EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

MOBILISING INVESTMENT
FOR CLIMATE-COMPATIBLEGROWTH THROUGH
ZAMBIA’S CONSTITUENCYDEVELOPMENT FUND

Climate Compatible Growth
The Climate Compatible Growth (CCG) programme is funded by the UK’s Foreign,
Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to support investment in sustainableinfrastructure and systems to meet development priorities in the Global South.
CCG provides research and global public goods to support countries develop economic
strategies, plans, and policies to attract investment into low-carbon growth opportunities
across multiple sectors; and to help achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
The programme brings together a consortium of leading research-intensive universities
within the UK, who work in partnership with governments, local researchers, development
finance institutions, and other international organisations to identify appropriate low-carbon
development pathways.
This includes assessing the most fit-for-purpose policy, regulatory, market models, and risk
mitigation options to implement them. The programme and its partners are developing a
range of open-source tools, models, and datasets that will be global public goods available toall countries.

Citation:
Money, A., Carew-Jones, G., Rowley, L., Grey, J., Daka, R., Ching’ambo, L.. Desai, K., Sambo, C.,
Mwamba, S., Miti, L., Maliseni, J., Ndiili, N. (2023). Mobilising investment for climate-compatible
growth through Zambia’s Constituency Development Fund. Climate Compatible Growth
Programme.

2Overview & recommendations

Executive summary
We explore the potential for Zambia’s Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to mobilise
external funding into projects that contribute to sustainable development
We do not propose changes to the original purpose of the CDF, which is to promote
decentralised growth. Instead, we propose leveraging the CDF’s key attributes:i.

It aligns public funding with projects that support sustainable development

ii. It embeds multiple tiers of governance and accountability
iii. It enjoys bipartisan political support, and is popular domesticallyiv. It is demand driven, with project selection aligned with locally identified needs
v. Its design supports co-funding and risk sharing
Historically, high transaction costs, low deal sizes, information asymmetries and weak
governance structures have acted as barriers to scaling up external investment in localcommunities. We believe the CDF can overcome these barriers
For this to happen, some enhancements are needed in terms of: i) process optimisation; ii)
monitoring and evaluation; iii) governance and inclusion and iv) impact and additionality.
A team from the University of Oxford conducted field research in Zambia for this paper
between January and March 2023, in collaboration with several local partners
Our recommendations are based on direct engagement with community groups in Zambia’s
urban and rural constituencies, as well as interviews with local and central government
authorities, members of parliament, traditional leadership, civic society organisations, local
media and other stakeholders
Next steps include socialising a dashboard containing data on individual CDF projects withprospective funders, including philanthropic foundations and impact investors3

Recommendations: 1. Process optimisation

Recommendations
1. Process optimisation
1.1 More capacity for Local Authorities (LAs): Our analysis highlights that the 5% allocation
within the CDF to administrative costs should be increased to cover the expanded
workload faced by LAs. Most find it challenging at present to execute their functions
around implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
1.2 Incentivise Ward Development Committees (WDCs): WDCs play a pivotal role in ensuring
representation and the identification of local needs. However, they currently operate
effectively as unpaid volunteers, with no provision for their travel, subsistence or meeting
expenses. Covering these costs would significantly improve WDC engagement.
1.3 Reduce information asymmetries: Levels of trust between WDCs, CDF Committees(CDFCs) and Local Authorities (LAs) need to be higher and better communications would
help this. Active WhatsApp groups, mobile data credits and newsletters are low-cost anddemonstrably effective ways to stimulate improved information flows and propagate
stories of best practice and successful interventions.
1.4 Devolve approvals to LAs: Recent changes to support decentralised decisions have
reduced the processing time of CDF applications. We understand that further changes arebeing proposed. LA’s operate within the remit of Integrated Development plans, whichshould provide accountability.
1.5 Integrate climate compatibility into Community Projects: By twinning the CDF withCommunity Projects that facilitate climate mitigation and adaptation there is an
opportunity to access additional long-term, concessional funding. We propose an
integrated engagement with the Technical Appraisal Committees, CDFCs, WDCs andothers.
1.6 Reform the Disaster Contingency Fund approvals process: At present, community
responses to local natural disasters such as floods are hampered by a long approvals
process for public funds. We propose devolving approvals for Disaster Contingency funding
to the CDFCs. Such spending remains auditable, so risks of misuse can be contained.
1.7 Consider multiplier effects in the planning process: By approaching investments in local
infrastructure on a long-term, holistic basis the CDF can unlock socio-economic multipliers
across the provision of energy, water, transport, education and communications. Again, adeliberate and integrated engagement with MLGRD, LAs, WDCs and CDFCs is necessary.
1.8 Create procurement opportunities for local contractors: Small local contractors are often
at a disadvantage when bidding for community projects, e.g. due to being unaware ofopportunities or due to stringent procurement requirements. A programme to preference
local contractors by maintaining lists and socialising projects through local radio could
help support local trades.
1.9 Facilitate inter-CDFC knowledge sharing: Our research identified siloed approaches bydifferent CDFCs, and it became apparent that a mechanism to share experiences could
accelerate progress and embed best practices. A forum for CDFCs or some other convening
event could generate significant impact relative to the cost of execution.

4

Recommendations: 2. Monitoring and evaluation

2. Monitoring and evaluation
2.1 Consolidate and disseminate data on CDF activity: Data is being gathered at multiple
points within the process but at present this cannot easily be accessed or evaluated. Thecapabilities to do this exist but some impetus is needed to advance progress. Without thisdata, it is impossible to see how additional external investment can be mobilised.
2.2 Prioritise M&E for LAs: Capacity constraints for LAs mean that M&E is frequentlydeprioritised. Developing dedicated M&E resources at the LA level would provide muchneeded capabilities, and by engaging with other M&E actors in the information chain(WDC, CDFC, MLGRD etc), data could be recorded in a standardised format.
2.3 Establish an M&E Framework: Existing guidelines do not provide M&E Officers withsufficient information on how to collect high quality data and make that data available.
Standardisation is a path to data quality; and digitalisation is a path to data availability.
The MLGRD and Decentralisation Secretariat (DCS) are well positioned to work with Smart
Zambia to set up a Framework.
2.4 Improve understanding of M&E amongst WDCs and CDFCs: To empower WDCs andCDFCs, they require education on effective M&E, their responsibilities for data collection
and management, and how two-way communication with the LA should work.
2.5 Provide templates for M&E indicators: Rather than collecting M&E data for its own
sake, the purpose and utility of this information should be made clear to those involved
in gathering it. Custom templates may need to be developed, and some calibration
undertaken to ensure consistency across projects and constituencies.

Photo by Paul Milley on Unsplash5

Recommendations: 3. Governance and inclusion, and 4. Impact and additionality

3. Governance and inclusion
3.1 Equitable access to CDFs: Our preliminary analysis of CDF projects identified significant
variations by Province in terms of the level of funds disbursed, number and type of
projects, and progress to completion. Some of this variation is to be expected given
the diverse composition of Zambia’s constituencies. However it may also reflect somestructural imbalances that merit further investigation.
3.2 Composition of CDFCs: In our field research, stakeholders highlighted that the community
representation at WDC level is often much more apparent than it is at CDFC level,
particularly in terms of people living with disability. Youth groups do not have a formal
voice on the CDFC, and there is often no process for ensuring gender balance. This
deserves remedying.
3.3 Safeguarding Section 25 of the CDF Act: The Minister of Local Government and Rural
Development currently has overarching power to dictate CDF spending decisions. Whilecentralised decision making can be useful, it risks undermining the principles of the CDF.
Directed spending under Section 25 should be limited to avoid undermining community
determination.
3.4 Wider public consultation on CDF reform: The mandate and performance of the CDF is asubject of mainstream public interest, and we would propose that future reviews of theCDF Act and Guidelines attempt to include an element of public consultation. This could
effectively be coordinated through the same organisational structures that are used toidentify projects and disburse funds.

4. Impact and additionality
4.1 Employment opportunities for bursary recipients: Our research highlights a concern thatunless follow-on funds are available to support recipients of Empowerment and Skills
bursaries, there may not be the high-quality jobs available to accommodate newly skilled
labour. A strategy for creating employment opportunities is important for the long-termsustainability and impact of the CDF.
4.2 Start-up loans to stimulate economic activity: The market for repayable CDF finance (i.e.
concessional loans) is still nascent. In the medium term, this could be an important sourceof capital for projects that seek financial self-sustainability. It could be an opportunity todevelop e.g. the Citizens Economic Empowerment Fund, and capital providers beyond thegovernment.
4.3 Use of Integrated Development Plans (IDPs): Many indicators of inclusion, need anddevelopment impact can be iteratively monitored and incorporated within frameworks
that are increasingly being used by local authorities for planning decisions. Our researchsuggests there is still work to be done in consolidating IDPs within the workflows of CDFCsand WDCs.
4.4 Optimising scale for impact: Whilst the CDF’s power is in the local identification of needs,
there are risks that this creates diseconomies of scale. There is a need therefore forcentral Government to maintain a holistic view across CDF projects, ensuring constantimprovement through for example annual summary reporting and forum creation.

6Mobilising investment for climate-compatible growth through Zambia’s Constituency Development Fund

Integrating our recommendations within the CDF process
Integrate IDPs
into WDC &CDFC
decision-making

Devolve DisasterContingency
Fund approvals
to the CDFC

Considermultiplier-effects
in Community
Project planning

Safeguard
Section 25 of theCDF Act

Identification

Selection

Technicalevaluation

Facilitate
inter-CDFC
knowledge
sharing

Increase Local
Authority, CDFC
and WDC M&E
capacity
Support local
contractors
more inprocurement

Approvals

Procurement

Disbursement

Implementation& evaluation
Consolidate anddisseminate
data on CDF
activity

Devolveapprovals to theLocal Authority

Inclusively
reform CDFC
membership

Produce M&E
KPI templates

Build Local
Authority CDF
capacity

Incentivise andenable WDC
work

Grow the ECD-CDFLocal Authority
communicationflow

Contact
Dr Alex Money
Project Lead, CDF for CCG Zambia
Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment,
University of Oxford,
Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK
Email: alex.money@smithschool.ox.ac.uk

7Digitalise andstandardise theM&E framework

Website: www.climatecompatiblegrowth.com

Increase longterm planningon skills andempowerment

“The views expressed in thismaterial do not necessarilyreflect the UK government’s
official policies.”

8www.climatecompatiblegrowth.com