Prof. Nana Akua Anyidoho

Biography
Research Areas
Publications
Projects
Teaching Programmes

Nana Akua Anyidoho is an Associate Professor at ISSER and currently director of the Centre for Social Policy Studies (CSPS), also at the University of Ghana. Her research is broadly in the areas of social policy and social development. She is particularly interested in how young people and women attempt to construct better lives for themselves (through higher education, employment and activism) while negotiating generally unfavourable policy structures. Thus, her research frequently explores themes of agency, participation, inclusion and empowerment.

Her publications have covered the following areas:

Analysis of social policy discourses, processes and practices
Higher education policy and graduate employment
Young people’s work aspirations, transitions and futures
Women’s formal and informal work

Prof. Anyidoho brings an interdisciplinary perspective to her research: she has a BA in Psychology (1997) from the University of Ghana and a PhD in Human Development and Social Policy (2005) from Northwestern University's School of Education and Social Policy. Her background is primarily in developmental psychology and social policy, with additional training in statistics, economics and African Studies, and in both qualitative and quantitative methodologies.

She has published in journals in development studies, gender studies, and Ghana/African Studies, and is on the editorial boards of African Affairs, African Review of Economics and Finance, Ghana Studies, and Policy Studies.

Prof. Anyidoho has carried out research with funding from the British Council, DFID, IDRC, Mastercard Foundation, Open Society Initiative of West Africa, and the World Bank, among others. She was also co-lead for UNECA's report, 'The Situational Analysis of Youth in Africa', which culminated in the development of a policy toolbox for African governments. Between 2016 and 2017, she was the lead consultant for the development of a Social Development Strategy for Ghana's National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), as part of a Long-Term National Development Plan for the Government of Ghana.

She serves on the Executive Committee of the Council for the Development of Social Research in Africa (CODESRIA), the Board of Directors of the African Studies Association (ASA), the Advisory Board of the SSRC's Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa program, and the Council of the University of Ghana. She is the immediate past President of the Ghana Studies Association (GSA).

Details of her publications, projects and professional service can be found at anyidoho.me and researchgate.net

My research is at the intersection of policy processes and people’s everyday lives. I especially interested in how young people and women, as socially marginalized groups, interact with policy.

My recent research has focused on

- Young people’s work aspirations and transitions
  - young women's digital platform work
  - young people’s work and futures in agriculture
  - young people’s employment aspirations and preferences
  - the school-to-work transition of tertiary graduates
  - helps and hindrances to young people's economic empowerment
- Women’s work and empowerment
  - informalisation of women’s work
  - experiences and challenges of market traders
  - civil society advocacy against gender-based violence
- Analysis of policy discourses and practices
  - comparative analysis of youth policies
  - policy discourses on ‘women’s empowerment’
  - the politics of educational language policy
  - conceptualising participation in social development policy

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Young people’s employment aspirations and transitions

Anarfi, J. K., Anyidoho, N. A. & Verschoor, A. (2008). The economic empowerment of young people in Ghana. [Commissioned research report for World Bank]

Anyidoho, N.A. (2016). Skills training and economic restructuring to create jobs for young people in Africa. Available at www.includeplatform.net

Anyidoho, N.A. & Omolo, J. (2016). Situational analysis of youth in Africa. [Analytical report commissioned by Economic Commission on Africa (ECA)].

Anyidoho, N.A., Kayuni, H., Ndungu, J., Leavy, J., Sall, M., Tadele, G. & Sumberg, S. (2012). Young people and policy narratives in sub-Saharan Africa. FAC Working paper 032. Brighton, UK: Future Agricultures Consortium, Institute of Development Studies. Available at www.futureagricultures.com

Anyidoho, N.A., Leavy, J. & Asenso-Okyere, K. (2012). Perceptions and aspirations: A case study of young people in Ghana’s cocoa sector. IDS Bulletin, 43 (6), 20-32.

Ajayi, K., & Anyidoho, N. A. (2017). Explaining gender differences in preference for self-employment among tertiary graduates in Ghana. WIDER Working Paper 2017/147. Helsinki, Finland: UNU-WIDER. Available at https://www.unu-wider.edu

McAdams, D., Bauer, J. J., Sakaeda, A., Anyidoho, N. A., Machado, M. A., Magrino-Failla, K., White, K. W. & Pals, J. L. (2006). Continuity and change in the life story: A longitudinal study of autobiographical memories in emerging adulthood. Journal of Personality, 74(5), 1371-1400(30).

Sumberg, J., Anyidoho, N.A., Chasukwa, M., Chinsinga, B., Leavy, J., Tadele, G., Whitfield, S. & Yaro, J. (2015). Young people, agriculture, and employment in rural Africa. In D. Resnick & Thurlow, J. (Eds.), African youth and the persistence of marginalization: employment, politics, and prospects for change. New York: Routledge.

Sumberg, J., Yeboah, T., Flynn, J. and Anyidoho, N.A. (2017). Young people’s perspectives on farming in Ghana: a Q study. Food Security. DOI 10.1007/s12571-016-0646-y

Sumberg, J., Yeboah, T., Flynn, J. & Anyidoho, N. A. (2015). Perspectives on jobs and farming: findings from a Q study with young people, parents and development workers in rural Ghana. FAC Working Paper 109. Brighton, UK: Future Agricultures Consortium, Institute of Development Studies. Available at www.futureagricultures.com

Yeboah, T., Sumberg, J., Flynn, J. and Anyidoho, N.A. (2016). What is a desirable job? What makes a job desirable? Findings from a Q study with students and parents in rural Ghana. European Journal of Development Research. doi:10.1057/s41287-016-0006-y

Women’s work and empowerment

Anyidoho, N. A. (2013). Informal Economy Monitoring Study: Accra City Report. Manchester, UK: Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO). Available at www.wiego.org

Anyidoho, N. A., & Adomako Ampofo, A. (2017). Informalising the formal: the conditions of female agency workers in Ghana's banking sector. Contemporary Journal of African Studies, 4(2), 67-92

Anyidoho, N.A. & Adomako Ampofo, A. (2015). “How can I come to work on Saturday when I have a family?”: Ghanaian women and bank work in a neo-liberal era. In C. Rodriguez, D. Tsikata & A. Adomako Ampofo (Eds.), Transatlantic feminisms: women and Gender Studies in Africa and the diaspora. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.

Anyidoho, N.A. & Steel, W.F. (2016). Informal-formal linkages in market and street trading in Accra. African Review of Economics and Finance, 8(2), 171-200.

Anyidoho, N.A. & Steel, W.F. (2015). Perceptions of costs and benefits of informal-formal linkages: Market and street vendors in Accra, Ghana. WIEGO Working Paper 35. Cambridge, MA: Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO). Available at www.wiego.org

Butler, L.M., Kobati, G.Y., Anyidoho, N.A, Colecraft, E.K., Marquis, G.S. & Sakyi-Dawson, O. (2012). Microcredit-Education: A case study analysis of Ghanaian women’s experiences with income generation and family care. African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, 21(1), 5709-5724.

Manuh, T. & Anyidoho, N.A. (2015). To Beijing and back: Reflections on the influence of the Beijing Conference on popular notions of women’s empowerment in Ghana. IDS Bulletin, 46(4), 19-27.

Manuh, T., Anyidoho, N. A. & Phobee-Hayford, F. (2013). “Just a femocrat doing my job”: Working within the state to advance women’s empowerment in Ghana. In R. Eyben & L. Turquet (Eds.), Feminists in development organizations: changes from the margins. Warwickshire, UK: Practical Action Publishing.

Analysis of social policy discourses and practices

Anyidoho, N.A. (2017). Making sense of participation. In G. Owusu, R.D. Osei & F.A. Asante (Eds.), Contemporary issues in development policy and practice in Ghana: a reader. Accra: University of Ghana/Sub-Saharan Publishers.

Anyidoho, N. A. (2012). On whose terms? Negotiating participatory development in a fluid policy landscape. In H. Lauer & K. Anyidoho (Eds.), Reclaiming the Social Sciences and Humanities through African Perspectives.

Anyidoho, N. A. (2010). Theorising the intersection of public policy and personal lives through the lens of ‘participation’, Africa Development, 25(3), 1-11.

Anyidoho, N.A. (2010). ‘Communities of practice’: Prospects for theory and action in participatory development. Development in Practice, 20(3), 318-328.

Anyidoho, N. A. (2003). Educational language policy in Ghana: Inserting the global into the local. International Journal of Learning, 10, 2983-2988.

Anyidoho, A. & Anyidoho, N.A. (2009). Political considerations in the choice of medium of instruction. Research Review, Supplement 19, 9-34.

Anyidoho, N.A. & Manuh. T. (2010). Discourses of women’s empowerment in Ghana. Development, 53(2), 267-273.

Cornwall, A. & Anyidoho, N.A. (2010). Women’s empowerment: contentions and contestations. Development, 53(2), 144-149.

Manuh, T. & Anyidoho, N.A. (2015). To Beijing and back: Reflections on the influence of the Beijing Conference on popular notions of women’s empowerment in Ghana. IDS Bulletin, 46(4), 19-27.

Sarpong, D. & Anyidoho, N.A. (2012). Climate change and agricultural policy processes in Ghana. FAC Working Paper 45. Brighton, UK: Future Agricultures Consortium, Institute of Development Studies. Available at www.futureagricultures.com.

Other Themes

Civil society activism

Aberese, M., Anyidoho, N.A. & Crawford, G. (2013). NGOs, rights-based approaches and the potential for progressive development in local contexts: constraints and challenges in northern Ghana. Journal of Human Rights Practice. 5(1), 46-74

Anyidoho, N.A. & Crawford, G. (2014). Leveraging global links for local advocacy: WACAM’s challenge to the power of transnational mining corporations. Canadian Journal of Development Studies, 35(4), 483-502.

Anyidoho, N.A. & Gariba, S. (2016). An analytical paper on monitoring, evaluation and learning from collective action movements in Africa. [Analytical report for Rockefeller Foundation with the Institute for Policy Alternatives]

Crawford, G. & Anyidoho, N.A. (2013). Ghana: Struggles for rights in a democratising context. In B. A. Andreassen & G. Crawford (eds.), Human rights, power and civic action: comparative analyses of struggles for rights in developing societies. London: Routledge.

Reflections on the state and study of Ghana/Africa

Anyidoho, N. A. (2008). Recapturing the dream. In K. Gyekye (Ed.), Ghana@50 anniversary lectures (pp. 391-398). Accra: National Planning Committee of the Golden Jubilee Celebrations.

Anyidoho, N. A. (2008). Identity and knowledge production in the fourth generation, Africa Development, 33(1), 25-39.

Anyidoho, N.A. (2006). Identity and knowledge production in the fourth generation. In Björn Beckman & Gbemisola Remi Adeoti (Eds.), Intellectuals and African Development: Pretension and resistance in African politics (pp. 156-169). London: Zed Books.

Anyidoho, N. A. & Asante, K. (2008). Truly national? Social inclusion and the Ghana@50 celebrations. Ghana Studies, 11, 139-173.

Mastercard Foundation

Platform Livelihoods Ghana (2021 - )

Co-lead of an inquiry into the nature of Ghanaian women’s work, including the extent to which it is empowering. With the increasing digitization of work, and more so in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, questions about the content and impact of women’s work have gained more urgency. These questions underpin a study on young women’s experiences of platform work in Ghana, in partnership with Caribou Digital and with financial support from the Mastercard Foundation.

"Researching gender and platform livelihoods in Ghana"

"How can we make platform livelihoods better for young women, especially during and after covid-19"

Open Society Initiatives of Africa

Gender Equitable and Transformative Social Policy for Post-COVID-19 Africa (GETSPA) (2020 - )

Co-Principal Investigator of a project that seeks to understand the framing and value propositions underpinning social policy; the interface between social and economic policies; and the socio-economic development outcomes of social policy, particularly in terms of gender, class and spatial inequalities. The initial project output will be the basis for constituency-building and advocacy and a programme of future research toward the realization of an agenda for transformative and gender equitable social policy for Africa’s development.

Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA)

Youth Policy Study (May 2017 – Dec 2019)

Co-leader of team of researchers in three countries (Ghana, Tanzania and Zimbabwe) analysing young people’s livelihood pathways in sites of agricultural commercialisation. Contributed to design of research, provided oversight of fieldwork, and contributed to written outputs.

"Hard work and hazard: young people and agricultural commercialization in Africa", Journal of Rural Studies (2020)

ISSER and Boston University

National Service and Beyond

Co-investigator in a study of tertiary graduates as they transit from National Service to the labour market. The goal is to collect information on the education, training, and work experience of young adults in order to understand the employment issues facing today’s youth. About 2,000 tertiary graduates are participating in this study. Papers have been written, presented in seminars and conferences, and submitted publication.

"Self-employment prospects among graduates in Ghana: does gender make a difference?" Development Policy Review (2021)

"Skills or credentials: comparing the perspectives of degree- and non-degree-holding Ghanaian graduates on the value of higher education", African Journal of Higher Education (2020)

United Nations Economic Commission on Africa (UNECA)

Situation Analysis of Youth in Africa and Development of Policy Toolbox (2014-2016)

Lead consultant for a project to respond to the need for African governments to formulate inclusive and sustainable development policies to promote the well-being of youth. Co-authored an analytical report on the situation of youth in Africa, and have developed a toolbox of best policy practices on youth for African governments.

The Rockefeller Foundation

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning in Collective Action Movements in Africa (2014—2016)

Principal investigator for a study on monitoring and evaluating collective action movements. Lead-authored analytical paper that was a basis for three workshops (in Johannesburg and Tamale) to validate paper and subsequently to train activists and evaluators on how to evaluate collective action.

British Council-Ghana

Roles, Representations and Perceptions of Women in Contemporary Ghanaian Society (Jan-Mar 2016)

Lead consultant for a nine-member team of researchers that produced a report on the situation of women in contemporary Ghana, based on desk review and primary data collection.

"Roles, representations and perceptions of women in contemporary Ghana" (2016)

World Bank and Government of Ghana

Beneficiary Assessment of the GPBOA Project: Solar PV Systems for the Rural Poor in Ghana (June-September 2014)

Co-designed a beneficiary assessment of a project to provide solar power to rural households in the three northern regions of Ghana. Led a six-member team to conduct surveys and focus groups discussions in 40 communities. Analysed quantitative and qualitative data, and co-authored the final report and a journal article.

Futures Agricultures Consortium, Young People Theme (funded by DFID)

Q Methodology Study on Young People and Agrifood (May-November 2014)

Co-designed and supervised conduct of a study, using Q methodology, to understand the perceptions and aspirations of young people and their parents about employment, and specifically in agriculture. Produced a working paper and drafted a journal manuscript based on the study.

"Young people's perspectives on farming in Ghana: a Q study" Food Security (2017)

"Perspectives on desirable work: findings from a Q study with students and parents in rural Ghana", European Journal of Development Research(2016)

Women in Informal Economy Organizing (WIEGO)

Informal Economy Monitoring Study: Street Vendors in Accra, Ghana (2012-2013)

Lead researcher for Ghana component of a 10-city, longitudinal study of the urban informal economy. Supervised a five-person team to collect quantitative and qualitative data on street vending in Accra. Implemented the qualitative aspect of the study, which involved conducting focus groups with vendors in urban Accra. Led the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data, and authored the Accra city report. (Report available at www.inclusivecities.org and www.wiego.org). Also co-authored a working paper and journal article from the study.

Future Agricultures Consortium, Young People Theme (funded by DFID)

Reframing the ‘Young People-Agriculture’ Discourse (2010-2014)

Lead researcher for Ghana for a study to examine changes in policy and practice in the agri-food sector, and the implications of these changes for young people’s employment and futures. Conducted an analysis of policy narratives on young people, agriculture and employment; created a database of programs and projects targeting young people and analysed the content of these programs. Authored a number of reports and articles and organized a 2011 international conference around this theme. (Publications available at www.future-agricultures.org)

Office of Research, Innovation and Development, University of Ghana

Modelling the Career Choices of Students at the University of Ghana (2010-2012)

Lead researcher for a study on the aspirations, preferences and choices of university students, with particular attention to final year students transiting into the labour market. Led the design and conduct of a survey of over 5,000 students in 2012 and 2013. Co-authored conference papers and journal manuscripts from the study.

Norwegian Research Council

Human Rights, Power and Civic Action (RIPOCA): Comparative Analyses of Human Rights-Based Approaches and Civic Struggle in Development Contexts (2009-2010)

Co-investigator for a multi-country study to investigate the ways in which struggles for human rights have been constrained by power relations and structural inequalities. Conducted context mapping of human rights of organisations in Ghana; authored a review of human rights discourses in Ghana based on secondary data and field interviews; supervised the development of case studies of three human rights organisations in Ghana; authored a synthesis report, and co-authored a book chapter and journal articles.

Centre for Gender Studies and Advocacy, University of Ghana (funded by IDRC)

Formalising the Informal and Informalising the Formal? Analysing Changes in Women’s Work in Ghana (2008-2010)

Co-investigator for a study to analyse changes in women’s work in the informal (domestic) and formal (banking) sectors. Conducted survey and indepth interviews of bank workers; also co-created and participated in inception and dissemination workshops. Co-authored conference presentations, policy briefs and academic publications.

DFID

Social Protection for Migrant Labour in the Ghanaian Pineapple Sector (2007-2008)

Co-investigator for a study to understand the challenges and possibilities for social protection for migrant workers in the pineapple sector. Co-designed and conducted the qualitative component of the study. Co-authored working paper based on the research.

The World Bank

Economic Empowerment of Young People in Ghana: Social and Institutional Triggers and Constraints (2007-2008)

Led the Ghana team of a two-country study into economic empowerment of young people. Designed and supervised the collection and analyses of data (through indepth interviews of young people in rural and urban Ghana), and authored the final report.

ENAM Project at the University of Ghana

Evaluation of the Enhancing Child Nutrition through Animal Source Food Management (ENAM) project (2007-2008)

Designed and conducted a qualitative evaluation of the ENAM project, involving individual and group interviews of participants in three communities in Ghana; observations of home and business activities; analyses of various project documents; and writing of an evaluation report.

Cadbury Schweppes

Mapping Sustainable Production in Ghanaian Cocoa (2006-2007)

Member of team of researchers that conducted interviews and focus groups of migrant workers in rural cocoa- and pineapple-growing areas in Ghana. Contributed to final report.

Land Tenure and Land Policy Reform Project (ISSER & World Bank)

Chieftaincy Institutions and Land Tenure Security: Challenges, Responses and the Potential for Reform (2006)

Principal investigator of a qualitative study on the ways in which chieftaincy institutions affect land tenure security. Co-authored final report and technical paper.

DFID

Pathways of Women's Empowerment: Policy Discourses on Women’s Empowerment, Ghana/West Africa (2005-2010)

Co-investigator for the West African hub of a multi-continental study on the varied pathways to women’s empowerment. Conducted research into the discourses around empowerment in national institutions and development practitioners in Ghana. Conducted training program for staff of erstwhile Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs. Co-authored a book chapter and journal articles from study.

Graduate Courses

Advanced Qualitative Methods and Analysis, PhD in Development Studies, ISSER, 2014–present
Comparative Social Policy, PhD in Social POlicy Studies, CSPS, 2020-present.
Social Development, M.A. in Development Studies, ISSER, 2006-present
Gender Relations and Development, M.A. in Development Studies, ISSER, 2009-2010

Short Courses

Research Methodology and Report Writing (coordinator & instructor), ISSER Short Courses, 2006-present.
Alternative Approaches to Development (module),PhD in Development Studies, ISSER, 2010 to present.
Qualitative Methodology (module),UG Doctoral School, 2015
Managing the doctoral process (module),UG Doctoral School, 2015