Ghana’s chief statistician, Professor Samuel K. Annim has made a call for a national research integrity regulatory framework to guide the collection and processing of data in all sectors of the economy.
Professor Annim made this call when he formerly opened a training workshop for Researchers and Committee Clerks of Parliament on Data Sources for monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The workshop which was held from 3rd to 5th July, 2020 in Koforidua forms part of the Data for Accountability Project (DAP) spearheaded by the Africa Centre for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA) in collaboration with the Ghana Statistical Service and INASP.
According to Ms. Agnes Titriku, the Programmes Manager of ACEPA, the goal of the DAP initiative is to assist Parliament improve upon the quality of life of Ghanaians through the use of data to monitor progress on the SDGs as well as other national and international frameworks.
Mr. Omar Seidu, the Head of Demographic Statistics and Coordinator of Data for SDGs at the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) indicated the Statistical Service has made available comprehensive data on how the country is achieving the SDGs on its website.
On his part, Dr. Felix Addo-Yobo, Director of Development Policy at the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) also made a presentation at the workshop.
He revealed that data on the SDGs have been duly incorporated into the national development planning framework and national fiscal policy planning.
“The workshop has been very useful. I have learnt for instance about using the sources of data from the Ghana Statistical Service which are available on the GSS website,” said Sandra Awuah, a researcher at the Parliament of Ghana.
The Data Accountability Project is a 2-year initiative, funded by Hewlett Foundation.
–
Source: Kwesi Amoak