The Zambia Ministry of Finance expressed their gratitude to the Foundation for the positive impact the Zambia Institute for Policy Research (ZIPAR) has made in the policy making space in the country. ACBF has made a 10-year investment in capacity building in support of the government of Zambia through ZIPAR. As ACBF’s support to ZIPAR comes to a close, the Foundations investment “has been instrumental in establishing ZIPAR as a pre-eminent and recognized think-tank in Zambia. To date, ZIPAR has scored significant achievements in supporting various aspect of the policy process in government, the private sector and civil society,” said the Permanent Secretary in Ministry of Finance, Dr. Ronald Simwinga, in a letter to ACBF.
ZIPAR is a semi-autonomous policy think tank that fosters effective capacity to undertake economic policy analysis and research in Zambia, provides training and policy advice to government officials, conducts research in areas of economic policy formulation and management’ and promotes policy dialogue with Zambia through dissemination workshops, conferences, and publications.
ZIPAR has played a leading role in carrying out research and policy analysis in order to provide evidence-based policy recommendations and advice to various ministries and government institutions in Zambia. This includes working with the members of parliament by providing their parliamentary committees with well researched and analyzed memoranda on topics on their agenda during their sessions.
ZIPAR has also made initial inroads by engaging with the private sector on policy matters through presentations at private sector business seminars, including research topics that contribute to shaping policies affecting the sector.
Despite the initial funding coming to an end, ZIPAR, with the support of the Ministry of Finance in Zambia plans to request for ACBF’s continued financial support for the second phase. The second phase of this project is set to scale-up and consolidate the achievements of phase I. “I would like to confirm that the government of Zambia is desirous and keen to ensure that ZIPAR continuous to render its contribution to the policy process in Zambia in order to improve the economic governance of the country,” said Dr. Simwinga.
