The IMANI Centre for Policy and Education is pleased to announce the appointment of its Founding President and Chief Executive Officer, Franklin Cudjoe, to Ghana’s Joint National United Nations Steering Committee (JSC), the country’s highest strategic oversight body established to guide the design and implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF).

The appointment comes at an important moment in Ghana’s development journey, as the Government of Ghana and the United Nations begin work on the country’s next Cooperation Framework covering the period 2027–2030.

The Framework will serve as the principal strategic instrument through which the United Nations system aligns its collective support with Ghana’s national development priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Joint National-UN Steering Committee is the apex governance platform responsible for overseeing this process and ensuring that the Cooperation Framework remains responsive to Ghana’s evolving development needs.

Co-chaired by the Minister for Finance Dr Ato Forson and the United Nations Resident Coordinator, the Committee brings together senior representatives of government ministries and agencies, heads of United Nations entities, development partners, the private sector, civil society organisations and minority groups. It provides the strategic leadership required to guide one of the country’s most significant development planning processes.

The Committee’s mandate extends well beyond advisory functions. According to its Terms of Reference, it provides strategic oversight for the Cooperation Framework, reviews progress in implementation, identifies emerging development challenges and opportunities, strengthens mutual accountability between the Government of Ghana and the United Nations system, supports resource mobilisation, promotes policy coherence, and facilitates coordination among national institutions, development partners, civil society and the private sector.

The Committee is also responsible for endorsing annual results, reviewing Country Results Reports, overseeing independent evaluations of the Cooperation Framework and guiding any strategic revisions that become necessary during implementation.

Its work will shape the next phase of cooperation between Ghana and the United Nations at a time when the country is seeking to consolidate macroeconomic recovery while addressing deeper structural development challenges.

The roadmap endorsed for the 2027-2030 Cooperation Framework includes national and sub-national consultations, inter-agency coordination across the UN system, strategic prioritisation retreats, development of outcome and results frameworks, resource mobilisation planning and eventual government approval before implementation begins in 2027.

The background analysis prepared for the new Cooperation Framework presents a comprehensive assessment of Ghana’s current development landscape. While noting improvements in macroeconomic stability, including economic growth, declining inflation and currency appreciation, it also identifies persistent structural constraints that continue to affect long-term development.

These include limited economic diversification, structural inequality, governance and accountability challenges, climate vulnerability, youth unemployment, fiscal pressures and the need for stronger domestic resource mobilisation. It further emphasises that future progress will depend on strengthening institutions, improving policy implementation, promoting inclusive growth and ensuring that development reaches populations most at risk of being left behind.

Complementing this analysis, the review of the current Ghana-United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework highlights both achievements and areas requiring renewed attention. It identifies progress in food systems transformation, youth employment, health, education, social protection, migration governance, climate-smart agriculture, peacebuilding and digital innovation, while recommending stronger coordination, deeper localisation, enhanced communications, improved data systems, sustainable financing and broader partnerships as priorities for the next Cooperation Framework cycle.

It is within this strategic context that IMANI’s Franklin Cudjoe joins the Joint National-UN Steering Committee. For more than two decades, Mr. Cudjoe has established himself as one of Africa’s leading public policy voices through his work in governance, institutional reform, economic policy and democratic accountability.

As the Founding President and Chief Executive Officer of IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, he has overseen the transformation of the organisation into one of Africa’s most respected independent public policy think tanks. IMANI is consistently ranked among the five most influential think tanks in Sub-Saharan Africa and among the world’s top one hundred think tanks, reflecting its sustained contribution to evidence-based policymaking and public policy discourse.

Mr. Cudjoe’s career has been characterised by engagement with governments, international institutions and global policy leaders. He has contributed to international discussions on development policy, economic reform and governance, including consultations with the United Kingdom Prime Minister’s Office on development assistance in Africa. He has participated in high-level policy engagements with global political leaders and has represented African policy perspectives on international platforms.

His international recognition includes being named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2010 and being recognised among the Top 50 Africans by The Africa Report. He has participated in leadership programmes organised by the governments of Australia, the United Kingdom and the European Union, and has contributed to major policy initiatives in Ghana, including service on the Ministry of Finance’s Foreign Exchange Development Committee and DANIDA’s Sounding Board for Private Sector Initiatives.

Beyond institutional leadership, Mr. Cudjoe has become a recognised commentator on African development and governance, with appearances across leading international media platforms and contributions to global policy conversations through publications and interviews carried by major international news organisations. His academic and professional development includes executive education at Harvard Kennedy School, the Atlas Economic Research Foundation’s Think Tank MBA programme and the Montreal Economic Institute’s Think Tank Training Programme.

His appointment to the Joint National-UN Steering Committee reflects the important role that independent public policy institutions and civil society organisations like IMANI play in strengthening national development planning.

For IMANI, the appointment represents another opportunity to contribute its longstanding commitment to rigorous research, policy analysis and evidence-based dialogue to a national platform tasked with shaping Ghana’s development priorities over the coming years.

Throughout its history, IMANI, led by our Founding President, has consistently advocated for stronger institutions, accountable governance, sound public financial management and policy reforms capable of improving development outcomes for all Ghanaians.

As Ghana embarks on the design of its 2027-2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, the work of the Joint National-UN Steering Committee will help define how national priorities are translated into coordinated action between the Government of Ghana, the United Nations system and development partners.

The Committee’s decisions will influence strategic priorities, implementation arrangements, resource mobilisation and monitoring mechanisms intended to support sustainable development, strengthen national institutions and advance progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.