Research Projects

Fostering the positive linkages between trade and sustainable development (TRADE4SD)

Trade is a central factor in shaping global, regional, and local development. Increased trade, empowered by the growth of Global Value Chains (GVCs), has boosted productivity and incomes in many countries. However, if not fairly regulated, trade might generate increases in inequality and negative impacts on working conditions in developing countries and compromise the environment.

Improving Women’s Shea Production and Resilience in Northern Ghana

This is a three-year $450,000 research project, led from ISSER, to test a package of training and financing for women shea producers in Northern Ghana. This project, supported by USAID under its Feed the Future Advancing Local Leadership, Innovation and Networks (ALL-IN) program, seeks to increase the shea sector’s overall profitability while empowering women to receive the full benefits of their work.

Using Mobile Phones to Improve Children’s Nutrition in Northern Ghana

This is a three-year $449,833 research project led from ISSER that uses communications by cell phone to strengthen nutrition among young children in Northern Ghana. The project, supported by USAID under its Feed the Future Advancing Local Leadership, Innovation and Networks (ALL-IN) program, is testing whether this approach reinforces the Resiliency in Northern Ghana Project (RING), a prominent USAID program focused on nutrition and resilience.

Retail Finance Distribution (ReFinD) Research Initiative

ReFind

The Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research (ISSER) at the University of Ghana is undertaking a new research initiative, The Retail Finance Distribution (ReFinD) Research Initiative. The initiative will focus on deepening digital financial inclusion, and how to improve women’s access to financial services in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). 

Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the initiative aims to deepen digital financial inclusion among the vulnerable and excluded: women, poor households, SMEs and other retail businesses.