The Interactive Initiative for Social Impact and Dataphyte, media research, and data analytics organisation have trained journalists, civil society, and community-based actors on how to use data to drive national accountability through data-driven reporting and advocacy.
The two-day training supported by MacArthur Foundation and Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism is aimed at training the participants to scrutinise, report on contracting and procurement processes, and use data to tell impactful stories.
Topics treated at the training included Data Powered Storytelling for Development, The Transparency and Accountability Value Chain: Data-People-Process, the Introduction of Data Analysis, and The So-What of Storytelling.
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The facilitators were Mrs Adenike Aloba, the Managing editor of Dataphyte and Dataphyte Interactive Program Lead, and Mr Charles Mbah, the Programme Manager of Dataphyte.
Mbah explained the need for civic actors to leverage all the data in the fiscal transparency and accountability value chain to hold the government accountable and drive positive social change.
“It is important that the conversation about transparency and accountability not just remain at the centre. So our hope is that as journalists and other civic actors especially community-based organisations at subnational levels learn about data and use what they learn, there will be improved service delivery to the citizens from the grassroots up”
Chioma Iruke, from Mercury Newspaper Abuja, said she learnt how to use data to tell stories, telling stories from different angles and how it affects people.
“This training helped me to know that we can tell one story from a different angle. The two stories might sound the same but not necessarily the same. I learnt that when you are holding the government accountable and you have evidence, they will always respond and ignore you when they know you don’t have evidence or fact” he noted.
Mahmud Ibrahim, a community-based actor with Transparency and Accountability in Totality (TinT) Initiative- Follow Taxes, learnt during the training what he has been missing in his journey in project tracking and data collection.
Rajab Haruna, a community-based actor with connecting village initiative said the training was awesome, educative, and entertaining, with the facilitators explaining the tools to use in analysing data to demand transparency and accountability.
“One of my joyful moments in the event is the networking session and the introduction aspect where all participants spill out the reason for their participation and expectation at the end. Hearing peoples’ views on what they do, how far we have gone, and their plans for the coming. There is one unique thing that I enjoy which is unity and cooperation.”
