MembaO

This project was implemented while I was working as the Country Manager at Code for Sierra Leone The project is one of the 22 projects across Africa selected for funding by the innovateAFRICA fund, which is managed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Omidyar Network

About the Project

MembaO! aimed to create a data driven platform that promoted transparency, provided online access to parliamentary records and enabled citizens to learn more about the specific policies and manifestos of the parliament aspirants for the 2018 General Elections.

The Objectives of the Platform

1. Provide access to electronic copies of the hansard from the Parliament, which would include access to the attendance and voting record of different parliamentarians

2. Allow parliament candidates to disseminate information about their policy positions and manifestos to the general public at large via social as well as traditional media outlets

3. Map out the manifestos, policy positions and agendas of the various MP candidates via text and graphical analysis tools and disseminate this information to a wide range of potential voters,thereby allowing civil society organisations and concerned stakeholders the tools to carry out a wide range of analysis on this data

4. Stream debates and discussions between the various parliament aspirants for the 2018 elections

The First Prototype of the Project

The following were the screenshots of the first prototype of the application

Challenges with the Project

Getting access to the historical records of the parliamentarian’s attendance was difficult, given the political climate in the country due to the upcoming elections in 2018. Instead, the application was pivoted to one which enabled users to search for information about the candidates running for elections from their constituencies.