The third edition of the Research and Development Conference of the SD Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD-UBIDS) is currently underway at the school campus.
The conference, on the theme: “Bridging the Gap between Applied Research, Police Formulation and Implementation”, seeks to drum home the need for policymakers to make decisions based on research findings.
Addressing participants at the conference, a Political Science Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Professor Ransford Edward Van Gyampo, observed that political leaders of the country usually do not resort to applied research findings before initiating development interventions.
He said this sometimes results to failure of those policies. He observed that politicians make promises based on the crowd before them and the chanting of political party slogans rather than applying research findings.
“Politicians go on party rallies, they see the euphoria of their supporters and how people are chanting and that alone is enough to influence them to make serious policies statement without having undertaken research to know about the feasibility of those policy statements.
We are of the view that they can be no meaningful discussion of effective policy formulation and policy implementation without a discourse on the role of research in shaping such policy”, he added.
The Dean of Social Science and Arts at SDD-UBIDS, Professor Issaka Kanton Osumanu, who represented the Pro-Vice Chancellor at the Conference, said the university is “strategically positioning itself to allow its stakeholders get the maximum benefit out of our research products”.
The Director of Research, Innovation and Consultancy at the SDD-UBIDS, Professor Frederick Dayour, indicated that research is a pillar and a driving force on which nations can develop and enhance the quality of life for its citizenry.
About 90 participants from universities across Ghana have applied to participate in the conference.