African urban areas and cities are primarily seen as vulnerable to climate change. Apparent attempts to get required policies have led to the widespread proliferation of overlapping and duplications of policies. Using a policy coherence framework, this study aims to synthesise the coherency of climate adaptation and urban policies in Ghana. The study used content analysis of existing policy documents to understand if specific variables are explicit, implicit or not mentioned in four urban and climate change policies in Ghana. It was found that there is a minimal degree of coherence only in the adaptation measures, but there is a general lack of coherence in the motivation and implementation. This can be attributed to radically different current institutional arrangements for urban planning and climate change, inconsistent use of data and terminologies, and lack of embracement of innovations in urban planning in African cities. The findings suggest that attention must be given to integrated collaborative adaptation planning to address these impediments in urban planning context of African cities.

Public green space management has received increased academic and policy interest globally as an urban sustainability strategy. Nonetheless, when planning public green spaces, technocratic planning approaches though important, are not sufficient for sustainable green space management. Thus, understanding the institutional context within which public green spaces are developed to promote collaborative green space governance is imperative. Based on a qualitative case study of Tamale, this paper unpacks the barriers that hinder collaborative action for public green space development. We argue that for public green spaces to be adequately provided and well managed in Tamale, specific collaboration success factors, including building trust, shared interest, capacity building and a comprehensive policy framework need to be created. Such an enabling environment is required to facilitate the development of principled engagement, shared motivation and institutional capacity for joint action. By conceptualizing the study within broader collaborative governance debates, the study contributes to contemporary urban management practice by providing a nuanced analysis of the barriers to collaborative green space planning in cities under intense urbanization pressure. Such knowledge is critical to unpacking the complexity associated with planning and managing public green spaces and sustainable cities in dual land administration regimes in sub-Saharan Africa contexts.

Ghana has pursued decentralisation since 1988, but its implementation continues to face challenges. Participatory monitoring and evaluation (PM&E) is one of the tools that can help local governments to be more effective in the planning and management of development projects. However, the issues involved in implementing PM&E in rural local governments operating within a rapidly changing sociocultural and political environment have not been sufficiently explored. To fill this gap in knowledge, this paper draws on project and policy documents and primary data on the application of PM&E in District Assemblies’ Common Fund projects implemented between 2013 and 2017 in Ghana’s Lambussie District. Six key informant interviews were held with district- and regional-level stakeholders, and eight focus group discussions were undertaken at the community level. The research found that inadequate provision for operationalising PM&E at the local level, and lack of accountability and feedback mechanisms, resulted in a tokenistic approach to PM&E. The authors suggest that research and advocacy on mechanisms for holding district authorities accountable is vital to the success of future PM&E initiatives at local government level.

Attaining the goals of the New Urban Agenda and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11, which aims for sustainable, inclusive, and resilient cities, necessitates accelerated efforts to green urban environments. While keeping home gardens is not new, it offers a unique potential as a deliberate strategy for urban greening in Africa. However, Ghana has limited empirical evidence regarding the motivations, challenges, and constraints of keeping domestic gardens, which is essential for informing urban greenery policy. This study addresses this knowledge gap by employing the self-determination theory and conducting an exploratory cross-sectional survey with 285 structured questionnaires administered to residents in seven rapidly growing neighbourhoods in Wa, Ghana. The results reveal that 56% of respondents had gardens within their properties, with beautification (56.1%) and food production (52.3%) being the primary motivations. Vegetables (46.7%) and trees (30.2%) were the most commonly cultivated plants. Conversely, limited space (49%) and busy schedules (34%) were identified as the main barriers to home gardening. The findings indicate that the motivation for owning gardens aligns with the autonomy need of the self-determination theory. In contrast, the relationship need, which correlates with environmental motivations, was notably low among residents. The study recommends that local authorities, civil society organisations, and neighbourhood planning committees implement aggressive sensitisation and education campaigns to promote the environmental benefits of domestic gardening.

An evaluation inquiry has been noted to have a significant influence on whether the evaluation outcomes are used or not. However, only limited studies have examined evaluation inquiry and its implication on the use of evaluation in Ghana. This study therefore seeks to contribute to knowledge on evaluation inquiry and the implications it has on evaluation use in Northern Ghana. Using a multistage sampling process as part of a broader study on evaluation inquiry and use in Northern Ghana, the study examined key elements of evaluation inquiry in 27 programmes implemented between the period 2000 and 2010 in Northern Ghana. Two main levels of data collection were carried out. The first level collected data on the programmes while the second level collected data from programme staff of three programmes as the units of enquiry. It emerged that evaluation was mostly externally funded, premium was placed on project completion evaluation; and evaluation was more an external accountability driven activity. The potential of mid-term evaluation to contribute to evaluation use was undermined by the tag associated with it as basis for the termination of programmes. The study therefore recommends building the evaluation capacity of staff and professionalization of evaluation practice in the country as a way of enhancing evaluation inquiry. Keywords: Evaluation, Programmes evaluation, Evaluation inquiry, Evaluation use, Northern Ghana