Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (Ghana) (CSIR)

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) was established by NLC Decree 293 of October 10, 1968 amended by NLCD 329 of 1969, and re-established in its present form by CSIR Act 521 on November 26, 1996. The genesis of the Council however, dates back to the erstwhile National Research Council (NRC), which was established by government in August 1958 to organize and coordinate scientific research in Ghana. In 1963, the NRC merged with the former Ghana Academy of Sciences, a statutory learned society. Following a review in 1966, the Academy was reconstituted into, essentially, its original component bodies, namely a national research organization redesignated the CSIR and a learned Society, designated the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The distinctive features of the 1996 Act are the emphasis accorded private sector concerns, and the introduction of market principles into the Council's operations through the commercialization of research. In this connection, the Council is expected to generate part of its income through the sale of its products and services, and to institute a system of contract research.