Recently, media reports were that the President, J.D. Mahama, launched the Ghana National Research Fund (GNRF) of GH¢100m.
This is a big win for us all – a genuine political reset, correcting policy errors to do research systemically.
GNRF should not only galvanise research funds, but also revive the National Research Council (NRC), which I learned from the writings of a distinguished Ghanaian scientist, Dr Letitia Eva Obeng. According to Dr Obeng, she was the “first research staff appointed by the National Research Council of Ghana to its Biological Research Institute” in 1960.
Sadly, the NRC later disappeared.
There is the need to institutionalise the GNRF through a revamped NRC for spearheading research financing, because having the GNRF is one thing, and governing the GNRF to achieve maximum result is another.
GNRF for fixing gaps
The significance of research for scientific discoveries and deepening understanding is well-known among policymakers, scientists, activists, and media practitioners.
Yet, financial investment in research is continually squeezed, resulting in policy gaps.
Thankfully, seed funding to fix the gaps is gaining traction, as demonstrated by GNRF.
For some existing sectors where research structures appear to be in good standing, the research practices are directed to privileged disciplines and classified cohorts.
In situations where the research system is relatively functioning, the policy-research-industry interface is disjointed, complicating gaps yet to fix.
The splendid work of the late Prof. Alexander Kwapong (Former Vice-Rector of the United Nations University) in the 1990s is still useful to mention. Prof Kwapong acknowledges the “existence of parallel systems of higher education and national research, which are not effectively coordinated or integrated into overall national educational and research programs”.
From his experience, an effective interface between research, industry and education, and especially agriculture, industry and commerce, was lacking.
Even now, there are substantial data inaccuracies in relation to industrialisation, “galamsay”, food security, energy, human rights, air pollution, climate disasters, digitalisation, health, and AI.
The scientific data that is readily available to re-analyse complex scenarios, solutions, and progress of development is hardly more than 35 per cent for some disciplines and 15 per cent for others. Nobody has shown up to confidently refute the idea of data deficiencies attributable to lack of adequate research funding.
To date, poor data is hindering the Nationally Determined Contributions, UN Agenda 2030, AU Agenda 2063, and Paris Agreement.
Sustaining GNRF financing
Before the 1960s, infrastructure and trained human resource capital were arguably underdeveloped.
Afterwards, the imposition of a cluster of economic recovery policies such as the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) also hindered research operations.
The SAP had eroded basic research funds for universities to create a situation where consultancies took the place of research, as narrated by T. Manuh, S. Gariba, and J. Budu in their book: “Change and transformation in Ghana’s publicly funded universities”.
Putting this aside, it is believed that the educational, financial, political, and legal institutions are presently conducive to mobilise research funds unlike five decades ago.
Some of these institutions are the National Development Planning Commission, Bank of Ghana, GNPC, VRA, ISSER, NOGUCHI Memorial Institute for Medical Research, and CSIR’s subsidiary institutes like SARI, ARI, FRI, WRI, and FORIG.
The Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, Institute of Economic Affairs, as well as public and private universities are relevant institutions whose capital can be fairly leveraged to sustain GNRF’s operations.
If the reset goal is to improve and sustain living standards for all, then the takeoff of the GNRF should excite everyone.
The essence of the GNRF has been underestimated for far too long, undermining science, governance, and sustainability.
The evolving critical nature of scientific research, media, policy, and the changing patterns of world crisis demands new data. Everyone consumes data (in)directly.
For example, recently, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng used data to deliver excellent presentation at Prof. J.E.A. Mills Commemorative Lecture.
With GNRF, whole-of-society data can prevent leaving no one behind.
Now is the right time to translate the GNRF into the greatest public good.
The writer is with the Earth System Governance Project,
Uppsala University, Sweden & GeoSustainability Consulting, Ghana.
