2nd African evidence to action conference opens at University of Ghana

The 2nd African Evidence to Action (E2A) 2019 conference officially kicked off today, July 11, at the University of Ghana with keynote address by the Vice President of Ghana and Head of Government’s Economic Management Team, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.

The conference is being hosted by the International Centre for Evaluation and Development (ICED), the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), the Ministry of Monitoring and Evaluation,Ghana in partnership with the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Assets and Market Access, the Campbell Collaboration, and other partners.

The E2A 2019 started with two- day pre-workshop sessions held on 9th and 10th July focusing on identifying ways of generating and using evidence to tackle development issues in Ghana and Africa at large. This year’s conference follows an impactful 1st E2A 2018 held in Kenya.

The theme of the E2A 2019 is “Responsibility and Accountability: Strengthening Evidence Generation and Use in Support of Policy Reform and Development Agenda”.

The conference aims to identify and discuss accountability and the responsibilities of stakeholders in the use of evidence to improve development impacts. It targets government institutions, policy makers, development professionals, researchers, evaluators, and other stakeholders.

While delivering his keynote address, Dr. Bawumia remarked: “In moving towards Africa’s new path for attaining inclusive and sustainable economic growth and development agenda, Governments and development partners need credible evidence to inform policy and decision-making processes.” Dr. Bawumuia added, “I am extremely delighted by ICED’s choice to open an office in Ghana, creating an exciting platform for learning and sharing across countries. This is a clear indication of the confidence regional players have in Ghana.”

ICED President and CEO, Dr. David Sarfo Ameyaw stated: “This is the time for African research institutions, decision makers and development practitioners to take leadership which involves responsibility and accountability in the generation of rigorous socio-economic evidence needed for policy making and legislation that affect the livelihood of millions of people in the continent. It’s our time. Africa’s renaissance and transformation cannot be attained without knowing what works and what doesn’t work. The presence of the Vice President of Ghana, Dr. Bawumia, ministers and senior government officials here today clearly shows the seriousness the government of Ghana has taken to advance the socio-economic development of Ghana.

The President’s vision of “Ghana Beyond Aid” will be a reality if the responsibility of generation of research and evaluation falls on our citizens and we hold ourselves accountable to the wellbeing of our communities and people.

The Minister for Monitoring and Evaluation, Honourable Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei, stated: “The Government of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) under His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is committed to improving the wellbeing of all Ghanaians. In this regard, the Government has put in place measures to ensure that all the key priority programmes are implemented in a timely and cost effective manner.

This conference is one of the efforts by government to promote evidence-based decision making and improve accountability for results. The conference provides a forum for enhancing the capacity of key implementing agencies in evidence gathering so that decisions will reflect on the true situation on the ground.”

The conference will offer an exciting platform for renowned research and evaluation professionals, and development practitioners from national, regional and international organizations to tackle important topics such as: Agriculture and Food Systems in sub-Saharan Africa, Climate Change and Environment, Agriculture Risk, Index Insurance and Risk Mitigation, Private Sector in Development, Impact of investment in Agriculture and Food Systems, Innovative Finance, Credit and Savings for Smallholders, Gender and Youth in Agriculture and Food Systems, Youth Employment, National and Local Governance and Accountability, Evidence Synthesis and Impact Evaluation for Policy Making, Knowledge Brokering and Knowledge Translation.

ICED is the first Africa-based international think-tank that combines research and innovation with extensive practical experience in evaluation for development in Africa. ICED collaborates with government ministries across the African continent and the entire Global South to enhance the value of monitoring and evaluation to impactfully achieve Sustainable Development Goals and Outcomes (SDGs).