In Sub-Saharan Africa, skills and capacities to collect, process, archive and analyze survey data and provide data services are not very well developed. The International Summer School in Uganda supports the development of data and method skills of East African researchers and data experts to effectively work with existing survey data and generate new data. The focus lies on, but is not limited to, data in the fields of the social sciences and related disciplines like, for example, education and public health. Thereby, GESIS Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences engages in sharing its expertise of survey methods and data management with Ugandan, Tanzanian and Kenyan partners to enhance their local capacities for the development of data skills and data infrastructure. In particular, the project seeks to enhance local capacity and expertise to

1. Collect and process data;
2. Analyze data and foster data-based research;
3. Reflect on issues related to data management (including FAIR data) and data infrastructure in East Africa; and
4. Support practitioners and researchers to use data for teaching and informing local and international actors for policy making in African countries.

Based on cooperation between GESIS and a network of East African universities and stakeholders, the capacity building initiative organizes and delivers two two-week Summer Schools comprising 4 courses each with about 60 participants from Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and Germany (conducted in 2019 and 2022) and a data management training workshop (held in January 2020). Furthermore, the project develops the course program as digital, mixed-mode learning material for replication and to support data science and quantitative methods teaching at East African Universities and beyond.

The project presents a unique opportunity to facilitate the exchange of data expertise between African and German researchers and practitioners. It is planned to develop and implement related activities for building competence and capacity in East African countries to enhance data services and to support the participation of African countries in international surveys.