The Civil Society Platform on the Sustainable Development Goals (CSO Platform on SDGs) and the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) is engaging more than 80 organisations across the country in an attempt to revolutionalise how data is produced and used in civil society.
Sustainable development can only be achieved if all state and non-state actors have access to quality data. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that state as well as non-state actors work together to inform the best strategies for achieving the SDGs and monitoring progress.
“We are trying to revolutionize the way we share information, and use and produce data among ourselves in civil society. We wish to harmonise our efforts to be able to make more informed decisions and really push for sustainable development in Ghana”, explains Dr. Franklin Oduro, the Head of Research and Programs and Deputy Director of CDD-Ghana.
As a first step in this process four workshops will be organised across the country where members of the CSO Platform on SDGs will be engaged on how to harmonise data production and make better use of available data for more effective SDG advocacy and evidence-informed decision-making.
The first workshop was held in Dodowa on April 20-21, where 25 national civil society actors – all members of the CSO Platform on SDGs, Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) and the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) participated. The workshop was funded by CDD-Ghana and was to improve collaborations and harmonise data efforts.
In continuation hereof, in the next month a total of three workshops will be organised across-country, more specifically in Takoradi, Kumasi and Tamale. These workshops are also funded by CDD-Ghana and will bring together a total of 60 civil society organisations that are also members of the CSO Platform on SDGs.
Another important step in revolutionizing how data is produced and used in Ghana is to strengthen collaboration between state and non-state actors. GSS and NDPC will participate in all workshops to share and provide relevant information.
“The input made at the civil society workshops will feed into a Civil Society Roadmap on SDG Data. This is to better position civil society to contribute to official data production on the SDGs and more harmonised use of data”, tells Mrs. Joyce Larnoyh, the Country Director of the International Child Development Programme and one of the three Co-Chairpersons of the Platform.
The Civil Society Platform on the Sustainable Development Goals is a network with 120 member organisations. The aim is to foster joint civil society efforts, partnerships with key stakeholders and effective advocacy for achieving the SDGs in Ghana.
