The founding of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences by Ghana's first Prime Minister, Dr
Kwame Nkrumah, naturally demonstrates the recognition by Government of
the Academy's potential role in national development.

The Academy enjoys financial subsidies from Government for its running, and is housed in
Government property. Beyond these, however, the Academy's links with Government have been weak since the overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah, the Academy's founder.

Thus in spite of the Academy's foundational links with the nation's presidency, its impact on national policy has hitherto been inhibited by a lack of access to policy makers.

Subsequent Governments showed very little interest in the Academy's work; neither did the Academy make any efforts to improve relations with Government. The Academy has often expressed concern about lack of interest in its public events on the part of government officials.

The tenuous links with Government almost snapped during the PNDC era in 1988, when Professor
Adu Boahen, a Fellow of the Academy used the opportunity of the Academy's Annual J. B. Danquah Memorial Lectures, to do a critical appraisal of military governments in Ghana, including the incumbency. The lectures, entitled "The Ghanaian Sphinx: Reflections on the Contemporary History of Ghana" attracted record crowds.

Within the prevailing context of a 'culture of silence,' Professor Adu Boahen's candid public
denigration of military regimes did not help to improve relations between intellectuals and government. On the other hand, it paved the way for the restoration of free speech that had been under siege.

In the past few years, however, the Academy has made a conscious attempt to improve relations
with Government, in hopes of getting Government to appreciate the Academy's potential contribution to the shaping of public policy. This culminated in the participation of President J. A. Kufuor in the Academy's annual dinner in November 2002. At that dinner the President also proposed to host the Academy's annual dinner in 2003, a promise President Kufuor fulfilled on November 22, 2003 at the Castle.

To enhance the Academy's impact on national policy, hitherto inhibited by lack of access to
policy makers, the Academy has undertaken a major policy initiative to interact with key government officials. Subsequently, the Academy has paid courtesy calls on the Majority Leader and Minister for
Parliamentary Affairs, Minister of State in charge of Tertiary Education, Minister of Food and Agriculture, Minister of Trade and Industry, and Minister of Communications and Technology, and expressed its readiness to co-operate with them by sharing ideas on national issues.

Key government officials have subsequently given assurances of their sectors' readiness to
co-operate with the Academy. As a starting point, draft legislations in Parliament are currently sent to fellows of the Academy for their input, as part of the process of consultation by Parliament.