UICT Research Proposes Data Governance Framework for Uganda’s Digital Transformation
The study notes that fragmented systems and limited interoperability can prevent institutions from turning this data into actionable knowledge.
The Uganda Institute of Information and Communications Technology (UICT) is strengthening its contribution to Uganda’s digital transformation through research focused on data governance, interoperability and institutional knowledge management.
The institute presented research at the 30th Annual International Management Conference (AIMC 2026), held from September 22 to 25 at Imperial Golf View Hotel in Entebbe, under the theme “The Knowledge Revolution: Driving Innovation and Sustainable Development in Africa.”
Gastervas Geofrey Rutwara Mugume, a lecturer in UICT’s Department of ICT & Engineering and the paper’s primary author, presented a study titled “Transforming Institutional Data into a Knowledge Ecosystem: A Governance Framework for Inclusive Digital Transformation in Uganda.”
Presented under the conference’s Digital Knowledge Management and Inclusive Transformation track, the research examines challenges facing tertiary institutions as they generate growing volumes of academic, administrative, financial, research and innovation data.
The study notes that fragmented systems and limited interoperability can prevent institutions from turning this data into actionable knowledge. It proposes an Institutional Knowledge Ecosystem Governance Framework that brings together data governance, interoperability, analytics, knowledge management, institutional intelligence and innovation as interconnected capabilities for digital transformation.
The research findings also identified a relationship between the maturity of an institution’s knowledge ecosystem and its readiness for digital transformation, highlighting the importance of integrated institutional capabilities alongside technology adoption.
The study contributes to UICT’s research priorities in Digital Government and Public Service Transformation, as well as Digital Trust and Critical Digital Infrastructure. Its recommendations include stronger data stewardship, interoperable systems, institutional knowledge repositories, analytics, AI-enabled knowledge services and greater use of research for innovation and decision-making.
The framework also provides a proposed governance pathway for developing Uganda’s Open Education Data Portal (OEDP) beyond data publication into a trusted education knowledge ecosystem. This would involve common metadata and stewardship, privacy and interoperability controls, analytics, research capabilities, AI-enabled decision support and knowledge reuse.
UICT said research of this nature is intended to strengthen the connection between education, research, data governance, digital transformation and innovation as Uganda develops its digital and knowledge economy.
“Data alone do not transform institutions; knowledge ecosystems do,” the institute said.
