Aduna, A.

CGSpace

The	  3rd	  International	  Forum	  	  on	  Water	  and	  Food	  Tshwane,	  South	  Africa	  November	  14	  –	  17, 2011	  	   	   	  	  	  Co-­‐hosted	  by:	  	  	   	  F i n d i n g  n e w  p o i n t s  o f  i n f l u e n c e :  B u i l d i n g  p a r t n e r s h i p s  b e t w e e n  r e s e a r c h  a n d  p o l i c y  “ w o r l d s ”  i n  G h a n a  AARON	  BUNDI	  ADUNA1	  1 WRC-White Volta Basin Board	  aaronaduna@yahoo.com	  S e s s i o n :  R e s e a r c h  t o  P o l i c y  	  WORKING	  SESSION	  WITH	  THE	  VISIONNARY	  TEAM	  (BOLGATANGA,	  MAY	  2011)	  	  	   Key Message Creating	  a	  dynamic	  link	  between	  research	  and	  policy	  has	  become	  essential	  	  to	  ensure	  that	  research	  plays	  its	  role	  for	  equity	  and	  development.	  Influencing	  policy	  requires	  significant	  involvement	  and	  requires	  diligent	  and	  sustained	  attention	  by	  researchers.	  	  	  International	  Forum	  on	  Water	  and	  Food	    S u m m a r y  In	   their	   desire	   to	   be	   objective,	   researchers	   get	   uncomfortable	   about	   close	   contacts	   with	   either	  decision-­‐makers	   or	   the	   communities.	   Decision-­‐makers	   in	   return	   may	   regard	   researchers	   as	   too	  “academic”,	  impractical	  and	  slow	  whilst	  communities	  feel	  intimidated	  by	  both	  researchers	  and	  decision-­‐makers.	  To	  apply	  research	  to	  the	  developmental	  needs	  of	  a	  country,	  researchers	  need	  to	  facilitate	  the	  process	   of	   multi-­‐stakeholder	   priority-­‐setting,	   build	   coalitions,	   create	   entry	   points	   to	   identify	   relevant	  research	   questions	   and	   nurture	   future	   leadership	   on	   who	   will	   use	   and	   manage	   the	   knowledge.	  	  Strengthening	   the	   linkages	   between	   policy	   and	   research	   requires	   an	   understanding	   of	   the	   key	  components	  of	  their	   interface;	  this	  means	  working	  together	  with	  “mediators”.	  Through	  its	  interactions	  with	   the	   SP/PAGIRE	   in	   Burkina	   Faso	   and	  WRC	   in	   Ghana,	   the	   CPWF-­‐V4	   is	   working	   at	   linking	   research	  activities	  and	  products	  for	  policy	  making.	  A	  key	  element	  of	  this	  process	  is	  the	  establishment	  of	  a	  small	  “visionnary	   team”	   (mediators)	   to	   guide	   the	   project	   activities	   and	   ensure	   their	   uptake.	   This	   paper	  presents	  the	  processes,	  challenges	  and	  opportunities	  of	  such	  an	  approach	  	  in	  Ghana.	  	  	  	  

Finding new points of influence: Building partnerships between research and policy “worlds” in Ghana

https://cgspace.cgiar.org/bitstream/10568/10399/1/VRpSe003_Final_RD_1310.pdf

Finding new points of influence: Building partnerships between research and policy “worlds” in Ghana

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