The Southern African Institute for Policy and Research (SAIPAR) is an independent, educational research and development oriented research centre. It is registered and established under the laws of the Republic of Zambia since 2006. Through interdisciplinary research, publications, seminars, and dialogue facilitation, the Institute seeks to contribute to improved policy making, research capacity, and governance. The Institute aims to be a catalyst for new ideas and concepts on good governance and development in Zambia and Southern Africa and a documentation centre to serve as an indispensable partner on research and policy analysis.
Objectives
(a) Facilitate and contribute to the identification, analysis, understanding and informed responses to the major governance and development issues facing Southern Africa and the international community;
(b) Generate greater international understanding and awareness of development and social problems within a global context;
(c) Promote greater appreciation of and sensitization to the demands, duties and obligations of democracy, good governance and human rights, particularly amongst policy makers, leaders, media and the general public;
(d) Conduct interdisciplinary research and capacity building;
(e) Engage in publication of books, monographs and newsletters;
(f) Collect and act as a repository for existing publications and commentaries;
(g) Facilitate the exchange of ideas through debate and dialogue amongst academics, policy makers and civil society;
(h) Establish links with national, regional and international educational and research institutes to facilitate and promote the research work of students, researchers, practitioners, guest researchers and visiting scholars;
(i) Provide a forum through which groups and individuals can exchange information on regional and world development issues.
Guiding Principles
The Institute’s work is guided by the following principles:
(a) A commitment to good governance, participatory democracy and the protection of human rights;
(b) A belief in the dignity and worth of all human beings;
(c) A belief that human rights are integral to peace and sustainable development;
(d) The prioritization of transparency, ethics and accountability as paramount in matters of public policy;
(e) The conviction that all individuals are entitled to equal rights, free from discrimination on the basis of gender, nationality, religious beliefs or physical capacity
Activities
SAIPAR will pursue its objectives through various programs and initiatives, including through:
(a) Organizing seminars and meetings with the stated purpose of bringing together people to discuss emerging key issues relating to development and governance;
(b) Conducting research and widely disseminating research findings and proposals on
policy issues so as to inform decision making by policy makers;
(c) Publishing periodicals, books, monographs of studies, edited collections of source materials and discussion papers prepared for conferences held under the auspices of the Institute; and
(d) Serving as a research home for visiting students, academics and scholars who wish to affiliate with the Institute.
Resource Center
Access Important Documents and Materials
SAIPAR STRATEGIC PLAN
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