Universities

First Ghanaian Academician Earns €10.3 Million ERC Synergy Grant for Research on African Democracy

15th November 2025

Ferdinand | EducationGhana | November 15 |First Ghanaian Academician Earns €10.3 Million ERC Synergy Grant for Research on African Democracy

Prof. George Meyiri Bob-Milliar of KNUST becomes the first Ghanaian (and second African) to win an ERC Synergy Grant, securing €10.3 million for pioneering research into political parties and democracy in Africa.

Historic Win for Ghanaian Scholarship

Professor George Meyiri Bob-Milliar, Associate Professor in the Department of History and Political Studies at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), has made history as the first Ghanaian — and only the second African — to secure the prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Synergy Grant.His research team has been awarded €10.3 million, a typical amount for Synergy Grant recipients, to carry out a large-scale study on the role of political parties in shaping democracy in Africa.

About the Research Project

The grant will support a pioneering empirical study investigating how political parties influence democratic processes across the continent. It will map trends, institutional practices, and political dynamics to generate new theoretical insights and policy-relevant recommendations.According to Prof. Bob-Milliar, this is “the largest empirical study ever to be conducted” on the nexus between political parties and democracy in Africa, indicating the ambitious nature of the project.

Why This Matters

Research Impact: The project promises to deepen understanding of how political parties contribute to — or undermine — democratic governance in African states.
Global Recognition: The ERC Synergy Grant is one of Europe’s highest awards for frontier research, and Prof. Bob-Milliar’s win signals growing global confidence in African-led research.
Institutional Prestige: The award raises KNUST’s profile in the international research community, positioning it as a hub for high-impact social science scholarship.

Voices of Support

The European Union Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Rune Skinnebach, praised the achievement as a demonstration of the EU’s commitment to supporting “locally based experts to find solutions to global challenges.”Prof. Bob-Milliar himself emphasized the collaborative dimension of the grant: “This collaboration demonstrates that impactful scientific discovery is strengthened when diverse perspectives and knowledge systems come together.”

About Prof. Bob-Milliar

Prof. Bob-Milliar is an interdisciplinary scholar whose research spans political science, history, and development studies. He has published widely on party politics in Ghana, including an influential study on party factions in the National Democratic Congress.He has held academic posts globally, served as head of department at KNUST, and contributed to policy-relevant research on democracy in Africa.

What’s Next

Over the coming months, the research team will establish data-collection strategies, conduct fieldwork across multiple African countries, and begin synthesising findings. The goal is to produce open-access datasets and policy briefs that could inform democratic reforms and political party development on the continent.

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