Data, one of the levers for accelerating decentralization and local development in Cameroon
In spatial planning, the question of data becomes central. Data literacy (urban) is one of the keys to Cameroonian decentralization. Service platforms are becoming the data recovery layer today. It is important to group the heterogeneous and incomplete data of the city (or the municipality) on a single platform so that they can be enriched and shared. Crowdsourcing is thus one of the key elements of the smart city and the bringing together of politicians and citizens. Its success at a reasonable cost requires secure mutualisation ensured by a digital base (data, infrastructures, sensors, platforms, etc.) based on a shared reflection on the use of data. One of the challenges is to find the right balance. We must also reconcile the job of developer, requiring arbitration by the state, and the job of catalyst to encourage the population to create value. We must also reconcile the protection of personal data, the opening of public data and the regulation of the use of traces left on the networks (big data).
