Presentation by: Kwasi Ohene-Yankyera (PhD) Dept. of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness & Extension, KNUST, Kumasi - Ghana Danida Information day in Ghana on 14 th May Alisa Hotel, Accra

DANIDA Projects at CANR  Street Foods Project (Dr. K. Ohene-Yankyera)  Root and Tuber Value Chain Project (Dr. Robert Aidoo)  Sustainable Fish Feed Project (Prof. S. Amissah)  Building Stronger Universities (BSU) Initiative (Prof. R.C Abaidoo)

How did we hear about the call for concept notes/proposal? Internet (dfc website) Colleague researchers/friends (thru’ informal interaction) Previous Danida project partners in DK

Our approach to respond to the calls 1. Formation of a small research group (with diverse expertise) 2. Thorough examination of the call for concept note/proposal (to identify possible project topics/areas) 3. Selection of one research area/topic for further development 4. Scientific writing of the draft concept note/proposal (usually done by one researcher who is very passionate about the proposed project) 5. Circulation of draft for Inputs and Review by other experts 6. Budget preparation (with the involvement of accountants) 7. Submission to Danida Fellowship Centre 8. External Review/assessment by DFC’s technical experts 9. Selection of best proposals by DFC 10. Reviewers’ comments are sent to Researchers 11. Comments addressed and re-submission to DFC is made

Establishment of Research Partnership  Advertisement of selected proposal by DFC in Denmark to invite potential Danish Partners  Receive and review proposals from potential partners  Visit to Denmark to meet potential partners/collaborators for in-depth discussion  Selection of Danish Partners/Universities  Partnership established and full proposal developed together with DK partners

Experiences  Partnerships have been successful so far:  Opportunity to network and meet other academics  Increased knowledge in the field of study (through workshops and joint-supervision)  Access to state of the art laboratories for PhD experiments  Promoted collaboration and good working relationships among lecturers/researchers (within the same Dept., across Depts. in the same University and other Universities in Ghana)

Lessons Learnt?  At the concept note/proposal stage:  starting early is key to success  Waiting for everybody (in your target research group) to be part of the writing does not work (do it alone and share it later for inputs from your colleagues)  Preparing the project budget alone without inputs from the accounts office creates problems  Identifying your DK partners to buy into your project idea before the proposal is developed helps  If you have PhD training component in your project, universities will be the best to partner with  Waiting till the last day to submit your proposal can be very suicidal!  Time for PhDs to stay in DK should be long enough to enable them complete courses already started  Costs of selected PhD and MSc courses in DK should be factored in the project budget

Lessons Learnt  On partnerships :  Working in partnership with other academics enhances knowledge  Regular project meetings help achieve project objectives.  Constant interaction with partners through s promotes partnerships  Where there are many partners in Denmark, communication and project management becomes quite a challenge (getting one researcher in DK to serve as the point of call would help deal with this challenge)  Effective communication between Ghanaian and DK supervisors is required for effective PhD training  Students are more likely to lean towards one group of supervisors i.e. either the local or Danish supervisors.  Synchronization of time between south and north partners is a major challenge  Fewer than expected attendance at workshops  Work load on lecturers adversely affects smooth project implementation and partnership

Concluding Remarks CANR is very happy with the research support from Danida/Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Our researchers are very active (contributing to knowledge) We are building capacity (PhDs and MScs as well as Faculty members) The partnerships are working well so far But the effectiveness of the partnerships could be improved. For prospective applicants, you can make your partnership more effective than ours!

Thank you