Prof. Nana Akua Anyidoho, Director CSPS (2020-2025)

"After five rewarding years, I completed my tenure as Director of the Centre for Social Policy Studies (CSPS) on 31 July 2025. It has been a privilege to serve this centre and work alongside our faculty, staff, students, advisors and partners. Together, we’ve made important strides in the centre’s core mandate of teaching, research and advocacy. To CSPS faculty and staff – I appreciate your time, talent and hard work. To MRPP faculty outside of CSPS – we are grateful for your commitment to the centre, even when the tangible rewards have not matched the value of your contribution. To our students – your feedback has challenged us to do better and serve you more meaningfully. You’ve helped shape the Centre in important ways, and I hope you continue to see yourselves as partners in its growth. To the Management Board – thank you for the shared vision, steady guidance and thoughtful oversight. To our thesis examiners – thank you for the time, care, and intellectual generosity you've brought to safeguarding the quality of our graduate programmes. To all our partners – we are truly grateful for working with us on issues that matter."

Prof. Anyidoho is currently an Associate Professor at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research at the University of Ghana. Her research is broadly in social policy and social development. Her work frequently explores themes of participation, inclusion, and empowerment by examining how marginalised social groups (in particular, young people and women) interact with and are impacted by social policy structures and processes. She is especially interested in higher education policy and its implications for graduate employment. 

Her publications are available on her website and ResearchGate.

Read more about the highlights of her tenure here

Prof. Abena D. Oduro, Director CSPS

Under Prof. Abena D. Oduro's leadership, CSPS officially launched the Master of Research and Public Policy programme in 2016 on behalf of the University of Ghana. The programme is one of eleven being run in African universities in collaboration with the Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR). She commended faculty within and outside CSPS for the contribution they have made towards the smooth running of the programme since its commencement in February 2016.

Abena D. Oduro is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Ghana. She served as a Co-Director of the Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa from 2018 to 2021. Her main areas of research are poverty and inequality analysis, gender and assets, unpaid care work, international trade policy and WTO issues. Her areas of specialisation include Gender and Assets, Poverty Analysis, Inequality Analysis, Unpaid Care Work, and International Trade Policy.