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NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING

Natural language processing analyses
textual information to develop insight into
a digital 'voice'.


DASHBOARDS

Dashboards present data in clear, visually pleasing and easy to understand
formats/ways.


DATA STORIES

Data stories take data and explain it in a descriptive narrative that helps
guide the reader through the details and significances of the information
provided.


DATABASING AND PORTALS

Databases store data in a format that is efficient and easy to use. Data portals
enable access to information for both technical and non-technical indivduals.


MAPPING

Mapping and geospatial analyses allow for information to be communicated in
reference to a specific location.


NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING

Natural language processing analyses
textual information to develop insight into
a digital 'voice'.


DASHBOARDS

Dashboards present data in clear, visually pleasing and easy to understand
formats/ways.


DATA STORIES

Data stories take data and explain it in a descriptive narrative that helps
guide the reader through the details and significances of the information
provided.


DATABASING AND PORTALS

Databases store data in a format that is efficient and easy to use. Data portals
enable access to information for both technical and non-technical indivduals.


MAPPING

Mapping and geospatial analyses allow for information to be communicated in
reference to a specific location.


WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO

We are a non-profit organisation that creates tools and interventions that
strengthen capacity within government, empowers citizens and improves trust and
accountability in the civic space.

We have been operating since 2015, and have international reach through our
projects in African cities and urban spaces, and a global presence in knowledge
creation.

Work on a project together


HOW WE CAN HELP


CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATION

I work for a Civil Society Organisation and would like OCL to help my team
leverage data in the most impactful way.


PARTNER ORGANISATIONS

I am part of an existing organisation and would like to partner with OCL to help
us map out our systems and guide us in building and managing our data system


CITY EMPLOYEE

I work for the city and need a way to easily collect, analyse and/or share
important data with my team and other stakeholders.

Offerings

We use these offerings to help Civil Society.

Data management systemTrainingAnalysis module
End user data toolsOpen knowledge


PROJECTS

This is an example of how we leverage data.


DEXTER

Dexter is a natural language processing platform that evaluates online news
articles to improve transparency, equal representation and veracity of published
news. Dexter is a collaboration between OCL and Media Monitoring Africa (MMA).

Learn More
Offerings

We use these offerings to help Partner Organisations.

Analysis moduleData management system


PROJECTS

This is an example of how we map out systems and build and manage data systems.


PLANNING FOR INFORMALITY

Finding information on how cities are responding to informal settlements and
backyarders is hard to come by, and requires insight into reporting systems of
municipalities. Planning for Informality, an initiative of Isandla Institute,
presents the strategies adopted by the eight metropolitan municipalities of
South Africa.

Learn More


PROJECTS

These are examples of how we addressed these problem statements.


DEXTER

Dexter is a natural language processing platform that evaluates online news
articles to improve transparency, equal representation and veracity of published
news. Dexter is a collaboration between OCL and Media Monitoring Africa (MMA).

Learn More
Offerings

We use these offerings to help City Employees.

Data strategyData pipelinesAnalysis module
Data collection systemData management system


PROJECTS

This is an example of how we collect, analyse and/or share data.


SCODA – SOUTH AFRICAN CITIES OPEN DATA ALMANAC

The South African Cities Open Data Almanac (SCODA) is a platform that improves
access, analysis and insight into current and comparable information about South
African cities through various tools. SCODA is a collaboration between OCL and
South African Cities Network (SACN).

Learn More



SEE HOW WE APPLY OUR TOOLS TO OUR PROJECTS

DashboardsDatabasing and portals


SCODA – SOUTH AFRICAN CITIES
OPEN DATA ALMANAC

The South African Cities Open Data Almanac (SCODA) is a platform that improves
access, analysis and insight into current and comparable information about South
African cities through various tools. SCODA is a collaboration between OCL and
South African Cities Network (SACN).

See Project
DashboardsDatabasing and portals


AFRICA DATA HUB

Africa Data Hub (ADH) collects reliable, accurate, up-to-date data on the
COVID-19 pandemic in Africa and presents this in a way that is easy to
understand, analyse and use by journalists.

See Project
MappingDatabasing & portals


MYCANDIDATE

MyCandidate is a web-based application that helped South African voters see
which candidates were contesting in their ward for the 2021 Local Government
Elections. This information was scraped from PDFs and had never been made so
accessible before.

See Project







OUR TOOLS ARE USED BY

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cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

See More
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TESTIMONIALS

What our partners say about us.

Over the last six years we have built new partnerships and friendships within
OCL, and we have seen them go from strength to strength. Unlike others who have
grown rapidly, OCL hasn’t lost sight of why we partner with them, ensuring that
they have integrated our work with them as they have grown, while consistently
delivering excellent work. OCL represents the best South Africa has to offer and
the massive potential we have as a nation; they are professional, innovative and
believe in building our democracy. Our shared vision and approach and love of
beer means we are delighted to have OCL as one of our core partners and look
forward to even greater things.
WILLIAM BIRD
William Bird, Director of Media Monitoring Africa
Open Cities Lab has been a very beneficial partner in the journey to developing
a smart city in eThekwini through the Durban EDGE Portal. We have always found
Open Cities Lab very skilled, innovative, eager to capacitate and hard working.
We would recommend any city, government institution, and partner to work closely
with OCL to achieve data and technology driven decision making towards better
service delivery.
Tshegang Chipeya
Senior Research Advisor, Economic Development Unit, eThekwini Municipality
Open Cities Lab was born out of a mission to democratise information for
civilian participation in our democracy. It's with passionate hearts and minds
that this unique organization operates, to which both are of a high calibre.
Their approach is systematic and structural with strong leads of measured
intuition in an ever malleable social and technological landscape, making them
robust yet flexible, caring yet strong. We've loved being a part of their
journey, and look forward to many more years of contributing to positive,
sustainable change in South Africa.
CALLUM OBERHOLZER
Founder and Director at Black Box
I’ve been consulting to OCL since March 2020 on a HR capacity, with an emphasis
on personal development and organisational culture. I can honestly say I feel
I’ve learnt more from the team and their leadership than they have from me.
Their empathy towards each team member and external partners and stakeholders is
something I’ve not witnessed before, particularly in such an agile team
environment. Their genuine care extends into all the work they do with so much
passion. I cannot wait to see what else the team will achieve in the years to
come as they continue to serve the OCL mission.

Ashleigh Rich
Coach and facilitator






LATEST BLOG ARTICLES


USING ART USING ART TO SHOWCASE THE VALUE OF OPEN DATA AT MOZFEST IN 2023

We are re-imagining advancements towards openness and transparency in civic tech
using art through the dARTa initiative.

April 20, 2023


HOW DO WE MAKE HYBRID-WORK, WORK?

The hybrid working model has been a part of Open Cities Lab’s work culture long
before the pandemic, here is how we make it work for us.

March 31, 2023


JOINING OCL: THE JOURNEY AFTER A YEAR

Aliasgher shares his experience of joining Open Cities Lab and everything he has
learnt over the year.

December 6, 2022

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interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo
cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

See more


RESEARCH

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cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

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CONTACT US: hello@opencitieslab.org

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