Known as “the CSIR Science for Impact Fund (CSIF)”, it aims to raise $20 million within the next five years to help identify and support high-impact research projects and technological innovations that have the potential to drive industrial growth to spur sustainable economic development. 

Speaking at the press launch in Accra on Tuesday, the Director-General of CSIR, Professor Paul Bosu, emphasised the importance of the initiative, which is designed to foster collaborations, promote local community development and create a more innovative and sustainable future. 

He said the council was committed to fostering increased collaboration between academia, industry and government to drive innovation and community development.

“As part of this commitment, CSIR staff have volunteered to contribute one per cent of their salaries over the next five years to support the endowment fund,” he said.

Professor Bosu further appealed to corporate bodies and individuals to support the council in its mission to deliver effectively on its mandate and support science and technology innovation. 

Limited funding 

The Chairman of the CSIF planning committee and Director of the CSIR Water Research Institute, Professor Mike Osei-Atweneboana, said, “We face limited funding for Research and Development (R&D) infrastructure, human resource capacity development and operations.”  

While CSIR is primarily funded by the government and receives modest financing from donor agencies and internally generated funds, he indicated that releases from the national coffers had been below expectations and donor funding continues to dwindle.

According to him, to overcome this financing gap, CSIR was amended in 1996 (Act 521) to introduce private sector involvement and integration of market principles into its operations through the commercialisation of research.  

However, he said despite best efforts, the general economic situation in the country had made it extremely difficult for CSIR to secure financing to efficiently carry out its operations. 

“Simply put, the funding required by CSIR to fully execute its mandate and carry out relevant activities is lacking,” Professor Osei-Atweneboa said.  

Therefore, to salvage this persistent lack of resources, he said, the management and staff established the endowment fund to guarantee a sustainable source of funding.