A research poster presented as part of the Exploring the Emerging Impacts of Open Data in Developing Countries project at the Research Sharing Event in Berlin, 15th July 2014. For more see http://www.opendataresearch.org/emergingimpacts/

1. Citizens:
System-level
governance through transparency
and accountability
S HES researchers
New knowledge
and policy advice
S
OTHER
IDSC
Research
Africa
DATAPROVIDERSDATARESOURCES
HEMIS
OPEN DATA
TABLES
CHET
Higher
Education
Performance
Indicators
PRIMARY
DATASOURCES
SECONDARY
DATASOURCES
CLOSED DATA OPEN DATA
StatsSA
HSRC
NRF
Government
SAQA
DHET
P2
CHE
Government councils and agencies
CRESTDataFirst/UCT
23 public universities
P1
Public universities
CHET
Non-Governmental Organisations
CHEC
African
Knowledge
Base
HIV
Prevalence
Survey
Higher Education
Data Analyser
International state-funded donor agencies
DFID, USAID, Danida, IDRC, Sida, etc.
 
CHEC Web-
site
RCBF
Graduate
Pathways
Survey
Elsevier
Scopus
Web of
Science
Thomson
Reuters
Google
Google
Scholar
Bibliographic
Indexes
HSRC
Data Site
QS Quacquarelli
Symonds
TSL
Education
ShanghaiRanking
Consultancy Cybermetrics Lab (CSIC, Spain)
Supranational agencies
UN, World Bank, Unesco, OECD
Philanthropic organisations
Gates Foundation, Ford, Carnegie, Melon, etc.
THE Rankings
Shanghai
Rankings
QS
Rankings
Webometrics
Nobel Prize
Winners
CHET
Knowledge
Production
Dataset
CHET
Dataset on
Differentiation
Labour Market Intel-
ligence Partnership
Database
LMIP Data
Repository
C3
C2
C1
University research units
Feedback
loops
Data flow
(supply)
Data flow
(demand) Users
HEMIS
Database
HE planners
University-level governance
through evidence-based
decision-making
P
PrimaryP SecondaryS
PRIVATE SECTOR PUBLIC SECTORPUBLIC SECTOR
Institutional boundaries
R Regulatory conditions
ICT
Information and
communication technologies
Enabling/
inhibiting
conditions
ICT
R
LEGISLATION
NationalQualificationsFrameworkAct67of2008
PublicServiceRegulationsActof2001
PromotionofAccesstoInformationAct2of2000
PublicFinanceManagementAct1of1999
StateofInformationTechnologyAgencyAct1998
SkillsDevelopmentAct97of1998
EmploymentEquityAct55of1998
LEGISLATION
HigherEducationAct101of1997
BasicConditionsofEmploymentAct1997
NationalEducationPolicyAct27of1996
SouthAfricanQualificationsAuthorityAct58of1995
PublicServiceActof1994
CopyrightAct98of1978
STANDARDS/AGREEMENTS
MinisterialInteroperabilityStandardsforInformationSystemsinGov-
ernmentv4.12007
Post-schoolEducationandTrainingGreenPaper2012
HigherEducationWhitePaper2013
StatisticsSouthAfricaStatisticalQualityAssessmentFramework
OpenGovernmentPartnershipRequirements
Open Data in the Governance of South African Higher Education
Primary research question
What is the level of use and possible impact of open data in the governance of South African higher education?
Secondary research question
What is the role of intermediaries in the supply and use of open data in the governance of South African higher education?
Background
The Centre for Higher Education Transformation
(CHET) is a non-governmental organisation that
conducts research on African universtities at both
institutional and systemic levels.
CHET’s research focuses on issues of
university governance, performance indicators,
differentiation, knowledge production and the
links between higher education and development.
The Department for Higher Education and
Training (DHET) is the South Africa government
department responsible for funding and steering
the South African post-school system, including
the country’s public universities.
Universities are governed by their councils.
Councils are advised on university performance
by the university executive and the university’s
institutional planning unit.
Method
Case study
CHET Open Data Platform
www.chet.org.za/sahe-open-data/
Data collection
Semi-structured interviews with data users
[university planners (7) + HES researchers (6)]
and primary data provider [DHET]
capacity-constrained government departments.
This could strengthen the impact of open data
on the governance of South African public
universities. Recommendation: Initiate discussions
between DHET and other stakeholders on how
to share HEMIS data or to improve how the open
data tables are made available online.
3
There are concerns at both government and
university levels about how data will be used
and (mis)interpreted, and this may constrain
future data supply. Recommendation: Improve
data literacy, particularly among journalists.
4
Open data intermediaries increase the
accessibility and utility of data. While there
is a rich publicly-funded dataset on South
African higher education, the data remains largely
inaccessible or unusable to universities and
researchers in HES. Despinte these constraints,
the ODDC research shows that intermediaries
in the ecosystem are playing a valuable role in
making the data available and useable.
5
Open data intermediaries provide both
supply-side as well as demand-side
value. CHET’s work on HE performance
indicators was intended not only to contribute to
government’s steering mechanisms, but also to
contribute to the governance capacity of South
African universities. The ODDC research supports
CHET’s ambition to build institutional-level
capacity. Further research is required to confirm
the use of CHET data in state-steering of the South
African higher education system, although there is
some evidence of CHET’s data being referenced in
national policy documents.
6
Intermediaries may assume the role of a
keystone species in an open data ecosystem
The ODDC research shows that inter-
mediaries such as CHET play an enabling role of
mediation and innovation within the ecosystem.
CHET enables new connections and solutions
within the ecosystem. CHET is also located
outside of the two primary institutions – the state
and the university – thus enabling it to play a
mediating role.
7
Intermediaries democratise the effects
and use of open data. Intermediaries play
an important role in curtailing the ‘de-
ameliorating’ effects of disciplinary surveillance
on open data. Intermediaries, as actors who
may well operate outside of the boundaries of
the state apparatus and of the institution of the
university, have the propensity to challenge how
data is collected, interpreted and shared. Their
role as de-institutionalised actors could contribute
to restoring the democratic value of open data.
The ODDC research shows that CHET is already
playing a unique role to ensure open data justice
as it challenges existing, imposed norms in the
collection and use of open data in the governance
of South Africa’s public university system.
o The HE governance open data
ecosystem has evolved despite poor
data provision by government because
of the presence of intermediaries in the
ecosystem.
o By providing a richer information context
and/or by making the data interoperable,
government could improve the uptake of
data by new users and intermediaries, as
well as by the existing intermediaries.
o Increasing the fluidity of government
open data could remove uncertainties
around both the degree of access
provided by intermediaries and the
financial sustainability of the open
platforms provided by intermediaries.
Data users
University planners (institutional-level policy)
Governance mechanism: university councils
Higher education studies (HES) researchers (national policy)
Governance mechanism: research—policy nexus
Primary data provider
Government (Department for Higher Education and Training)
Primary data source
Higher Education Management Information System (HEMIS)
Findings
1
CHET’s open data is being used by both university planners and HES
researchers, albeit infrequently. Researchers expressed the need for richer
data enabling more complex analysis. Recommendation: CHET should take
note of these findings when planning any modifications to its open data platform;
it may need to carve a more differentiated role for itself given the presence of
other intermediaries in the open data ecosystem.
2
HEMIS is an isolated data source. Granting access to HEMIS by third-
parties (under controlled conditions to protect personal data) could further
stimulate the evolution of the open data ecosystem and relieve pressure on
Conclusions

ThefundingforthisworkhasbeenprovidedthroughtheWorldWideWebFoundation'ExploringtheEmergingImpactsofOpenDatainDevelopingCountries'researchproject,
supportedbygrant107075fromCanada’sInternationalDevelopmentResearchCentre(web.idrc.ca).Findoutmoreatwww.opendataresearch.org/emergingimpacts
OPEN DATA
in the Governance of
South African Higher Education
TheSouthAfricanhighereducationgovernanceopendataecosystem
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K = 80%
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