GIMPA was established in 1961 as a joint Ghana Government/United Nations Special Fund Project.

It was originally called the Institute of Public Administration, established to train public servants with administrative and professional competence to plan and administer national, regional and local services.

In 1999/2000, GIMPA was among a group of 200 public sector organisations in Ghana earmarked under the World Bank-funded Public Sector Reform Programme to be taken off Government Subvention.

GIMPA was subsequently selected under the National Institutional Reform Programme to be transformed, notably to be self-financing. Subsequently, GIMPA was taken off Government Subvention in 2001.

Today, GIMPA has been transformed from a small, public service institution to a comprehensive tertiary institution offering programmes in leadership, management, public and business administration and technology for both the public and private sectors, NGO’s, civil societies and many more.

Additionally, GIMPA has not only become a full-fledged university-level public institution, but also a topmost institute in Africa, recognised in Africa and around the world, offering excellent master’s and executive master’s degree programmes in business administration, public administration, development management, governance and leadership.

GIMPA’s clients range from politicians to bureaucrat to mid-level personnel from the public and private sectors.