Draft for discussion only
DATA BANK AND RESEARCH COMMITTEE
Membership
1. Mr. Nachinaba Bugre (024 9627040)
2. Dr. Martison
3. Mr. Chris Aliene
4. Mr. Abdulai Zacharia
5. Dr S. Bamile
6. Mr. Lucas Chigabatia (024 4329824)
Mandate
The Data Bank and Research Committee (DBRC) was one of the committees established following the forum of Ghanaians of Northern extraction at the GBC Club House in Accra on the 30th of September, 2007.
The committee was charged with the responsibility of researching, documenting and establishing a Data Bank of information on the three northern regions namely Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions.
The immediate concern of the forum was the effects of the floods on the three northern regions of Ghana. Therefore, information about the impact of the floods on housing, agriculture, health, education and general infrastructure including the effect on the road network was to be compiled to assist the forum in ongoing deliberations, presentations and proposals to government and other agencies that the Forum may choose to make contact with. It must be noted that this information is currently being reported by various government agencies, district authorities and other non-governmental agencies including the United Nations. Most of this information can be relied on in addition to any other information that the committee can obtain from other sources, and used for the purposes of the Forum.
The forum however recognized that one key priority must be the information about the membership of the Forum itself. To this end, the committee is tasked with ensuring the capture and storage of data on members as a top priority.
Ultimately, the Data Bank should contain information about all aspects of the Social, Political and Economic life of the three northern regions. The objective will be to make available facts and figures about the northern part of Ghana, highlight the tourist and other economic potentials of the regions, and help to focus attention on the area for the purpose of soliciting development initiatives from interest groups including Government, Non-governmental Organizations and individuals.
Initial Steps
In pursuit of the mandate, the Data Bank and Research Committee (DBRC) recognizes the enormity of the task before it and understands that for this exercise to be successful, a step by step approach must be adopted with the ultimate goal of establishing a comprehensive data bank on northern Ghana.
The committee believes that the first step should be the establishment of the membership data which will facilitate effective dissemination of information for effective mobilization of members and other resources for the sustained pursuit of the Forum’s objectives.
Consequently, the committee proposes that the form that was distributed on the day of the meeting be updated to include more information about members as we look to creating a resource base that can be used for other purposes including searching available skills to match job opportunities. A draft is attached for discussion and adoption.
The committee also intends to employ the use of Information Technologies in the creation and delivery of the information resource. It is therefore envisaged that a database driven website will be developed to enable members register online and the information stored in a back-end database.
Features of the website will include
a. News,
b. Alerts,
c. Registration Form (with the option to ask for an email address),
d. Discussion Forums and
e. Message Boards.
f. Mailing List with the facility to allow registered members add themselves to the site mailing list.
This arrangement will make it possible for brothers and sisters anywhere in the world to register and be part of this forum. Needless to say, the privacy of everybody will be respected and so detailed information will not be displayed at the website.
In order that this step can be taken, a decision has to be made on the domain name to be registered for the website. Here again the committee has the following proposed names for discussion.
a. TheForum.org
b. TheNorthernForum.org
c. TheNorthernGhanaForum.org
d. NGDF.org
Next Steps
The next steps to be taken if the committee’s proposals were approved by the coordinating body will be as follows
1. Domain Name registration
2. Design and deployment of website (registration form available on line)
3. Arrange publicity to encourage members to register either online or complete forms for input into database
4. Feedback to entire membership
5. Adopt action plan for extension of the Data Bank.
The Northern Ghana Development Forum
ABOUT YOU
First Name:
Surname:
Gender: MALE • FEMALE •
Date of Birth:
HOW CAN WE CONTACT YOU?
Country of Residence:
Residential Address:
Postal Address:
Telephone (Home):
Telephone (Work):
Telephone (Mobile):
Email Address:
WHERE ARE YOU FROM
Region:
District:
Town:
EDUCATION
School Attended:
Tertiary Attended:
Highest Qualification:
OCCUPATION/PROFESSION
Employed • Self-Employed: •
Student: • Attachment/National Service: •
Unemployed: • Retired: •
Name of Employer: (If you are employed please fill in below)
Type of business:
Position: (e.g. Accountant, HR, Messenger)
WHAT LANGUAGES DO YOU SPEAK?
1
2
3
4
5
List Any Special Skills(e.g football, music, etc)
