This is the core function of LECERP. The research strategy will be multidisciplinary. It will include tracking and monitoring government policies and programmes to provide for accountability in public investments. The provides technical guidance (consulting services) to the government, private sector, and non-state organisations on policy effectiveness and programme efficiency. The Centre offers consulting services in the area of providing technical assistance in grant writing and assessment and hosting capacity-building workshops.

The Centre plays a proactive role in advocacy on national issues. This function is intended to share and amplify the research findings of the Centre by prioritizing and integrating advocacy into research work to ensure that findings do not stay on the shelves without being acted upon through policy and practice. The advocacy function is largely self-initiated and done in collaboration with civil society organisations and key development agencies. This function puts LECERP in a unique position because most university-based research institutions shy away from advocacy while investing so much in conducting research that turns to remain unknown. This is particularly crucial because while academic research essentially is about discovering and expanding knowledge, advocacy should follow accordingly in sharing the knowledge discovered for the benefit of society. While CSOs and Think tanks seem to be the natural anchors of advocacy, there are reputational concerns about some of them, some turn out to be politically biased or ideological and turn to skew data to match predetermined agendas. A university-based advocacy research centre is seen by the public as more credible and less likely to be politically selective.

This function is essential and complementary to the research and advocacy functions. It involves training and mentoring young faculty and students. It also involves providing capacity building for staff of state and non-state actors. Through the interdisciplinary and collaborative approach of the Centre young faculty will benefit from the expertise of experienced members through deliberate mentoring and coaching. Graduate students will get the chance to work on research projects being carried out at the Centre. Considerable attention and systematic efforts will be given to the creation and implementation of a strong training and mentoring model for faculty development and support. The Centre facilitates faculty scholarship, including collaborative research, academic publications, and presentations at seminars, and works with faculty at the departmental and College level, to institutionalise the training and mentoring model.

The Centre aims at generating and building a knowledge bank and become a place of reference or contact for credible data for state and non-state actors in education. This is be achieved through the creation of a functional body of knowledge through the sharing and reporting of outcomes. The Centre will launch and publish biennially, the State of Education Report for Ghana, and that will become a flagship publication for the Centre and the University of Ghana on education. By taking up a knowledge management function, the Centre actively reviews and analyses the government’s transparency and accountability to all stakeholders and citizens in particular. The Centre creates a vent for non-state actors in the education space to communicate to the government about its investments and outcomes.

The approach of LECERP is multiple disciplinary. This requires extensive collaboration across units within the college and across the university. The Centre adopts a strong orientation toward collaboration and a commitment to facilitate external relationships with development practitioners and the international scientific and development community. This is to ensure that the Centre and its staff benefit from the experience and expertise of these units as well as make the experiences and expertise of the Centre available to learning. The Centre seeks to strengthen any existing collaborations and to formalize relationships with such units.

One of the key strategies of LECERP is the adoption of the knowledge co-creation approach. This means that the Centre’s research activities rely extensively on community partnership and involvement. The purpose of this approach is to ensure the relevance and impact of research output. In pursuit of this function, the Centre seeks to establish and grow relationships with community members, civil society organizations, and development partners locally and internationally, building a solid network of community partners. LECERP conceptualises community as both a place and a practitioner. As a place, it is worth mentioning that the College is in the process of setting up Research Surveillance Sites (RSS) using the coastal line of the Greater Accra region. Scoping studies are underway in these communities to identify areas of common interest for research and advocacy. Once the Centre is established, it will immediately build on these communities as focused partners.