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The purpose of this study is to contribute to the discourse on livelihood access and challenges of fisherfolks and farmers within coastal communities in Ghana. Insights from such studies can help to create win-win outcomes between communities and oil companies and give the latter social license to operate. Also, it will help to identify the existing knowledge gaps that still need to be filled and contribute to the overall management of Ghana’s oil resources. It will further contribute to the government’s livelihood diversification programs in oil-producing communities.

The study employed the use of qualitative research paradigm to collect primary data in oil- and gas-producing communities in the Western Region of Ghana. Specifically, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were conducted among diverse stakeholders.

Findings from the study show that several people and households along the coast of Ghana’s Western Region depend on the fishing industry as their livelihoods. However, fisherfolks are facing several challenges due to oil production. For instance, the quantity of fish harvest has reduced drastically since oil production started in 2010. Farming activities have also been adversely affected. The study has unearthed that the existing social and economic infrastructure are very limited to support the development of the coastal communities in Ghana’s Western Region. The study suggests that to deal with some of the challenges faced by coastal communities, livelihood diversification programs should be introduced.

Not every community within the oil and gas areas in the Western Region was covered. Future work will address this limitation.

The study has revealed that the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies need to expedite the process of conducting a comprehensive needs assessment of communities and capture them in their medium-term development plans.

The corporate social responsibility programs will create win-win outcomes between oil companies and communities.

The study is an original piece of work with data collected from the field. The study will contribute to the efficient management of natural resources in Ghana and other developing countries.

The abandonment of governmental development projects either after completion or midway completion at the taxpayer’s expense in Ghana could be attributed to lack of effective community engagement (CE). Thus, this study aims to assess CE in development projects by comparing government-sponsored projects to private-sponsored projects.

A qualitative approach was adopted where a multiple case study design was used as a research strategy. Data was collected from selected districts in the Central Region of Ghana by using a semi-structured interview guide and analyzed using the thematic and comparative analysis techniques.

The results reveal that CE in government-funded projects was low, while CE in projects funded by private organizations was high. Three levels of engagement (consultation, participation in decision-making and consent) were also identified. Furthermore, the roles of public participation, including knowledge sharing, collective sense of ownership, among others, were ascertained. Finally, resources constraints, competing interests, lack of information flow, public attitudes toward change and central government/political interference are challenges of CE in development projects.

This study has provided an empirical basis for government and other development agents to draft a policy on CE to serve as a guide, spell out the role of CE, mitigate the challenges of CE and ensure strict compliance to the three levels of engagement.

Customised capacity building is thought to be essential for organisations. However, empirical studies are lacking with respect to its effect on employee outcomes. This study aims to examine the effect of customised capacity building on employee outcomes including employee empowerment and employee engagement through employee learning in Ghanaian local government institutions.

Valid responses from 281 employees of Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in Ghana were collected through a survey. A structural equation model was used to analyse the data and test the hypotheses formulated.

The results showed that customised capacity building has an effect on employee learning, employee empowerment, and employee engagement. Employee learning also had an effect on employee empowerment and employee engagement. In addition, employee learning partially mediated the effect of customised capacity building on both employee empowerment and employee engagement.

This study is of particular relevance to public organisations. As there is a dearth of studies focusing on customised capacity building, this study provides insight into incorporating the phenomenon into public sector organisations to enhance employee learning, empowerment and engagement.

Spatial planning is globally identified as an effective strategy for providing climate change adaptation needs. However, there is a dearth of literature on how spatial planning relates to climate change control in Ghana, particularly at the local level. Hence, this paper aims to investigate whether spatial planning plays a significant role in the control of climate change and the adaptive capacities at the local level.

The authors adopt a mixed-method approach, where both qualitative and quantitative data were obtained using an interview guide and survey, respectively. The authors analyze the data using a qualitative content analysis method and descriptive statistics.

The results show that spatial planning plays an important role in climate change adaptation, though in a limited way. The physical planning department at the municipal level has varying amounts of capacities across various determinants, but there are opportunities for improving the capacity of the department.

The authors provide empirical evidence to support the need to prioritize spatial planning as a strategy for dealing with the impacts of climate change and the building of capacities at the national and community levels for improved adaptive capacity.

Poor municipal solid waste management is a major characteristic of urban development in Africa. In Ghana, local governments are mandated to ensure the collection, treatment and disposal of solid waste. However, this has been a herculean task for local governments in Ghana, owing to inadequate resources and weak technical capacities. This has prompted calls for, and actual involvement of the private sector through public-private partnerships (PPPs) in municipal solid waste management, particularly in the urban areas. This study aims to assess the roles, effectiveness and challenges of PPPs in urban waste management in the Sunyani municipality of Ghana.

Adopting a case study design, the study used a qualitative research approach to provide in-depth insights into PPPs in municipal solid waste management in the Sunyani municipality of Ghana. Therefore, key informant interviews and two focus group discussions were conducted.

The study revealed that some policies and actions of the local government (Assembly) do not positively facilitate the effective functioning of PPPs in municipal solid waste management. There is also lack of effective stakeholder consultation, collaboration and grassroot inclusion in the PPPs which affect the effective management of the increasing volumes of solid waste being generated within the municipality.

To achieve the objectives of the PPP arrangements, local authorities should initiate steps to effectively coordinate all the involved private companies. There must also be ways of involving the beneficiaries in the design and implementation of PPPs on waste management to allow for effective grassroots and participatory monitoring and evaluation.

The uniqueness of the case study being a mid-sized and secondary city in a developing country enhances the value of the findings and the application of recommendations in cities with similar characteristics and initiatives in improving PPPs in municipal waste management.

The study investigates the influence of financial transparency on citizens' trust and revenue paying behaviour of citizens of local governments in sub-Saharan Africa. It relies on the theories of stewardship and public choice in explaining the relationship between financial transparency, trust and willingness to pay.

The study applied a Partial Least Square Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) to survey data of 404 respondents selected from four Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies of Ghana to test the hypotheses of the study.

It establishes the fact that financial transparency positively influences trust of citizens in local government and their willingness to pay taxes and levies. The study also found that both financial transparency and trust are low in the local governments of Ghana.

The study emphasises the importance of financial transparency in improving trust and willingness to pay. Thus, local governments are encouraged to seek innovative ways to enhance the quality and access to financial information by the citizens.

While prior studies focus on the measurement and determinant of financial transparency, this study links financial transparency to revenue mobilisation in the local government of sub-Saharan Africa.

This paper examined the factors influencing the participation of rice processors in short supply chains and the participation impact on the amount of rice processed, per capita expenditure of household and value of sales.

The Seemingly Unrelated Regression and Doubly Robust Augmented Inverse Probability Weighting Model (AIPW) were used to analyse the determinants of short supply chain participation and the impact of short supply.

From the results, the mean value of rice processed was GH₵18385 (US$ 3,069.28), with the minimum value being GH₵ 25 (US$ 4.17) and the maximum GH₵ 67200 (US$ 1,1218.70) per annum. Processed rice aroma and grade characteristics positively influence the value of processed rice sold via short supply chains as well as the expertise rate of the processor, Farmer-Based Organisation membership, and marketing information availability. Women rice processors' per capita expenditure, total sales value and the value of processed rice was positively influenced by the short supply chain participation.

Even though the sample size was appropriate, a larger sample size could further support the study's finding since a limited geographical area with predominant domestic rice processors was studied. Again, future studies should consider behavioural theories, such as the Theory of Planned Behaviour, amongst others, in understanding the reasons for the choices of short supply chains compared to other sales outlets.

Although there is a growing body of literature on rice, most of the studies focussed on the marketing outlet of rice producers, rice processing, constraints and opportunities faced by rice farmers and processors and an out-grower scheme involving rice processors amongst rice producers with none of these on the choice of short supply chains amongst women processors. Also, amongst all the studies on rice producers, none applied a theory; however, the Women in Development (WID) Theory was used to analyse the impact of the short supply chain on the impact on household per capita expenditure (poverty), the value of sales and amount of rice processed, a modest theoretical contribution of the paper to literature.

This chapter provides an overview of the inclusive education policies in Ghana and how these policies were developed toward fulfilling the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal Number 4. We start the chapter by introducing Ghana's demographics and awareness in disability, as well as the historical background in inclusive education. Next, we address the current state of Ghana's inclusive education by sharing the current policies and infrastructure that transforms special education schools into resource centers, promotes a learner-friendly environment, and serves as the legal foundation for private and public schools to implement inclusive education for all children. We further discuss the challenges imposed by the recent wave of the COVID pandemic on inclusive education, and the initiatives Ghana leadership enacted to provide a continuum of inclusive services for all children. We then conclude the chapter with implications and recommendations to stakeholders.

This study aims to determine how school-based management (SBM) capacity developed through international cooperation functioned to overcome challenges during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Nepal.

The research structure was designed based on the success case method. The researchers conducted a questionnaire survey of head teachers to understand schools’ responses during the COVID-19 pandemic period, identified likely success-case schools, held workshops at the likely success-case schools and conducted in-depth interviews with head teachers and school management committee (SMC) members to understand how SBM functioned and contributed to the success cases.

Storytelling from the success-case schools provided reliable evidence that the localised approaches of SBM are effective for planning and implementing suitable responses at school. The reviews of the head teachers showed that both head teachers and teachers had strong leadership and understood the importance of collaboration with teachers, SMC members, Parent Teacher Association (PTA), guardians and students. Although the research could not show clear evidence of a causal relationship between their achievement and Japan’s project input, the success-case schools clearly benefited from the head teachers’ appropriate execution of SBM with their strong leadership as well as the collaborative efforts of the stakeholders.

The research tries to clarify the influence of the effects of SBM capacity development projects by analysing the changes of head teachers and teachers through the storytelling aspect of the success case method with in-depth consideration of actual school responses during the emergency period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Electronic government procurement is an important platform that promotes efficient, transparent, competitive and agile delivery of procurement activities in public sector organisations. Implementing units who play a major role exhibits different attitude towards new technology. The purpose of this paper is to assess if there is any significant difference between optimistic and discomfort implementing units in relation to the implementation and intention to use the Ghana Electronic Procurement System (GHANEPS).

Technology Readiness, Technology Acceptance and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology and Diffusion Innovation Theory constituted the theoretical foundation. Guided by a cross sectional survey design, quantitative data from a sample of 181 procurement officers was collected using structured questionnaires. The hypothesised relationships were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).

Although there were some observable differences, the bootstrap results show that the difference was not significant, implying that these two groups do not differ much about the GHANEPS introduction and implementation. This is justifiable in the case of Ghana because public policies are made by top officials, and those in the grassroot or implementation domain have no choice but to act accordingly.

This study focused on metropolitan, municipal, district assemblies, public hospitals, tertiary institutions and senior high schools.

The study contributes to the critical antecedents for electronic procurement implementation and public sector management literature. It provides public institutions and practitioners with empirical evidence on how beliefs and perceptions of implementing units about electronic public procurement has some influence on attitude towards usage and intention to use. Positive attitudes and perceptions of the public procurement officers can be reinforced through adequate training and awareness creation.

This study outcomes can serve as philosophical underpinnings for societal development.

This study used a multi-group analysis to examine if there is any significant difference between these two categories of implementing units (optimistic group and discomfort group) in relation to facilitating conditions, personal innovativeness, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and ultimately to attitude and intention to use GHANEPS.