Open Data Platform
Our bespoke open data platform is designed to facilitate remote data collection, centralize data storage, and visualize African restitution data effectively. This platform, which is central to ORA’s mission, is aimed at enhancing access and transparency in restitution processes while focusing on creating a tool for African practitioners directly involved in restitution efforts.
"Designed and developed in collaboration with African data engineers”
Open Data Platform

About the Open Data Platform
Due to the absence of existing infrastructure to support comprehensive restitution data management, as well as the need for a database that accurately reflects the complexities of African restitution processes, ORA has collaborated with researchers and data engineers, to develop a bespoke open data platform designed to facilitate remote data collection, centralize data storage, and visualize African restitution data effectively. This platform, which is central to ORA’s mission, is aimed at enhancing access and transparency in restitution processes while focusing on creating a tool for African practitioners directly involved in restitution efforts.
Components
The platform has 3 main components
Collection
The platform gathers information through two main methods. One helps researchers store interview details, upload transcripts, and document their reflections and experiences. The other captures specific events in a standardized way across various restitution case studies, ensuring clarity and easy comparison of data.
1
Aggregation
This component serves as the central repository for all collected data. It ensures that data is organized, secure, and easily retrievable, allowing for comprehensive structure and storage .
2
Visualisation
The visualization component not only simplifies complex data but also highlights patterns and insights across multiple countries and case studies.
3

1. Collection
The platform gathers information through two main methods. One helps researchers store interview details, upload transcripts, and document their reflections and experiences. The other captures specific events in a standardized way across various restitution case studies, ensuring clarity and easy comparison of data.

2. Aggregation
This component serves as the central repository for all collected data. It ensures that data is organized, secure, and easily retrievable, allowing for comprehensive structure and storage .

3. Visualisation
The visualization component not only simplifies complex data but also highlights patterns and insights across multiple countries and case studies.
Our Guiding Principles
Evidence-informed Decision Making
At the heart of our platform is a commitment to evidence-informed decision making. By facilitating grassroots data collection and centralized data access, our platform enables stakeholders to access information on African restitution processes. This accessibility empowers practitioners to make decisions based on robust, contextual evidence.
Data Stewardship
Our approach is grounded in ethical data governance that ensures that data is used in ways that respect the rights and dignity of individuals, promoting accountability and trust within the restitution ecosystem. Data is governed ethically by adhering to established privacy standards, obtaining informed consent from data subjects, and ensuring transparency in data handling processes.
Trust and Accountability
We believe that this open data platform can be instrumental in fostering a healthy digital ecosystem. By promoting transparency in restitution processes, it strives to cultivate trust and accountability in digital engagements, paving the way for informed public discourse.
Community of Practice Involvement
While active use of the platform and its outputs fosters shared responsibility and helps identify gaps or biases, collaboration with communities of practice nurtures a culture of data stewardship, where platform managers and research community members work together to ensure the data remains reliable, up-to-date, and reflective of the evolving restitution landscape.