Southern African Institute for Policy and Research

SAIPAR undertakes a diverse portfolio of research, policy, and capacity-building initiatives that span legal information, electoral governance, energy transitions, food systems, and economic development. Through partnerships with universities, international organisations, and government bodies, SAIPAR's projects generate evidence-based insights and practical tools to address national and regional challenges across Southern Africa.

Completed and Past Projects

1. Study on the Zambian Economy: Development Policy in Practice – Lessons from South Korea’s Development Experience (African Development Bank, 2015-2018): SAIPAR produced a comparative country case study examining the plausibility, challenges, and lessons of the developmental-state model for Zambia, drawing on South Korea’s post-1960s transformation. It analysed political, economic and social development trajectories, the political economy of natural resources, institutions and governance, the role of the state in social-service delivery, and practical policy implications for structural transformation and inclusive growth.

The work built on earlier SAIPAR research, underwent substantial revision after an AfDB brainstorming workshop, and was finalised as an AfDB publication (Country Case Study 5) with a related Cornell Institute for African Development (IAD) occasional-paper version (2020).

• For more information on the Paper, click here

2. Politics of Natural Resources in Zambia’, Effective States and Inclusive Development (ESID) research project (University of Manchester, 2013-2018): The research investigated how the distribution of power among political elites and ruling coalitions shapes state capacity, economic policy, and whether mineral wealth translates into inclusive development. Historical Comparison: Researchers compared periods of high versus low social and economic investment tied to Zambia’s copper mining sector

Output: Bebbington, Anthony, and others, “The Politics of Natural Resource Extraction in Zambia”, in Governing Extractive Industries: Politics, Histories, Ideas (Oxford University Press, 2018).

• For more information on the Paper:

Chapter: here  DOI: here  Partner’s page: here 

3. Court Efficiency in Zambia (with Cornell University, 2017 - 2018): The project examined how efficiently Zambian courts dispensed justice and how ordinary citizens seeking legal remedies interacted with the judicial system. It investigated local case management pipelines. Its findings were meant to inform norms and standards for sound case management models, case flow management, accountability and the evaluation of court performance, so as to improve accountability in the judiciary.

Output: Access to Justice: Court Efficiency in Zambia by Tinenenji Banda was published as an Occasional Paper by the Institute for African Development (IAD) at Cornell University. 

• For more information on the Occasional Paper, click here

Impact: The study supplied the evidence and methodology that led to SAIPAR’s World Bank Project.

4. Valueworks: Effects of Financialization along the Copper Value Chain (University of Basel, SNIS, 2016-2017): The project studied the global consequences of financialization by following copper along its value chain. That chain ran from mining pits in Zambia to trading firms in Switzerland and finally to China. The aim was to understand Switzerland’s role in the global economy and the effects of commodity trade on livelihoods in Zambia and China.

Outputs: Papers presented at a final symposium in Geneva included “Mining and Land Acquisition in Zambia” by Tinenenji Banda and Marja Hinfelaar. Another was “Complexities of Colonial Planning and Land Use in Mining Towns: The Case of Mufulira, Zambia” by Wilma Nchito.

5. Pockets of Effectiveness (University of Manchester, ESRC-DFID, 2017-2022)

Examining why specific state agencies or public departments perform exceptionally well even inside otherwise underperforming or fragile public sectors. SAIPAR hosted the first workshop in Lusaka in November 2017.

Cases: The study covered three Zambian institutions: the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Zambia and the Zambia Revenue Authority. 

Outputs:

• Working papers on the Zambia Revenue Authority, Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Zambia.

• For more information on the Paper, click here

• Cheelo and Hinfelaar, “State Capacity-building in Zambia amidst Shifting Political Coalitions and Ideologies”, in Sam Hickey (ed.), Pockets of Effectiveness and the Politics of State-building and Development in Africa (Oxford University Press, 2023).

• For more information on the chapter, click here

6. Breaking BAD: Understanding the Backlash Against Democracy in Africa (2018-2021). The project was led by the University of Bergen and the University of California, Berkeley, and studied why democracy had come under pressure in Africa. SAIPAR was the local partner. A sub-project compared legal activism in Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Outputs:

• Comparing Legal Activism in Zimbabwe and Zambia by O’Brien Kaaba, Marja Hinfelaar and Tony Zhou (SAIPAR/CMI discussion paper, 2020).

• For more information on the Paper, click here

• Two chapters in Democratic Backsliding in Africa? Autocratization, Resilience, and Contention, edited by Leonardo Arriola, Lise Rakner and Nicolas van de Walle (Oxford University Press, Oxford Studies in African Politics and International Relations). One covered Zambia (Hinfelaar, Rakner and van de Walle), the other Zimbabwe (Gloppen, Hinfelaar and Rakner).

• For more information on the Book, click here

7. Resource Nationalism Project (2019-2023): The project built a partnership for collaborative research on how resource nationalism affected the extractive industries of Southern Africa. It aimed to inform national policy processes and their development outcomes. Researchers and organisations from Canada, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe took part. York University in Canada was the named partner. The three African countries served as case studies.

Activities:

• Working groups focused on artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), fiscal linkages and productive linkages.

• A 2023 research workshop covered ASM gendered livelihoods, mining taxation, mining fiscal regimes, the politics of local content, and gender and SME development.

• The workshop included a public policy briefing for government and stakeholders, facilitated by Ian Mwiinga of the Zambia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

Article: "Asymmetries of Power and Capacity: The Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) as an Instrument of Resource Nationalism, 1994–2021". It was written by authors Alexander Caramento, Marja Hinfelaar, and Caesar Cheelo, and published in the Journal of Southern African Studies (JSAS) in 2023 (Vol. 49, No. 3)

• For more information on the Article, click here

Outcome: The partnership led to six years of new funding for African Extractivism & the Green Transition, which also includes the DRC.

8. SAIPAR carried out the Zambia Justice Sector Public Expenditure and Institutional Review (PEIR) for the World Bank (2023-2024) The review examined the supply side of justice service delivery. It looked at the constraints in the judicial system and whether the sector was adequately financed.

Key findings:

• Economic, geographical, cultural and legal-information barriers limited justice outcomes for most Zambians.

• Legal aid showed a clear market failure, with demand far exceeding supply.

• Structural injustices linked to gender, and unregulated alternative justice systems, created further barriers.

Follow-up: Because the review focused on the judiciary, a second assignment followed, the Assessment of Access to Justice and Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems in Zambia. It covered the demand side of access to justice and alternative dispute resolution.

Impact: The PEIR findings played a role in a 2024 Constitutional Court decision, John Sangwa v the Attorney General and the Law Association of Zambia.

Report: Zambia - Judicial Sector Public Expenditure and Institutional Review

• For more information on the Paper, click here

9. Zambia Democratic Governance Project (Ford Foundation, 2024 - 2025): The project supported institutional reforms that aimed to strengthen Zambia’s national economic resilience through good governance. It was funded by a once-off grant from the Ford Foundation. It aimed to boost the capacity of key government ministries and public economic institutions and to support the country’s economic transformation. It also responded to the National Drought Disaster and Emergency declared in February 2024.

Objectives:

• Strengthen Zambia’s economic diplomacy through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

• Build national capacity in macroeconomic modelling at the Ministry of Finance and National Planning.

• Empower young people in grassroots communities to access the Constituency Development Fund through the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.

• Develop business cases for the Solwezi Farm Block, working with the Ministry of Agriculture, as part of wider farm block development.

• Improve water resource management in drought-prone areas, working through local authorities.

10. Justice Innovators with Barefoot Law (2024-2025): This was a collaboration between SAIPAR and Barefoot Law Uganda. It aimed to find and promote innovative grassroots organisations that improved access to justice in Zambia. A crowdsourcing event identified community-based innovations that made justice delivery more efficient and benefited society more widely. The project built on BarefootLaw’s experience running the Legal Aid and Legal Innovation Conference (LAICON).

Outcome: It resulted in a workshop in Lusaka on 13 February 2025, where five shortlisted innovators presented their work. The top three, chosen by public vote, were Legal Aid Initiative, Choma Justice for All Network and Project Legal. Each received a grant to continue and expand their work. 

11. "The Good City: Good water, sanitation and hygiene service delivery for and with adolescents and young people in sub-Saharan African cities to build better futures and nurture hope" with Zambart (2024-2025): Research with adolescents and young people (AYP) to examine how urban WASH services affect their daily lives, health, and dignity. SAIPAR focused on  Local Governance Systems: The project engages a range of WASH actors and local governance structures to make suggestions on how to improve service delivery in sub-Saharan African cities.

• For more information on the Paper, click here

12.  Mining Regulatory Framework (2024-2025)

The framework analysed information gaps and systemic weaknesses in the regulation of Zambia’s mining sector. The analysis argues for changes to the country’s mining laws.

Output: Tinenenji Banda and Marja Hinfelaar (2025), Corruption and the critical mining sector in Zambia. Bergen: Chr. Michelsen Institute (U4 Issue 2025:9).

• For more information on the Paper, click here

13. Civil Society Organisation (CSO) Project 2026: The project investigated funding constraints, regulatory threats, and political pressures facing Zambian CSOs. It aimed to identify common ground and actionable resolutions for sustaining advocacy and operational freedom amid shrinking donor support, restrictive legislation (including proposed NGO bills), and broader civic-space pressures.

Activities:

• Research and analysis of the state/status of civil society in Zambia, covering thematic areas such as engagement, legitimacy, capacity, alliances, declining grants, delayed disbursements, competition for funds, and the impact of laws and political dynamics.

• Validation meeting (early 2026) with stakeholders to discuss findings on the structurally changed funding landscape and pathways forward.

• Emphasis on evidence-based recommendations for financial diversification 

 Supported in part through Irish Aid/Embassy of Ireland engagement.