The Director of the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) at the University of Ghana, Prof. Robert Darko Osei, has called for a fundamental shift in how African institutions translate academic knowledge into actionable public policy, ahead of the 9th Evidence to Action Conference and Exhibition (E2A 2026).
Prof. Osei made the call during a courtesy visit by Dr. Fadel Ndiame of the Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR) and a delegation from the International Centre for Evaluation and Development (ICED), led by Dr. Kwadwo Danso-Mensah. Senior ISSER academics including Prof. Simon Bawakyillenuo and Prof. Richmond Atta-Ankomah were also present at the meeting, which formed part of preparations for the upcoming conference.
At the center of Prof. Osei’s message was the persistent disconnect between research output and policy decisions across Ghana and the wider continent. Despite decades of strong academic work in economics, social sciences, health, and governance, findings have rarely filtered into the choices that shape development outcomes. Closing that gap, he argued, is the most practical route for Africa to accelerate progress.
“What will enable us to catch up is investing in higher education and translating multidisciplinary research into policy, taking the research output and feeding it into the policy space,” Prof. Osei said.
In his view, this requires universities to align more deliberately with government priorities, researchers to communicate findings in forms that policymakers can directly apply, and institutions to build collaboration across disciplines. Economists, public health specialists, data scientists, and governance experts must work together, he said, because Ghana’s development challenges in areas such as energy, debt management, healthcare, and education no longer respond to single-sector solutions.
Prof. Osei also stressed the need for sustained investment in higher education as the foundation for building local analytical capacity, generating solutions grounded in Ghanaian realities, and training a workforce capable of driving innovation rather than depending on external expertise.
E2A 2026, scheduled from June 22 to 26 at the ISSER Auditorium at the University of Ghana, is held under the theme “Reimagining the Evidence-Informed Policy and Decision-Making Ecosystem in Africa.” It will bring together policymakers, researchers, evaluators, practitioners, civil society, funders, and knowledge intermediaries to shape the future of Africa’s evidence-to-action landscape.
This year’s conference builds on growing momentum across Africa to reclaim and reshape the evidence-to-action ecosystem, with organisers noting that much of the evidence currently informing policies and decisions remains influenced by external agendas and disconnected from lived realities.
The conference is organised by ICED in partnership with PASGR, ISSER, the University of California Davis, and other partners, and is expected to produce a formal Call to Action document intended to influence policy formulation across the continent.
