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Panellists at a conference on capacity building, have called on African governments to adequately fund and support research, since it is key to socio-economic development. Whereas research is a priority in developed countries, the panellists said African governments had neglected research which would have enabled the continent to attain the desired socio-economic development. They were speaking at the third Applied Research Conference in Africa organised by the alumni of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). Conference The three-day conference was dubbed �the role of African Researchers in the socio-economic development of the continent.� The conference offered a platform for capacity building and networking among researchers in Africa and was attended by researchers from across the globe. Making a presentation on the theme, an Associate Professor of Public Administration at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria, Prof. Emma E.O Chukwuemeka, said research as a tool for socio-economic development was either not properly funded in Africa or findings were not put to good use. �In the dynamic environments in which we live, especially Africa that is still a developing continent, it is very na�ve of any person or institutions to think that important decisions can continue to be made on the rule of thumb or guess work-hunches,� Prof. Chukwuemeka said. He called for research into human resource development to be pursued vigorously by African governments. �Data banks with reliable data should be established at strategic zones in every nation and they should be properly funded,� he added. Priority For his part, a Senior Lecturer at the KNUST, Dr Rexford Assasie Oppong, reiterated that a country could not develop without giving priority to research. Accordingly, he said the government needed to restore the payment of the book and research allowance which had caused university and polytechnic lecturers to withdraw their services. The Chairman of the National Council on Tertiary Education, Prof. C.N.B Tagoe, said Africa needed to harness knowledge to sustain its development, as it sought to eliminate poverty and give its people improved living.