Professor George Meyiri Bob-Milliar, a distinguished academic and lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), has made history as the first Ghanaian — and only the second African — to receive the highly competitive European Research Council (ERC) Synergy Grant, a funding award for groundbreaking research addressing some of the most challenging scientific questions globally.
The ERC, established by the European Union in 2007, is Europe’s leading funding body for frontier research. Synergy Grant recipients typically receive an average of €10.3 million (approximately GHS 130.5 million) to support collaborative projects that push the boundaries of scientific knowledge.
Professor Bob-Milliar is part of a team of four researchers working on a joint project examining Political Parties in Africa and Democracy. This research is the largest empirical study of its kind, aimed at providing new theoretical insights and policy-relevant findings on the interplay between political parties and democratic governance in Africa. Other selected ERC Synergy projects focus on diverse fields, including lung cancer metastasis, fire safety in space exploration, and socio-ecological adaptation in East African mountain communities.
European Union Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Rune Skinnebach, praised the achievement:
“Funding for scientific collaboration and research remains critical, as it fosters development, progress, and knowledge-driven policy-making that improves people’s livelihoods. The ERC Synergy Grant award to Professor Bob-Milliar shows the EU’s commitment to advancing research beyond its borders, and to supporting locally-based experts to find solutions to global challenges. Congratulations to Professor Bob-Milliar.”
Reflecting on the award, Professor Bob-Milliar stated:
“This project, the largest empirical study ever to be conducted, will elevate the nexus between democracy and political parties to unprecedented levels, and the scientific output will offer new theoretical and policy-relevant insights.”
He is among 239 scientists forming 66 research teams that collectively received €684 million under the ERC Synergy Grant this year.
Professor Bob-Milliar is an Associate Professor in African Studies (Politics & History) at KNUST’s Department of History and Political Studies. He has served three consecutive terms as Head of the department and directed the Centre for Cultural and African Studies (CeCASt) from 2019 to 2024.
Trained as an interdisciplinary scholar, his research spans political science, history, and development studies, with particular focus on:
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Democratization and electoral politics in Africa
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Informal political institutions
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Social, political, and economic history of Ghana and Africa
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Knowledge production and African diaspora studies
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Urban studies and qualitative research methods
He has published extensively in top-ranked journals, secured numerous grants and fellowships, and holds positions as an adjunct African Studies professor at the University of Copenhagen and a Research Associate at the Governance and Local Development Institute (GLD), University of Gothenburg. He has also been a visiting fellow at institutions including the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Makerere University, and the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS).
Professor Bob-Milliar has received multiple accolades, including the African Author Prize (2010) for the best article in African Affairs by an author based in Africa, and a 2012 award from the Centre for International Governance Innovation, Canada, for his contributions to African policy research.
He currently serves as an editor for African Affairs, African Economic History, and the Contemporary Journal of African Studies, in addition to sitting on the editorial boards of several other leading journals.
The award cements Professor Bob-Milliar’s status as a leading figure in African political studies and a global ambassador for Ghanaian scholarship.
Source: ameyawdebrah.com/
