Ghana: 60 Journalists Acquire Communication Skills in Research, Innovation

29 March 2023
Ghanaian Times (Accra)
By Abigail Arthur

A total of 60 researchers and journalists have received a two-day training on research and innovation in Accra.

The training was to enhance their knowledge in research and innovations to enable them to communicate effectively and help bridge the gap between academia and industry.

The training was organised by Heritors Labs in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research- Science and Technology Policy Research Institute (CSIR-STEPRI) with funding from the Research and Innovation Systems for Africa (RISA) Fund.

A researcher, Dr Gordon Akon-Yamga, in a presentation on effective communication in research and innovation said communication was a key foundation in research and innovation, but was impeded by time constraints due to competitiveness.

He also said limited recognition, lack of specialised training in science communication, lack of resources and the fear of discredit from peers or of being misunderstood were some other barriers to effective communication of research and innovation outputs.

Dr Akon-Yamga stated that researchers could communicate science online using websites, blogs, social media platforms, as well as working with journalists and inviting them to participate in their research.

Research Scientist, CSIR-STEPRI, Dr Portia Adade Williams, in a presentation on policy emphasised that policy briefs were geared towards readers who had limited amount of time to make practical decisions.

"Policy briefs are vital tools to show research and recommendations to non-specialised audience," she added.

Dr Williams indicated that there were advocacy policy briefs that argued for a particular course of actions, and objective policy briefs that provided balanced information on several policy options to act on.

"Policy briefs are limited and focused, succinct, understandable, accessible, promotional, practical and feasible," she added.

Heritors Labs Limited is a pioneering product development company that specialises in software engineering, and serves as a hub for cutting-edge research and innovation. Heritors Labs is collaborating with the RISA Fund to support Ghana Innovation and Research Commercialisation (GIRC)-Centre in its mission to translate research outputs, prototypes, inventions and innovative ideas into standard marketable products and services through commercialisation.

Read the original article on Ghanaian Times.

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