CSIR opens centre for transfer of research, innovations

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has launched an initiative to bridge the gap between research and industry to promote strong collaboration between the two sectors for enhanced productivity and economic development.

It has accordingly inaugurated a centre in Accra, the CSIR Technology Development and Transfer Centre (CSIR-TDTC), to transfer research and innovations to the private sector.

The initiative will effectively address the situation where many research works and innovations by the CSIR are kept on shelves, thus depriving industry and the nation of their benefits.

According to the Director of the Science and Technology Policy Research Institute (STEPRI) of the CSIR, Dr George Owusu Essegbey, the prevailing gap between the research system and the private sector “had contributed, in no small measure, to the uninspiring progress in our industrialisation”.

CSIR-TDTC

The CSIR-TDTC was established with financial support from the World Bank under the component two of the Ghana Skills and Technology Development Project through the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) and the Council for Tertiary Vocational Education and Training.

The centre, which began operation in March 2014, has a vision “to become a centre of excellence that uses the transforming power of science, technology and innovation (STI) for wealth creation through effective linkages between research and the private sector”.

It also has a mission to “engage the private sector in partnerships for technology development, appropriation and transfer from the CSIR to industry” and “encourage CSIR research scientists to respond effectively to technology demands from the private sector through incentive schemes”.

Already, the centre, in collaboration with interested entrepreneurs, has profiled 95 technologies which are being screened for transfer to the marketplace.

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Launch of CSIR-TDTC

The Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Mr Akwasi Opong-Fosu, who launched the CSIR-TDTC, expressed delight at the initiative, especially, because it had a great potential of creating more jobs.

“There are various opportunities that this centre presents. We need to prove to the donor community that we have the capacity to make good returns on their investments,” he said.

The Director-General of CSIR, Dr Abdulai Baba Salifu, said the establishment of the centre affirmed the long awaited need to bridge the gap between research and industry.

The Vice-President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Dr Yaw Adu-Gyamfi, said partnership between research institutions and industries had impacted positively on the development of many countries, including Malaysia.

He, therefore, stressed the need for Ghana to take a cue from those countries.

Writer’s Email: kofi.yeboah@graphic.com.gh