By Philip Tengzu
Wa, (UW/R), Oct. 20, GNA – Professor David Millar, the Founder and President of the Millar Institute for Transparency and Development Studies, has encouraged the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) to push for the establishment of a dedicated research fund by the government.
He said the fund should be a percentage of the government’s annual income set aside for universities to conduct research and allow policy decisions to be based on the findings of those research products.
Prof. Millar, who said this in Wa during the opening of the 3rd edition of the Research and Development Conference, observed that the government’s book and research allowance was not enough to fund research in the universities.
“I think that they (the government) have assumed that the book and research allowance is a research grant, but for me it’s reimbursable. We need dedicated research funding, a certain percentage of national income.
This is what UTAG should fight for, even if it is going to come from GETFund, a percentage should be known, they have to go and negotiate and have their fund paid off upfront,” Prof. Millar explained.
Other panel members included Prof. Ransford Edward Van Gyampo, a Political Science Lecturer at the University of Ghana, and Prof. Africanus Lewil Diedong, Dean of the Faculty of Integrated Development Studies at the SDD-UBIDS.
The discussion was on the theme: “Bridging the Gap between Applied Research, Policy Formulation, and Implementation.”
He also stressed the need for industries to contribute to funding research in the country for the universities to conduct research.
Prof. Millar observed that there was no gap between applied research and policy formulation and implementation but what existed was a “disconnect” between them because to some extent, research findings were used in policy formulation.
He, therefore, urged UTAG to institute an annual research conference to engage stakeholders, particularly policymakers on applied research findings, develop a position paper at the end of the conference, and share it with policymakers for consideration.
Prof. Millar said that could help address the issue of the “disconnect” between applied research and policy formulation and implementation.
Prof. Ransford Edward Van Gyampo argued that the level at which applied research findings were employed in policy formulation and implementation could be described as “tokenism”.
He said there was a gap between them, and policymakers needed to ensure that all policy decisions were informed by research-based evidence.
“In every critical analysis of some of these issues, you do not use exceptions to do the rule. Generally, governments of developing countries tend to act without recourse to research.
So, if we are lucky and we find some of them making use of some research findings, that is good, that is commendable. What is happening now is a kind of tokenism and that must not be celebrated, we need more,” Prof Gyampo intimated.
Prof. Africanus Lewil Diedong observed that good research could be published in top journals but with poor communication of the research findings, it would not make any impact on national development discourse.
He suggested that research findings could be communicated in policy briefs, position papers, and press releases among others to policymakers.
Prof. Maurice Oscar Dasaah, immediate past Director of Research at SDD-UBIDS and a participant, opined that the country could not develop without a dedicated research fund, saying, “If we are not investing in things that matter then we are not getting anywhere.”
Mr Lukman Tahiru, the Chief Executive Officer of Ideapath Consult, also a participant, observed that utilisation of research findings should start with the universities with the application of research works those students had produced.
He recommended that SDD-UBIDS should engage district assemblies on community profiles developed by students on the development challenges and prospects of the communities during their Practical Training Programmes.
GNA