Ghana Statistical Service partners UK ONS to enhance data-driven policy decisions

The Government Statistician, Professor Samuel Kobina Annim, has underscored the importance of strategic partnerships, particularly with telecommunications stakeholders, to enhance the use of data in policy-making for national development.

Speaking during an interview on the sideline of a stakeholder engagement meeting in Accra today, Professor Annim emphasised the progress made in leveraging telecom data to track internal mobility in Ghana and its potential impact on policy decisions.

"This can be used in so many respects, and what we've demonstrated today is to give a better understanding of how that affects internal mobility in Ghana," he stated.

"As you are all aware, the Ghana Statistical Service has computed population projections from 2022 to 2025. These population projections would be static over this period, but it's important we appreciate the internal mobilities that frequently happen on a monthly basis throughout the year and inform policymakers on how these mobilities influence the decisions that they take," he added.

The stakeholder meeting, focused on advancing statistics through partnerships, brought together representatives from Ghana and the United Kingdom to explore technical collaboration for improved data-driven policy decisions.

The Chief Statistician and Deputy Director for the Centre for Data Analysis in the UK, Ms Sian Rasdale, highlighted the critical role of partnerships in enhancing data usage.

"The way that we're able to do more with data and be better with data and get the right data in the right place at the right time, is by really building partnerships and exploiting the whole range of data that is available for the UK Government. Partnerships like this are exactly the way that we want to be delivering and, in particular, those partnerships that are working across all of the UK's assets," she noted.

The Deputy Director for Health and International Partnerships at the UK's Office for National Statistics, Dr James Tucker, expressed enthusiasm about the strengthening and expansion of collaboration with Ghana.

"I look forward to extending our partnership with Ghana Statistical Service, which has been so fantastic over the last six or seven years, and some of the work that you're doing is just hugely innovative. This work with mobile phone data, it's truly world-class," Dr Tucker stated.

The meeting concluded with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ghana Statistical Service and the UK's Office for National Statistics.

This agreement is expected to enhance technical cooperation and improve data accessibility, ensuring better-informed policy decisions for Ghana's socio-economic development.