Over GH¢800,000 realised at Fundraising Dinner for CSIR Science for Impact Fund
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has organized a dinner as part of activities towards creating awareness and raising funds for the CSIR Science for Impact Fund (CSIF). The fundraising dinner, held at the Labadi Beach Hotel was attended by key industry leaders, traditional rulers, directors of the 13 CSIR research institutes and other distinguished guests.
Speaking at the dinner, Professor. Paul Bosu, Director-General of CSIR, underscored the challenges of reliance on external funding sources and elaborated that, external donors typically fund areas like climate change and biodiversity and rarely support research in engineering, manufacturing, electronics, and robotics, which are critical for national development. Regarding priority research areas, he pointed out the need for advancements in science and technology to address food insecurity. "We need to develop technologies for increased agricultural production, such as improved irrigation schemes, food processing and preservation techniques.
"For real scientific impact that benefits our society and industries, we need domestic funding," he stressed. Professor Bosu then called on industrial and corporate entities, as well as the general public, to contribute to this fund to support essential research.
Prof. Paul Bosu explaining the elements of the CSIF logo to guests
In his welcome address, he stated that although the Ghana National Research Fund Bill has been enacted, the government is yet to allocate adequate resources to make the fund operational, which is essential for advancing science, technology, and industrial research to address critical national challenges.
"We call on the government to operationalize the National Research Fund and allocate sufficient resources. This will enable CSIR, research institutes, universities, and other scientific institutions to draw from it and contribute to the country's development", he stated
The fund is meant to support not only CSIR but also the broader scientific community.
The Director-General (5th from right) with distinguished guests at the dinner
The urgent need for the research community to be self-reliant, forms the basis for the development of the CSIR Science for Impact fund. The fund has set an ambitious target of USD$20 million dollars (GHc320 million) over the next 5 years to support science and technology for community impact. A total sum of GH¢875,000 was raised in support of the fund at the dinner.
Professor Bosu expressed his gratitude to donors who have supported the fund and appealed to the government to commit resources to industrial research that addresses the country's most urgent needs.
In a show of support and leadership by example, staff of CSIR have committed 1% of their basic salaries to the CSIF.
Source: Corporate Affairs Division
☎: +233-302-777651-4
