The International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) Representative for West Africa, in partnership with Savanna Communication Limited, has paid an institutional working visit to the Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE) to explore opportunities for collaboration in public participation and stakeholder engagement in engineering practice.
The visit, held on Friday, 21 August 2026, provided an opportunity for the delegation to introduce IAP2’s training and professional development programmes and discuss how engineers could benefit from structured training in public participation and stakeholder engagement.
The delegation was received by the President of GhIE, Ing Ludwig Annang Hesse; Executive Director, Ing Dr. Enyonam Kpekpena; Chairperson of the Public and International Affairs Committee, Ing Dr. Kwame Baah-Acheamfuor; Executive Representative on Council for Engineering Technicians, Mr. Philip Aheto; and members of the Secretariat.
During the engagement, Patricia Gyan-Bassaw, a licensed IAP2 trainer for West Africa, delivered a presentation on mainstreaming public participation and stakeholder engagement in engineering projects.
The presentation highlighted the importance of engaging communities, project beneficiaries and other stakeholders throughout the planning, development and implementation of engineering projects. It also underscored how effective stakeholder engagement can help build trust, strengthen project outcomes and ensure that engineering interventions adequately respond to the needs and concerns of affected communities.
The IAP2 Representative invited GhIE to participate in its training and professional development programmes to strengthen engineers’ understanding and application of public participation in the discharge of their professional responsibilities.
The President of GhIE, Ing Ludwig Annang Hesse, welcomed the proposed collaboration and expressed optimism about the opportunity to strengthen institutional cooperation between GhIE, IAP2 and Savanna Communication Limited.
He noted that effective stakeholder engagement was increasingly important to the successful delivery of engineering projects, particularly those with significant social and community impacts.
At the end of the engagement, GhIE, IAP2 and Savanna Communication Limited agreed to work towards the development of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to formalise the proposed partnership.
The partnership is expected to provide a framework for collaboration and create opportunities for engineers to access professional training and development in public participation and stakeholder engagement.
The initiative forms part of GhIE’s broader commitment to strengthening professional practice and promoting engineering solutions that are technically sound, socially responsive and aligned with the interests of communities and other stakeholders.
