Day 1 of Talk to the Senate (2017-2022 Priorities)

Greetings all,
Great to see the interest the Upper House is investing in this area. I have
three challenges, and will offer suggestions for two.
– A lot of tech research is in the hands of the private sector who tend to
have their particular interests. I\’m with Harry in saying involve academia
– read universities and research institutes – in undertaking research that
can be useful for broader county and/or national interests. E.g. research
that also goes beyond access issues to include how people use tech and why,
could inform policy-making. A tech research fund at national or county
level could be one way to encourage this.
– County governments do not seem to be consistent in their embrace of tech.
Encourage counties to view digital tech positively and to address it
legislatively. E.g. the vast amounts of information that counties can
gather about their people provides opportunity to know how to prioritise
funding. But the collection, storage and dissemination of that data needs a
legal framework. So Data Protection and Access to Information laws at
county levels would be necessary.
– Tech seems too technical and too elitist, particularly away from the
urban centre. Is it Senate\’s business to make it less technical and less
elitist to \’Wanjiku\’? I\’d say it\’s someone\’s business, but I don\’t know if
the someone is the Senate.
Thanks,
Wambui Wamunyu

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