West Africa Civil Society Institute wacsi.org

WACSI harnesses the policy research and analysis skills of civil society actors in West Africa

The training, organised by WACSI enabled participants, staff of CSOs, to be equipped with robust skills to undertake policy research that would contribute to the body of existing knowledge as well as proffer vital recommendations to improve the living conditions of citizens in their respective countries.

The training commenced on Wednesday October 24 and ended on Friday October 26, 2012; and after the first day of the training, participants noted an overall satisfaction with the content and delivery of the training which provided them with requisite research techniques to undertake their work.

Participants at the training expressed their interest in utilizing knowledge and skills gained from this course to promote good governance through educative and fact-based analysis of state policies. They maximized this experience sharing platform and deepened their understanding of how to conduct rigorous research that would positively affect the thinking and actions of policy makers. They gained research techniques that would enable them to conduct research that would add significant value to civil society’s contribution to support governments and policy makers in the process of thinking through and taking decisions that would affect the lives of citizens of Togo, Nigeria, Liberia and Ghana.

The facilitator of the training, Mr. George Osei Bimpeh, an alumnus of WACSI’s Next Generation Internship, now Country Director of SEND Ghana utilized an engaging approach to facilitate the training. He effectively engaged participants through questions and answer sessions, discussions that encouraged experience sharing, and sessions to explain essential research concepts to participants.

“The facilitator is very energetic and he has a good understanding of the subject”, noted Prof. Bala Dogo, a participant from Care and Action Research, Nigeria. Participants commended that the facilitator communicates well and is using a very effective and participatory approach.

“Well done WACSI, keep it up” a participant noted.

"I will use the knowledge acquired from this training to undertake research that will explore policy issues to deepen understanding, promote monitoring and accountability on policy issues in Liberia", Jimmy Joseph, participant from Search for Common Grounds Liberia explained.