A University Beyond Aid: The Challenge to the Academic Freedom and Success of Ghanaian Universities of Over-Reliance on Donor Funding

Abstract

In the era of the knowledge economy, universities are expected to contribute to the economic development of their countries. Therefore, their research agendas must be relevant to the local context and geared, though not uncritically, to the national educational agenda.To do this diligently requires research autonomy. However, due to the low government investment in research on the African continent, universities have had to rely on other sources of funding, which usually comes with strings attached. Our study investigates the case of Ghana, in particular, the University of Ghana, the leading research university in the country.We drew on resource dependence theory, which suggests that, despite external pressures on universities, they can enhance their autonomy through the implementation of strategic measures. Primarily, we analysed documents such as research reports, journal articles and speeches in the light of Clark's (1998) model of the "entrepreneurial university," which, if adapted with care and in a localised form in Ghana, may contribute to the research autonomy of its universities. We found that, although research autonomy in Ghanaian universities is limited due to their over-reliance on external donor funding, it is likely to be strengthened if the government of Ghana follows through on plans to increase research funding and universities continue with measures to diversify their funding sources.