As an advocate for Development Effectiveness, I’m very excited to share the lead article received today from the Zambia Governance Foundation‘s (ZGF) newsletter and I urge you to read it. We have no active engagement with ZGF but Jane receives their newsletter.
Their article makes all the arguments for a different approach to development assistance that I make to donors and does so extremely eloquently. However, it’s much more powerful as it comes from an indigenous CSO network and not from a semi-retired development worker from the donor side of the equation. How you give development assistance is as important, if not more so, than what you give the assistance for.
I’m reproducing the lead article here as it’s not yet available on the ZGF website:
From: ZGF <info@zgf.org.zm>
Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2026 at 07:19
Subject: Happy New Year! News for & from civil society
To: ———
17 January 2026
2025 in review: Why Zambia’s future must be built from the ground up
The start of a new year offers a chance to pause, reflect, and ask harder questions about how development is unfolding in Zambia.
Looking back at 2025, one lesson that stands out is that development efforts are only as strong as the institutions and communities that carry them. When systems are weak, progress becomes fragile. When local voices are sidelined, solutions lose relevance. But when communities and civil society are trusted, supported, and resourced to lead, development becomes more durable and more democratic.
Throughout the year, Zambia’s development landscape reflected this tension. On one hand, communities continued to demonstrate resilience, innovation, and leadership in the face of economic pressure, climate shocks, and shrinking global aid. On the other, civil society organisations, often the bridge between policy and people, remained under strain, expected to deliver lasting impact without the long-term support needed to build strong institutions.
For years, much of development funding has prioritised activities over institutions. Civil society organisations have been funded to implement projects, meet short-term targets, and respond quickly to donor priorities, often with little space to invest in governance systems, staff development, learning, or long-term planning. While this approach has delivered results, it has also left many organisations overstretched and vulnerable to sudden shifts in policy and funding.
In 2025, this reality became harder to ignore.
Across the country, conversations about sustainability increasingly pointed to the same conclusion: Zambia cannot build lasting development outcomes on temporary arrangements.
This thinking informed a growing shift toward institutional strengthening and longer-term investment in civil society. The focus moved beyond what organisations deliver, toward how they are governed, how they engage communities, and how they align with broader development priorities. By prioritising stability and predictability, institutional funding created space for organisations to mature, to plan beyond annual cycles, and to deepen accountability to the communities they serve.
At the same time, 2025 reaffirmed the importance of rooting development directly within communities themselves. Community-led approaches gained renewed attention, particularly through locally governed structures such as community foundations. These institutions demonstrated how development can be locally owned, locally resourced, and locally accountable. By mobilising resources from within and responding to community-defined priorities, they offered a model that moves beyond short-term projects toward permanence and trust.
This shift toward community leadership was also reflected in participatory approaches that placed decision-making power closer to the people most affected by development interventions. Rather than responding to externally defined priorities, communities identified their own needs and shaped the solutions. These processes were not always quick or easy, but they were more legitimate, more democratic, and more sustainable.
Young people played a central role in this landscape. With over 60 percent of Zambia’s population under the age of 25, youth engagement was not treated as a standalone issue, but as a cross-cutting development priority. Youth-led initiatives in entrepreneurship, cooperative development, and environmental action highlighted what is possible when young people are organised, supported, and trusted to lead within their communities. These efforts contributed not only to livelihoods, but also to civic participation and local problem-solving.
Climate change further sharpened the need for locally grounded approaches. While climate policy is often negotiated at global and national levels, its impacts are felt most acutely in communities. In 2025, localised climate dialogue created space for citizens, especially young people, to engage directly with climate governance, linking global commitments to everyday realities. This shift reinforced a simple truth: climate solutions that ignore local knowledge are unlikely to succeed.
Beyond programmes and projects, 2025 also brought structural realities into sharper focus. Reductions in international aid to Zambia signalled a changing global landscape, one where external resources can no longer be assumed. These shifts underscored the urgency of domestic resource mobilisation, local philanthropy, and stronger national institutions. Building resilience now means investing in systems that can withstand global uncertainty.
Equally important was the recognition that none of this work can thrive without an enabling environment. Civic space, regulatory frameworks, and the ability of civil society to organise freely remain foundational to development. When participation is restricted, accountability weakens. When civil society is constrained, communities lose a vital channel for engagement and voice.
As Zambia enters 2026, the challenge is no longer just about trying new approaches but about deepening and sustaining the ones that work. This means stewarding long-term investments responsibly, strengthening institutional governance, and ensuring that communities move from participation to genuine co-ownership of development processes.
The lesson from 2025 is clear: sustainable development is not built through short-term interventions or top-down solutions. It is built through strong local institutions, trusted community leadership, and systems that place people at the centre.
The year ahead demands nothing less.
For more information, feel free to reach out to us via info@zgf.org.zm
