Evaluate the KNBS data access and sharing policy in relation to Kenya immigration

department?

1.0 Introduction

Data is a set of facts, and provide a partial picture of reality (Hoyos & Barnes, 2012). Whether

data are being collected with a certain purpose or collected data are being utilized, questions

regarding what information the data are conveying, how the data can be used, and what must be

done to include more useful information must constantly be kept in mind. Data must be prepared

in such a way they are properly recognized by the program being used.

Data dissemination is key in implementing and highlighting strict compliance with the mission

of KNBS (Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2011). Dissemination of data to users for

research and other purposes is considered as key process by KNBS and therefore is timely

provided for to the entity requiring the data. The benefits that area associated with data

dissemination includes; Broader access to data enables replication of important statistics,

further research and feedback to KNBS which can help to improve the quality of data collection

and statistical products; data dissemination encourages diversity of analysis and opinion

while promoting new studies; the design of evidence-based policy and the monitoring of its

impact often require more detailed analysis to complement the statistical products produced by

the Bureau; Non-accessibility to data forces users to conduct their own surveys. Through timely

dissemination, KNBS will reduce the risk of duplicated or competing data collection activities

and allowing all users to access the same data and by reducing duplication of efforts on data

collection activities and allowing all users to access the same data.
For the dissemination of the official data, KNBS has divided its clients into four categories, that

is, government institutions, research and academic institutions, international organizations and

regional development agencies and media and general public (Department of Economic and

Social Affairs, 2013). However, there are principle that KNBS adhered to when disseminating

the data to either of the categories. These includes, official statistics shall be relevant for users;

user friendly; comprehensive; and comply with requirements regarding legislation,

confidentiality and quality; official statistics is a public good whose productions are financed

through the state budget; official statistics shall be accurate, reliable, consistent and comparable;

distribution of official statistics shall be impartial and transparent; Data security and privacy

shall be safeguarded; the bureau should endeavor to clarify misinterpretation of official statistics;

statistics releases are announced in advance through the release calendar and made available to

the public via the website and other channels and any changes to the dissemination schedule

should be communicated in advance.

1.2 Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS)

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) is a corporate body established under the Statistics

Act (2006). It is the principal Government agency responsible for the collection, compilation,

analysis, publication and dissemination of official statistical information and its custody. KNBS

is the custodian of official statistical information and is mandated to coordinate all statistical

activities, and the National Statistical System (NSS) in the country. Official statistics are data

produced and disseminated within the scope of the Statistical Programme of the National

Statistical System (NSS) in compliance with international standards

The obligation of KNBS include; the director general shall coordinate the overall distribution of

data to external agencies through the use of either data sharing agreements or other dissemination

modes. KNBS shall release data or grant access to data when it is satisfied that all reasonable

steps have been taken into account to safeguard confidential issues (Millennium Development

Goals, 2014). KNBS shall classify data by their level of sensitivity and risk, taking into account

the country’s legal framework on freedom of information and data protection, contractual

agreements, ethical considerations. KNBS shall not share data/information to individuals or

institutions before official release.

Under Vision 2030, KNBS plays a critical role of enabling the Government achieve its medium

and long term development agenda through collection, analysis, publication and dissemination of

reliable statistical information for public use, while at the same time coordinating, monitoring

and supervising the National Statistical System (NSS). KNBS operations is extremely useful in

the monitoring and evaluating of the effectiveness of government performance at all levels of

public service to the citizenry.

Vision Statement: A centre of excellence in Statistics Production and Management. Mission

Statement: To effectively manage and coordinate the entire National Statistical System to

enhance statistical production and utilization. Core Values: KNBS aims at providing quality

statistical and sex disaggregated data which is key to achieving excellence in performance levels

based on the fundamental principles of official statistics.

The Central Statistics Department (CSD) is mandated to produce quality, consistent, accurate,

timely, and accessible official statistics. The policy document is one of the efforts being

developed for data dissemination guide lines as mandated in the statistics law. This policy
reflects the wayto achieve excellence in disseminating official statistics to inform decision-

making, the planners, monitoring and evaluation specialists of evidence-based information of

various demographic, social, economic and development programs in the country. This will be

achieved through perfect continuous data collection, analysis of censuses, surveys and use of

administrative data from different organizations (Kenya Bureau of Statistics, 2016).

1.3 Sharing of information between KNBS and Government Entity

The main aim of having policies in place for data access and dissemination policy is to ensure

timely and quality data provision to data users to be achieved through; Provision of a framework

for availing data to the public in conformity with the government’s open data initiative,

Definition of formats in which data can be disseminated in line with the latest technologies,

definition of the nature of data files that will be released, the intended use of these files and

conditions under which the files shall be released and provision of guidelines on the permitted

usage of KNBS data.

The policies set by the KNBS in data sharing among the users and government department

covers the following; Micro data and its outputs: This is the data generated through surveys and

censuses at unit level of observation mainly from the household, establishment and individual

levels. Macro data and its outputs: This includes all available information collected and

aggregated from households, firms/institutions. Administrative data: this includes data collected

by public institutions in the course of rendering service to the public. All GIS products: This

includes maps and shape-file data.

The following process and means of sharing the information to the government ministry applies

also to the immigration department. The KNBS makes official statistics available under the terms
of the national and international framework guiding production and dissemination of data. The

Director General approve dissemination of all official statistics before release and ensure

simultaneous release to all users as per the release calendar. Users or customers of statistics (or

market) are either legal or private persons who need the statistics for making work-related

decisions or have an interest in official statistics. Based on the user’s activity, relevance and

relation participation in the production process of statistics, taking statistics to the public, using it

while making decisions that influence the society.

When sharing the information to the government entity, the agency ensures that the data is

widely accessible easily, as well as the commitment to quality improvement of the service

provided to any of the government entity as other interesting party. Access to statistical data is

provided using modern information and communication technology in order to meet user needs

and permit easy access. Recognizing the important needs of users and the importance of timely

data, KNBS shall release datasets for public access or share it with the public at most within a

month after the first release of survey report.

The KNBS recognizes the benefits of timely dissemination of data to users for research and other

purposes. These benefits include: broader access to data enables replication of important

statistics, further research and feedback to KNBS which can help to improve the quality of data

collection and statistical products; Data dissemination encourages diversity of analysis

and opinion while promoting new studies. The design of evidence-based policy and the

monitoring of its impact often require more detailed analysis to complement the statistical

products produced by the Bureau. Non-accessibility to data forces users to conduct their own

surveys. Through timely dissemination, KNBS will reduce the risk of duplicated or competing
data collection activities and allowing all users to access the same data and by reducing

duplication of efforts on data collection activities and allowing all users to access the same data.

The statistics KNBS produces and analyses shall be geared to meet the needs of the general

public, the business community, researchers, politicians economic agents and stakeholders

involved in national planning and decision-making processes. The KNBS is committed to

achieve excellence in provision of timely, reliable and affordable official statistics for informed

decision making in order to maximize the welfare of all Kenyans. This will be achieved through

collection and analysis of censuses, surveys and use of administrative data and timely

dissemination of statistical products and services to users.

Data Access and Sharing among KNBS and Kenya Immigration Department

In Kenya, data on immigration is regularly collected and analyzed by relevant government

institutions. Even though most of the data is available to public, some of the data is used for

internal purposes of the institution producing the data (KNBS, 2013). Such data is mostly stored

to KNBS which is the custodian of government data. Major sources of immigration data is

collected in at borders, as well as from administrative records. Data on immigrant stocks and

flows, remittances, international arrivals and departures, passports and work permits issued as

well as stock of registered refugees is all readily available in the government agencies and shared

among the relevant agencies.

In the majority of cases, immigration data is collected by the institutions primarily for internal

administrative purposes. However, existing data collected by immigration department, is better

utilized through increased analysis and reporting to produce important information on migration.

Access to most datasets form KNBS is governed by a data access and dissemination policy and
access is granted only through a formal request. Although this requirement causes delay to the

intended user, the request is usually granted. The data is accessed by individual agencies and

institutions, and there is no organized mechanism for its consolidation and compilation at a

central level. In most cases, immigration data is not analyzed in detail to inform national policy

development or planning. The data is mostly stored to KNBS since immigration department do

not have access to relevant data management systems or additional software for data processing

or statistical analysis which KNBS has. Based on data collected, KNBS publish regular reports,

which are available on their websites. KNBS, has archiving software, KeNADA, which provides

methods to organize, store and display data and reports in a uniform way to facilitate data

sharing at the national and international level.

The Ministry of Immigration uses PISCES at border control points to cross check the details of

all entries and exists with travelling documents. PISCES contains data on traveler’s details such

as name, age, nationality, place of birth and criminal offences committed. At most border points,

PISCES is not connected to the headquarters. Immigration officers usually back up the system

details on a daily basis and send them to headquarters through email. The data obtained both at

border points and headquarters is then stored in MS Excel files which is then shared to KNBS for

future use and storage.

Data is shared to immigration department through data management systems such as (KenInfo,

IMIS and KeNADA). These databases are publically available to KNBS following an application

procedure for access. To ensure data security, KNBS as custodians of data has placed password

protection on their systems to control access. Immigration department uses MS Word and Excel

for processing and data storage and analysis. KNBS use SPSS and Nvivo for data analysis. DIS
uses PISCES to capture and verify details of passport applicants, as well as details of both

incoming and outgoing persons.

1.4 Conclusion

Good quality data and statistics are an essential input to inform policy-making and

decision-taking. Quality data and statistics are crucial for monitoring the country’s medium and

long-term development plans (Vision 2030 and MTPs) and achievements made in various

international commitments such as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For surveys and

censuses, data may be released in phases to ensure that the data have been reviewed and

analyzed by the KNBS prior to release. The initial release provide data based on the basic report

and subsequent release will be detailed analysis of specific indicators.

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