Strengthening Research-Industry Collaboration For Wealth And Job Creation In Ghana -Part 2

3.0. THE NEED FOR RESEARCH-INDUSTRY COLLABORATION IN GHANA

There is an urgent need for Research-Industry Collaboration in Ghana for the following reasons;

3.1. Research Output, Industry Need Mismatch

While Ghana has research capacity in the universities, research institutions and firms, there is little interaction between researchers and industry.

This means that key research questions remain unanswered, research is not shared and there are missed opportunities for scaling innovation and for linking innovations back to research activity.

This is because most researches are geared towards earning a promotion or improvement or are funded by foreign donors. They are not driven by industry or relevant societal needs or global trends. E.g. ESG, AI, GESI, systems thinking and design.

3.2. Dwindling Funding for Public Tertiary Institutions

The funding challenges in tertiary education institutions in Ghana are not restricted to inadequacy, but also untimeliness of government funds allocation.

With dwindling funding to the HEIs, managers of the institutional institutions are adopting various strategies to augment their revenue to cater for the increasing cost. Research revenue especially from industry is another good source of revenue and that makes strengthening research and industry collaboration crucial.

Targets should be on multinational companies in the operational areas of the TUs. Establishing research institutes aligned with the mandate of the TUs and the sectors and areas of operation of these companies would be a good strategic fit. For instance, the CSR and sustainability research Centre for TTU for oil and gas and mining companies in the area as well as the Centre for MSME and GESI by STU.

3.3. Unemployment
The average rate of unemployment in the country is 14.7 percent as at 2023.

The number of unemployed youth aged between 15 and 35 rose from about 1.2 million to over 1.3 million during the same period with the rate among females consistently higher than males, according to the Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey, Quarter Three Labour Bulletin by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).

A new UNDP study that analysed the drivers of vulnerability to violent extremism and radicalization in the five Northern Regions of Ghana revealed youth unemployment as the most common driver.

As noted earlier, research industry collaboration has the potential to create millions of jobs as evidenced in Facebook, Google, etc.

3.4. Fifth Generation Universities
Fifth-generation universities are the advanced type of entrepreneurial universities in the digital age. Cross-sector collaboration and innovation are crucial to maximising the societal benefits of research, education and knowledge exchange, while also driving economic growth and productivity. Such universities integrate research, teaching and knowledge exchange for widespread societal benefit, underpinned by cross-sector strategic alliances. This is the cardinal point for research-industry collaboration.

4.0. RECOMMENDATIONS
I now want to conclude by turning my attention to some recommendations to government, industry captains and heads of higher education institutions (HEIs) in Ghana

4.1. Government

1. Government funding support - The government being the initiator of development should put up calls to help mitigate the risk of a private agent who will find it difficult to invest in research he/ she is not sure of. This could be in the form of a Tax incentive.

For instance, companies that fund HEI researchers based on country priority areas should have a corporate tax of 20% to 24% instead of 25%. This will be a huge incentive for the industry to invest in research.

2. Financial instruments include R&D and innovation grants, funding support for infrastructures and intermediary organisations, tax incentives with a focus on collaboration, direct financial support for spin-offs, and financial support to recruit PhDs or postdoctoral students.
3. Regulatory instruments aim to provide incentives to the different parties involved in science-industry knowledge transfer, including intellectual property (IP) rights regime, regulations regarding the creation of spin-offs by researchers, and sabbaticals and mobility schemes for researchers
4. Soft instruments include less interventionist models of public policy focused on awareness building, networking events, and the development of guidelines, standards and codes of conduct for research industry partnership

4.2. HEIs
a. Research findings should be summarized into policy /Industry briefs and sent to relevant places for implementation. Future Conferences should have a section with industry from various sectors for Policy /Innovation Brief.

b. Research institutions should collaborate with industry for industry to have access to a database of published research.

c. Researchers should invite the industry to witness the products developed through research and Industry Open Days to get input from the Industry.

d. To work and understand the industry, you must be with them. In the same way, researchers should focus on action research in which they spend some time with industry to learn to shape their understanding of industry issues to shape research output. This is not a Faculty Internship but the objective is the same as a student internship.

e. The management of IPR and the evaluation system are salient incentive mechanisms.

• The ownership of IPR can be considered an incentive mechanism that encourages universities to look for commercial applications of their research.
• Establishing a fair sharing arrangement for royalty payments to researchers also increases their interest and commitment to the commercialization process.
• A further incentive mechanism is an appraisal system for academics based not only on traditional teaching and research metrics but also considers the relevance of their research to industry.

5.0. CONCLUSION
Products resulting from research industry collaboration can be commercialised. For instance, research leading to the production of a COVID-19 vaccine at Afe Babalola University in Nigeria is yielding huge revenues for the institution.

Secondly, better research can improve a university’s position on ranking lists. This will, in turn, attract more students and ultimately increase revenue from tuition fees.

Thirdly, research could lead to alliances with industry, thereby creating income, employment and opportunities for both universities and industry.

Ernest Ofori Asamoah (Prof)
Email: [email protected]