About the Project
The Data Repository and Advocacy for Policy (DARAP) project is focused on promoting the access and effective use of data and knowledge products to influence policymaking processes and outcomes. It contributes to evidence-led policymaking through data management services and capacity building in the use and interpretation of research data, working in collaboration with civil society organisations and academics.
DARAP is funded by the Open Society Economic Justice Program and based at the Measurement, Learning, and Evaluation (MLE) Unit at the Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research (ISSER), University of Ghana.
Our Approach
DARAP seeks to address the fundamental bottlenecks to data-driven and evidence-based policy advocacy by equipping both the players in the policy advocacy space (i.e., CSOs and NGOs) and those that primarily generate the data and evidence (i.e., academic researchers) to effectively dialogue and engage. This two-pronged approach aims to empower both spectrums of input producers for policy advocacy and influence.
DARAP’s engagement with NGOs and CSOs is driven by the commitment to support them achieve more effective evidence-based advocacy. This support is in the form of training on how to interpret research evidence and form policy messages based on such evidence. On the flip side, there is the challenge, still faced by many academic researchers, of communicating research evidence in a way that is easily accessible and usable by NGOs and CSOs. Our commitment, in this regard, is to train academic researchers on how to communicate their research in a way that is accessible to policy advocacy institutions. These training efforts will be complemented by a data hub, where research data (collected from different sources) will be stored to support the data needs of researchers involved in agri-food systems-related work and entities that seek readily available and accessible data for their work.
Our Objectives