Success factors for delivery of development aid in Zambia: the case of the pilot program for climate resilience (ppcr) project

Abstract

Studies on the effectiveness of development aid have yielded different results in different localities, raising the need for addition studies that can explore and understand factors influencing project sustainability. The overall aim of this study was to examine factors affecting the effective use of development aid by focusing on the Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience (PPCR) project (2014-2017) in Zambia. This was undertaken in relation to the Programme overarching objective set out in the project document. The development objective of the project is to strengthen Zambia's institutional framework for climate resilience and improve the adaptive capacity of vulnerable communities in the Barotse Sub-basin of Western Province of Zambia. A mixed research design as adopted, collecting data from interviews and semi-structured survey questionnaires. Study participants included key project staff from five districts in Western Province. Purposive sampling was used to select staff of PPCR Project who participated in the study (n=35). Data was collected across six-month period (2018) revealed eight attributes as imperatives in the successful delivery of development aid as follows; (i) Institutional and political environment , (ii) Project coordination , (iii) Project design, (iv) Funds disbursement procedures, (v) Monitoring and evaluation system , (vi) Technical support and capacity building and (vii) Procurement processes. Data analysis involved the preparation of the collected data- editing and analyzed using content analysis and Microsoft excel package. The results of the study also revealed that Zambia’s weak disbursement profile, complex procurement processes and relatively weak outcome monitoring capacity contributes significantly towards the low performance of most development aid related Projects. The analysis of results provide support for the proposition that the concept of achieving success in administering aid resources has no single golden bullet but a multidimensional façade of variables which must all be deployed in sync in order to achieve the desired outcomes. Finally, the study also provides key insights for Project designers at concept stage to comprehend that an optimally designed Project model with a bias towards effectiveness, quality, satisfaction and timeliness is everything in successful Project Management. Keywords: Development aid, Project document, Climate Resilience, Adaptive Capacity, Critical success factors, Disbursement profile.