Social Transformation Research and Policy Advocacy

The Upper West and Savannah regions of Ghana face major vulnerabilities, with several underpinning socioeconomic factors that exacerbate climate uncertainties. Existing planning and programming approaches mainly focus on biophysical variables of climate change and not the social dynamics.

To address this gap, the Resilience Against Climate Change – Social Transformation Research and Policy Advocacy (REACH-STR) project combines social transformation research and policy advocacy for effective climate action.

The project focuses on providing policy insights, strengthening institutional capacity, and building communities’ resilience.

The project seeks to generate insights for more inclusive and sustainable economic growth policy and programming approaches; better understanding of local, regional, and national decision-makers, on which social transformation conditions promote sustainable and inclusive rural development and adoption of climate change adaptation and mitigation practices; and effective application of social transformation analysis in development planning.

Together with partners, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) conducts research on:

• Methods and strategies for achieving climate resilience at community levels.
• Migration and youth-specific issues of transformation
• Evidence-based gender research focusing on key constraints to positive transformation, and the means to enhance equality and expand economic opportunities for rural women and young people.

Capacity building of students and development planners, and facilitating national dialogues on social transformation complement research insights to achieve more inclusive and sustainable economic growth policy and programming in the two regions by 2025.

This project is the third component of the REACH initiative, funded by the European Union through the Ghana Agriculture Programme (EUGAP), under the EU program on Productive Investment for Agriculture in Savannah Ecological Zone. Partners include the University of Ghana – Centre for Migration Studies, the Simon Diendong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD-UBIDS), and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Science and Technology Policy Research Institute (CSIR-STREPRI).

Objectives

• Generate knowledge on social transformation conditions that promote sustainable and inclusive rural development, adoption of climate change adaptation, and mitigation practices.
• Contribute to a better understanding of the district, regional, and national decision-makers on Social Transformation analysis and tools.
• Support integration and use of Social Transformation analysis in development planning and climate action.

Outcome

To ensure a more inclusive and sustainable economic growth policy and programming in Northern Ghana by 2025.