Spreading the “Gospel” of Science, Technology and Innovation Research in Ghana: A Two-Case Experience of the CSIR-Science and Technology Policy Research Institute.

2018

English

There is an urgent need to link Research and Development (R&D) to Private Sector’s technological needs for business growth, as well as linking research to policy for socio economic development of the Ghanaian economy. It is against this backdrop that two projects were implemented by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) –Science and Technology Policy Research Institute (STEPRI). These projects were the CSIR-Technology Development and Transfer Center (instituted to strengthen the linkage between Research and the Private Sector), funded by the World Bank, DANIDA and the Government of Ghana (GOG); and the second, Development Research Uptake in Sub Saharan Africa (DRUSSA), funded by DFID to link research to policy. The CSIR-TDTC intervention strategies involve capacity building of researchers to effectively develop and transfer the much needed technologies for private sector growth, creation of platforms for research-industry interactions and development of effective research-industry partnerships among others. DRUSSA interventions also involved policy fellowships, policy symposia and capacity building of policy makers in using research evidence. This paper shares experiences with the CSIR-TDTC and DRUSSA projects, the achievement and strategies for more sustainable research industry/policy linkage in Ghana.

Onumah, J. A.; Quaye, W.; Essegbey, G. O.; Decker, E.