Use research findings of civil society - Assemblies told

By Justina Paaga, GNA
Cape Coast, May 10, GNA - Local government assemblies have been urged to readily utilise research findings of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), which may be critical for their operations to enhance the implementation of policies and programmes.

They must also partner universities and CSOs to conduct joint research work to enable them to utilise research findings for the development of their areas.

Mr Samuel Obiri, the Associate Executive Director of the Centre for Environmental Impact Analysis (CEIA), said this at a policy dialogue workshop on 'Decentralising Development in Ghana - the use of research evidence in development /project planning', at Cape Coast

The workshop, organised by the Ghana Information Network for Knowledge Sharing (GINKS), was attended by Regional Economic Planning officers, District Planning Officers, Coordinating Directors and Heads of Departments.

It aimed, among others, to discuss relevant policy issues that would help improve upon policy making at the district level.

Mr Obiri pointed out that CSOs by the nature of their work generated a lot of evidence-based reports that could aid in addressing some of the developmental challenges facing the nation.

He, however, expressed regret that the findings of many CSOs were received by some Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAS) with mixed feelings, while some rejected such reports outright without studying the relevant information.

He said some attributed this attitude to the fact that the MMDAS did not appreciate the sources and methodologies used and urged the CSOs to standardise their methodologies to reduce the flaws that could affect the credibility of their research reports.

Mr Obiri also urged the CSOs to partner the media and other research institutions such as the universities and the research units of the MMDAs to undertake specific joint research works.

Mrs Pricilla Arhin-Kuranchie, the Cape Coast Metropolitan Chief Executive, in a speech read for her, stated that research findings or evidence played a critical role in guiding and ensuring good public policy-making; and project planning at every level of governance.

She, however, noted that some research work took a long time to complete and that was usually not expedient for political decision-making because 'time is of the essence to every political leader.'

Mr Ibrahim Inusah, the Executive Secretary of GINKs, explained that GINKS was a network of individuals and organisations sharing information and knowledge, which facilitated capacity building for ICT use and evidence-informed policy -making in Ghana.

He said evidence -informed policy-making was an approach to development, where policy makers were equipped with the necessary resources that positioned them to assimilate evidence into policies.

Mr Inusah said similar workshops had been held in the Volta, Eastern and Ashanti regions and it formed part of the programmes being implemented by an international consortium called, 'VakaYiko', operating in three African countries.

GNA