Zimbabwe has a mixed economy with agriculture as the driving force. Education is one of 15 sectors ZIP selected as a critical area of need. Since 1980 when Zimbabwe gained independence, the education system has been expanded and transformed from a highly segregated system to one where the majority population now has access. Aligning curriculum, teaching, and learning resources with Zimbabwean economic and social reality is a critical issue at this point. The major weakness which ZIP identifies in the current education system is that there is no systematic linkage between the education system and the economic needs of the country.
ZIP represents both a strategy and a program.
While Peter Senge's work on systems thinking is not widely known in Zimbabwe nor by the leadership of ZIP, they have created a program which shares many of Senge's concepts. Perhaps the most powerful notion underlying ZIP's integrated approach is their belief that individuals and grassroots communities must be actively involved in change in all sectors including education. ZIP endorses a radically different idea about development. Organizationally ZIP is run by a program steering committee which has satellite branches throughout the country. All Zimbabweans committed to the ideas which ZIP endorses are invited to join the organization.