By: Nana
Appiah Acquaye
Ghana has taken steps to
align its emerging digital entrepreneurship, science and technology policy
instruments through a two-day validation and roadmap design workshop under the
Africa-Europe Digital Innovation Bridge (AEDIB) 2.0 programme.
The workshop, held in Accra
on September 9 and 10, was convened by the Smart Africa Secretariat in
collaboration with HAUS Finnish Institute of Public Management Ltd and
co-hosted by the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation
and the Ministry of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovation (MoCDTI).
The engagement focused on
how Ghana’s various policy and institutional instruments can work together to
create a more coherent environment for digital entrepreneurship, scientific
research and innovation.
Among the instruments
considered were a Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) policy currently under
development, the proposed Science and Technology Development Agency Bill and a
Presidential Advisory Council on Science, Technology and Innovation awaiting
operationalisation.
Each instrument was examined
through its policy context, international benchmarks and practical
implementation considerations. Participants then engaged in hands-on working
sessions involving stakeholders expected to play a role in delivering the
respective initiatives.
The workshop moved beyond
presentations to focus on practical implementation, with participants examining
how the different instruments could fit together and contribute to a
coordinated innovation ecosystem.
A key outcome of the two-day
engagement was a workplan canvas mapping prerequisites, dependencies and
potential risks. Discussions also focused on areas of institutional overlap and
the need for greater clarity around mandates and leadership responsibilities.
Participants considered
questions including where specific mandates should sit, which institutions
should take the lead and the pathway a Ghanaian researcher or entrepreneur
would need to follow to move an idea from development to the market.
