such as the African Union Data Policy Framework 2022 and national regulatory developments, particularly Nigeria's Data Protection Act 2023. It further explores the evolving role of libraries and information professionals as key actors in fostering ethical data ecosystems, promoting digital literacy, and ensuring equitable access to information. Findings reveal that effective data governance is indispensable for bridging the digital divide and enabling inclusive participation in the digital economy. The study proposes a multi-dimensional framework for strengthening data governance in Africa, including policy harmonization, institutional capacity building, infrastructure investment, community-centered approaches, and critical safeguards against data exploitation. It concludes that a values-driven, inclusive data governance model is essential for achieving Africa's development aspirations under Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Dominic Dominic· Heartbeat Journal of Library...· 0 citations
Against a backdrop of increasing political, economic, and ecological volatility, participatory governance could provide a valuable mechanism to counteract democratic backsliding caused by unchecked power and regulatory capture. Food systems in particular are a site where many interests and sectors converge—including health, agriculture, land use, labor, environment, and climate change—and where there has been increasing interest and experimentation in forms of participatory governance. This research uses the example of the organic standards governance process to understand how governance structures can enable transitions to more sustainable and just systems (including but not limited to food systems), and what we can learn from existing participatory governance approaches about how to govern complex systems in a collaborative and inclusive way. We conducted 20 semi‐structured interviews with individuals who have participated in recent organic standards review processes and analyzed key documents to characterize the sources and arenas of power at play. We found that formal authority and discursive legitimacy are enabling some participants to maintain influence at a time when increasing professionalization and resource‐based power would otherwise dominate the process. In particular, the processes in place to ensure opportunities for public comment, diverse sector representation, and limited political influence all contribute to a collaborative, participatory process. At the same time, the organic sector is facing significant challenges due to the high costs of administering such a labor‐intensive process, a lack of consistent funding, and the imminent closure of the Canadian General Standards Board as an institutional structure to support the organic standards review process. Despite these challenges, the governance of the Canadian organic standards has been a robust and unique instance of participatory governance that merits continued support.
Amanda D. Wilson, Susanna Klassen, Abra Brynne· Regulation & Governance· 0 citations
Objective Outside recognized Indigenous Data Governance Principles, there is a growing movement towards community governance of other demographic data. Community governance seeks to recenter decision-making about how data are used and reported with those who are the subject of the data, but broad understanding on how to operationalize this principle is lacking. We sought to develop a community-guided governance approach for the use of immigration data at ICES, a health data institute which holds administrative health and demographic data for the province of Ontario, Canada. Approach Community perspectives to guide our approach were gathered using semi-structured focus groups. 36 individuals were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling based on their lived or professional expertise in immigration. Results Key recommendations emerged from the discussions, including 1) clearly delineating which research projects would require community engagement; 2) emphasizing the need for reciprocity in community relationships; 3) building researchers’ capacity in critical reflexivity and data contextualization; 4) developing an organizational change management strategy to socialize expectations; and 5) establishing an intersectionally diverse Community Governance Advisory Table to guide and oversee the approach. Conclusion These discussions highlighted tangible operational considerations, including the importance of engagement with immigrant communities and of change management when implementing structural-level change to organizational processes. We will employ a participatory approach to further develop and operationalize community members’ recommendations.
Elise Leong-Sit, Laura Ferreira-Legere, Astrid Guttmann et al.· International Journal of Pop...· 0 citations
Data is often positioned as an objective and rational basis for policy decision-making. However, divergences between data-based claims and lived social realities indicate that such data do not always function as a neutral representation. They play an active role in shaping power relations and policy communication. This study aims to analyse the dynamics of communication in the governance of sustainable urban mobility by positioning data as a discursive practice intertwined with power. The study employs Fairclough's Critical Discourse Analysis of six key policy and governance documents. The findings reveal four discursive mechanisms: first, data are constructed as an epistemic authority that is difficult to contest. Second, the authority enables technocratic framing that depoliticizes mobility issues by translating social concerns into technical matters. Third, this process produces discursive exclusion, whereby certain experiences become invisible within policy representations. Fourth, the assemblage culminates in a symbolic shift of accountability from political actors to systems and technical indicators.
Agustinus Rustanta· 2026 11th International Conf...· 0 citations
This paper presents MDI’s Data Governance Transformation (DGT) project, an already-in-use data governance policy & infrastructure framework developed to support robust implementation of Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs), govern rapid AI development, and confront precedent shattering data use in the United States. As government agencies increasingly rely on complex and distributed data ecosystems, traditional data management approaches have proven insufficient to ensure data quality, accessibility, privacy, and interoperability. This framework establishes a cross-functional data governance structure that includes clearly defined roles, a RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) matrix, a standardized change control process, and an architecture rooted in medallion-style data layering. It also includes practical guidance on the following: conducting a data inventory, aligning with cloud and privacy requirements, and coordinating with contractors to ensure data portability and reproducibility. By embedding PETs and clear accountability mechanisms, this framework not only supports compliance with regulatory mandates but also enables data-driven decision-making and responsible use of AI. The framework serves as a replicable model for other government and non-government entities seeking to implement or refresh their data governance strategies to meet the demands of modern public service delivery.
J. Pasner· International Journal of Pop...· 0 citations
The purpose of this study is to analyze three Brazilian territories marked by tense relationships between companies and communities, seeking to understand how these ties are constructed over time.
This study adopts an exploratory qualitative approach (Eisenhardt, 1989). From an epistemological standpoint, the study is grounded in an interpretivist perspective (Cunliffe, 2011).
The findings indicate that multi-stakeholder governance is a dynamic process, in which organizational arrangements, power distribution and forms of social value creation are continuously reconfigured over time. The study demonstrates how governance models emerge, evolve and are contested throughout the relationship cycle, thereby influencing the generation of social value.
Although the study does not measure social impact through public policy indicators, its findings engage with key challenges of the 2030 Agenda, particularly sustainable development goals (SDG) 16 (governance, coordination and legitimacy in contexts of institutional fragility), SDG 10 (power asymmetries and the expansion of community participation) and SDG 11 (territorial dynamics and firm–community relationships). Thus, the article provides an analytical foundation for understanding how multi-stakeholder arrangements may enable or constrain more equitable and sustainable responses in Global South territories.
This study makes three contributions to the literature on multi-stakeholder governance (Bridoux & Stoelhorst, 2022) and social value creation (Lazzarini, 2020).
L. Angellotti, M. Gama· RAE: Revista de Administraçã...· 0 citations