EVIDENCE FOR DEVELOPMENT (E4D) PROJECT

A training workshop facilitated by NDPC at the Bolgatanga East District Assembly

CAP development at Gambigo community

Introduction of Project!

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in promoting the use of evidence and data by public officials to inform policymaking and everyday decision-making processes. This interest is driven largely by dissatisfaction with government policies and programs that have failed to adequately address the persistent development challenges facing citizens and communities.

Governments routinely generate vast amounts of data through their operations, while researchers also produce valuable evidence, often with direct policy relevance. Together, these resources have the potential to improve policy outcomes and positively impact the lives of citizens, particularly the poor and vulnerable. However, policymakers have increasingly become less reliant on evidence and data in policy formulation, program design, and implementation. This has resulted in gaps between evidence generation and evidence use in addressing citizens’ needs.

Recognizing this challenge, the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) partnered with a consortium of civil society organasations including TEERE to pilot an initiative aimed at strengthening the use of data and evidence in local government decision-making at the Bolgatanga East District Assembly. The project, known as Evidence for Development (E4D), started in July 2019 with funding from William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Community Action Plan

A Community Action Plan (CAP) is a strategic roadmap developed by and for the community to guide local development efforts. The CoP engaged community residents to identify pressing needs, set clear goals, and design practical activities aimed at achieving positive and sustainable change. This participatory approach ensures that interventions are responsive to community priorities, build on existing strengths, and contribute to long-term social, economic, and environmental sustainability.

Peace Building

TEERE’s vision is to see communities take charge of their own affairs by strengthening their capacity to take active participation in matters affecting their lives. In as much as we roll out pro-poor intervention programmes to build the rural communities, we are faced with the threat of ethnic and chieftaincy conflicts, violent extremism, terrorism etc. in the Upper East region and the country at large.

Ghana, like many countries in Africa and beyond, faces the daunting task of effectively securing its borders amid rising threats of terrorism and violent extremism. The challenge is compounded by the existence of numerous unapproved border routes, limited logistics, and human resource constraints, which hinder the capacity of state institutions to manage and patrol these borders effectively.

The threat is no longer distant. Terrorist and extremist activities, which spread from North Africa and the Sahel, have already reached Ghana’s northern neighbour, Burkina Faso. The terrorist attack on August 18, 2021, is just one of many incidents that raise the risk of a spillover into Ghana’s border communities.

These security threats unfold within a volatile national context characterized by high youth unemployment, rising economic hardships, tribal tensions, and attacks involving nomadic herdsmen. Such conditions create fertile ground for radicalization and violence if left unaddressed. A critical but often overlooked stakeholder in peacebuilding is the youth. Despite being at the forefront of most conflicts, young people remain excluded from the country’s security architecture and from traditional conflict-resolution spaces such as the chief’s palace. Without their inclusion, peacebuilding efforts risk being incomplete and unsustainable.

Our Approach

Peace is the foundation of sustainable development. The devastating impact of conflict in places such as Bawku demonstrates how quickly progress can be eroded when peace is absent. Peacebuilding, therefore, is not the responsibility of a few, but a collective duty that must be prioritized by all stakeholders.

TEERE is committed to ensuring that youth, who are often excluded from decision-making yet remain at the center of conflict dynamics, are properly represented in security governance at all levels. To this end, TEERE will advocate for inclusive structures that give young people a voice in shaping peace and security policies.

As part of its strategy, TEERE will work closely with security agencies to facilitate community engagement through the TEERE Local Government Forum (TLGF). This forum will provide a platform to engage directly with community members, enabling their concerns and insights to be documented. Key issues raised will then be escalated to regional forums or roundtable discussions and eventually consolidated into recommendations for submission to the National Security apparatus. Furthermore, TEERE will leverage existing youth platforms to carry out sensitization campaigns. Selected youth leaders will be trained and empowered to work alongside assembly members and local leaders to spearhead awareness and peace education in their respective communities. Assembly members, in particular, will be equipped to serve as reliable contact points for reporting suspected acts of conflict, terrorism, or violent extremism. This information will then be relayed promptly to the security agencies for timely intervention.

Through these interventions, TEERE seeks to strengthen community resilience, enhance youth participation, and foster sustainable peace across Ghana’s border communities.