Effect of commercialisation policy on the performance of CSIR-Forestry Research Institute of Ghana

In 1996, the Government of Ghana restructured the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to make it more responsive to private sector needs and to promote demand-driven research. To ensure that research institutions were partly self-financing, a “Commercialisation Policy” was incorporated into the activities of the CSIR by an Act of Parliament (Act 521 of 1996). The Act sought to promote the commercialisation of research. This study was carried out in 2010 to assess the effects of the commercialisation policy on the performance of CSIR-Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG). Specific areas of interest investigated included the extent of commercialisation activities at FORIG and a comparative study of the Institute’s performance before and after the policy. A sample size of 50 workers (out of a total of 256 staff members) was chosen for the study. Convenience and purposive sampling technique was employed for the study using the available staff list. The list consisted of research grade staff as well as senior and junior members of staff. The study revealed that majority of respondents (62%), were aware of the policy, they could not accurately state the tenents of the policy. Commercial product and services at the Institute increased significantly from seven prior to the implementation of the policy to approximately twenty after the policy. Generally, the financial performance of the Institute over
a twelve-year period (1996 – 2008) after the introduction of the Commercialisation Policy in 1996 recorded a significant increase of over 1000%. Various set-backs such as a weak marketing strategy and obsolete equipment accounted for the slow implementation of the policy. Based on the findings of the study, practical steps have been recommended to improve the situation. These include vigorous education and sensitization of staff to embrace the policy, as well as improvement in the Institute’s current marketing strategies.