8.3.3.3 Research Funding and Collaborative Research
In Ghana, R&D is financed by the Ministry of Education, the GETFund
9 , institutional internally generated funds and multilateral and bilateral donors (Table 8.9)
(MoE 2016). The Export Development and Agricultural Investment Fund (EDIF)
through the Ministry of Trade and Industry also provides R&D grants for the agroprocessing industry to facilitate improved products and financial returns to increase
the competitiveness of the local industries (i.e. SMEs) on the local and international
markets.
R&D funding has averaged around 0.38% of the Ghanaian GDP in the last
decade, placing the country 74th globally (out of 113 countries) and 12th in SSA
(OECD 2017). The STI policy, however, makes provisions for setting up a National
Science, Technology and Innovation Fund to raise R&D investments to 1% of GDP,
in the short- to medium term, as recommended by the African Union.
Government expenditure for education amounted to USD 2.3 billion (GHS 8.7
billion) in 2015 (an increase of 24.6% from 2014 levels), which was equivalent to
6.16% of the national GDP (Fig. 8.3). Of this, tertiary education accounted for 23%
(GHS 1.8 billion), which was higher than spending for senior high, junior high and
basic schools. Comparatively, other countries in the ECOWAS or the West Africa
sub-region spend on average 4.3% of their national GDP for tertiary education,
making Ghana a front-runner in the region.
To ensure that in future the budget’s national financial priorities are aligned with
SDG priorities, the Ministry of Finance published the SDG Budget Baseline Report
in 2018. This report is the first of an annual series of SDG budget reports and
provides a methodology and framework to develop a more advanced and comprehensive tracking system. The 2018 report cross-mapped the objectives and costs in
the national 2018 budget, with SDGs, targets and indicators. In the case of quality
education (SDG 4) approximately USD 266,000 (GHS 1.4 million) was allocated,
sourced from the government’s other funds (60%), internally generated funds (30%)
and donor partners (10%), respectively (MoF 2018). Comparatively, the commitments to transformative investments in economic and social infrastructure as an
avenue towards job creation, poverty reduction, sustainable industrialization and
innovation was estimated at USD 427.5 million (GHS 2.25 billion).
9 The Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) is a public sector agency set up by an Act of
Parliament in 2000, managed by a Board of Trustees and a Secretariat. The main function of
GETFund is to support the government’s financing of public education institutions (from
pre-tertiary to tertiary).
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In Ghana, R&D is financed by the Ministry of Education, the GETFund
9 , institutional internally generated funds and multilateral and bilateral donors (Table 8.9)
(MoE 2016). The Export Development and Agricultural Investment Fund (EDIF)
through the Ministry of Trade and Industry also provides R&D grants for the agroprocessing industry to facilitate improved products and financial returns to increase
the competitiveness of the local industries (i.e. SMEs) on the local and international
markets.
R&D funding has averaged around 0.38% of the Ghanaian GDP in the last
decade, placing the country 74th globally (out of 113 countries) and 12th in SSA
(OECD 2017). The STI policy, however, makes provisions for setting up a National
Science, Technology and Innovation Fund to raise R&D investments to 1% of GDP,
in the short- to medium term, as recommended by the African Union.
Government expenditure for education amounted to USD 2.3 billion (GHS 8.7
billion) in 2015 (an increase of 24.6% from 2014 levels), which was equivalent to
6.16% of the national GDP (Fig. 8.3). Of this, tertiary education accounted for 23%
(GHS 1.8 billion), which was higher than spending for senior high, junior high and
basic schools. Comparatively, other countries in the ECOWAS or the West Africa
sub-region spend on average 4.3% of their national GDP for tertiary education,
making Ghana a front-runner in the region.
To ensure that in future the budget’s national financial priorities are aligned with
SDG priorities, the Ministry of Finance published the SDG Budget Baseline Report
in 2018. This report is the first of an annual series of SDG budget reports and
provides a methodology and framework to develop a more advanced and comprehensive tracking system. The 2018 report cross-mapped the objectives and costs in
the national 2018 budget, with SDGs, targets and indicators. In the case of quality
education (SDG 4) approximately USD 266,000 (GHS 1.4 million) was allocated,
sourced from the government’s other funds (60%), internally generated funds (30%)
and donor partners (10%), respectively (MoF 2018). Comparatively, the commitments to transformative investments in economic and social infrastructure as an
avenue towards job creation, poverty reduction, sustainable industrialization and
innovation was estimated at USD 427.5 million (GHS 2.25 billion).
9 The Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) is a public sector agency set up by an Act of
Parliament in 2000, managed by a Board of Trustees and a Secretariat. The main function of
GETFund is to support the government’s financing of public education institutions (from
pre-tertiary to tertiary).
264
A. M. Mensah and C. Gordon