About the Fellowship
The Data Science Africa (DSA) Visiting Fellowship, in collaboration with Datasphere Initiative, supports research and collaboration on data governance and responsible data sharing within the DSA ecosystem, providing fellows with the opportunity to investigate emerging data governance challenges relevant to the African data ecosystem.
About the Fellow
Arthur Stephen is a student at Baze University, Abuja, Nigeria. His interests include data governance, software development, digital innovation, and the use of technology to support research, learning, and knowledge sharing across Africa.
Through this fellowship, Stephen is exploring practical approaches for improving responsible access to research data and strengthening collaboration across the Data Science Africa community.
Background
Across Africa, research institutions, universities, development organizations, and innovation ecosystems are generating increasing volumes of datasets with significant potential for research, innovation, and evidence-based policymaking. However, access to these datasets often remains fragmented due to governance, legal, institutional, and trust-related barriers, including uncertainty around data ownership, access procedures, accountability, and responsible data use.
Emerging sandbox approaches have attracted growing attention as mechanisms for enabling secure and trusted experimentation with data access and sharing. While sandbox models have been applied in areas such as financial services and digital governance, their applicability to research data ecosystems remains underexplored, particularly within African institutional contexts.
Overview of the Study
The study seeks to understand the current data landscape within DSA-affiliated research centres, identify barriers to data sharing, and assess whether sandbox-based approaches could provide a practical mechanism for enabling secure and responsible access to research data.
As part of this work, a mapping exercise will be conducted to document datasets held across the DSA ecosystem and understand the conditions under which data may be accessed, shared, or used for research purposes. The findings will provide an evidence base for assessing whether operational and hybrid sandbox models could serve as practical mechanisms for improving responsible data access and sharing within the DSA community.
