The Bureau of Integrated Rural Development (BIRD) at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) hosted a 3-day training workshop for 47 enumerators. The training was aimed at preparing them for data collection for a gender-transformative cash transfer pilot project implemented by the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI).
In May 2023, an innovation project was launched by ICI and its partners with an experimental design to test whether cash transfer impacts differ depending on whether men or women receive the money, and to assess the effectiveness of cash transfers when combined with other interventions to promote gender equality and financial inclusion.
The project aims to support cocoa-growing communities by improving the recipients' living conditions, economically empowering women and improve children's living condition in such a way that children will not be living in hazardous or get involved in child labour activities.
The data collection will cover approximately16,00 households across 79 communities in four districts: Akim Oda, Breman Asikuma, Asamankese, and Suhum, located in the Eastern and Central regions of Ghana.
In her opening remarks, Director of BIRD, Dr. Monica Addison, highlighted the Bureau’s commitment to quality research and urged the enumerators not to compromise on the data quality.
"We are the foremost and most important research center in the university, with over 3 decades of experience. Our hallmark is quality, and we do not compromise on it. If you provide us with substandard feedback, it will affect our reputation and the quality of our work. I trust that you will deliver the best results, and I hope that the newcomers among you will learn from those who have worked with us before," she stressed.
In his presentation, Dr. Albert Abraham Arhin, a researcher, took the enumerators through their roles, focusing on interview techniques, household entry, the importance of adhering to instructions, time management, among other things. He emphasized the consequences of not following data collection protocols, stating, "Issues around wrong input of data, incorrect framing and translation of questions, not following data quality protocols can affect data quality. Our training sought to improve your skills so that you can be effective in your data collection roles."
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