Open Cities Lab
Non-profit organization
Open Cities Lab (OCL) is a non-profit organisation that combines the use of action research, co-design, data science, and technology with civic engagement, to enable the development of inclusive cities and urban spaces.
Location: Durban, South Africa
Open Cities Lab (OCL) is a non-profit organisation that combines the use of action research, co-design, data science, and technology with civic engagement, to enable the development of inclusive cities and urban spaces.
We were born out of a desire to see dynamic, living solutions to problems faced by urban communities in South Africa, to help implement a vibrant, inclusive society where all residents and stakeholders have an active role in decision-making.
The founding committee observed the static, inefficient processes in development interventions in the three spheres of government, and how in many cases residents in South African cities have lost trust in public processes, and often do not have access to critical information, and forums or structures to be involved in decision-making to build a better future. We turned these spheres into our impact pillars and work towards building inclusion and participatory democracy in cities and urban spaces through:
Empowering citizens
Building trust and accountability in civic space
Capacitating government.
We like to partner with other awesome communities, CSOs and NGOs, government departments, academic partners, and the like, preferring to build others’ kingdoms while they build ours, as opposed to "empire building".
Our core competencies include:
Civic technology
Machine learning & data science
Action research
Technology and data learning
Co-design
Capacity building
Meet Open Cities Lab here:
