Capacity Building Activities in Zambia

In order to move from a pilot stage to a national programme and to secure long-term sustainability of the cash transfer scheme and other initiatives in the social protection sector, capacity needs to be developped at different levels. The coming generation of social policy students should study social protection issues at university/college, a sufficient number of government officials have to be trained at implementing as well as design level, policymakers and the public have to be sensitized, personnel structures have to be adjusted and design changes of the scheme have to be effected.

Engagement of universities and colleges

Curriculum development for universities and colleges: Integration of courses on social protection in the curriculum for social policy as well as for development studies such as an introductory course on social protection (could be a mandatory core course) as well as further specializations. To this effect, a collaboration of University of Maastricht, specialized in social protection policy, has been established with the University of Zambia.

• Existing courses on social policy have been screened and it was analyzed to what extent social protection is covered and which gaps need to be filled
• Outstanding: Design courses in collaboration with the local institutions
• Outstanding: Train lecturers and professors in the subject matter

Establishment of a regional network of universities for exchange and collaboration

• Outstanding: Screen to what extent universities and colleges in the region have integrated social protection into the curriculum
• Outstanding: Screen which regional specialties exist and whether certain specialists could be engaged as guest lecturers in other universities
• Outstanding: Ensure that there is collaboration and information sharing on research activities in the area of social protection.

Training modules for technocrats tasked to design and implement social cash transfer schemes

Technocrates have been sent to participate in the course on 'Design and Implementation of Social Transfers' offered by the Economic Policy Research Institute in Cape town. Course content and further information is available from http://www.epri.org.za/course03.html

Training modules for policy makers

University of Maastricht in cooperation with University of Zambia is offering a series of four social protection training courses from November 2007 to February 2008. The workshops are intended to enhance insights in the concept and role of social protection but also to stimulate debate and further action. The workshops are addressed at decision-makers from government, civil society, academia as well as international organizations. For a quick overview, see the brochure. If you are interested in a detailled programme and the different presentations and evaluations of the workshop, please visit the site on SP trainings.

• Workshop 1: Social protection as an investment in the future of Zambia (Nov 26 - 28)
• Workshop 2: Design and implementation of cash transfer programmes (Dec 10 - 12)
• Workshop 3: Targeting of social programmes (Jan 24 - 25)
• Workshop 4: Monitoring and evaluation of social programmes (Feb 26 - 27)

Training modules for practitioners in the social cash transfer scheme

• An introductory training module for social welfare officers has been designed in light of the present setup of the cash transfer scheme. For more information, visit the site on training material.
• Specific training modules for the CWACs, ACCs, DSWO and PSWO have been established for the respective tasks that they need to fulfill in the present setup of the scheme. For more information, visit the site on training material.

Personnel structure adjustments

The personnel structure at district, provincial and national level has been critically analyzed and personnel gaps have been identified. The Department of Social Welfare has made a proposal for staff additions in light of the requirements for the social cash transfer scheme and has submitted this proposal to Cabinet. In the meantime, cooperating partners are assisting MCDSS financially in fillings these posts during the pilot phase. 

Design changes in the scheme

At present, the adequacy of the scheme setup has been analyzed in regular intervals and the manual of operations as well as the training manuals have been adjusted. Regular review meetings at regional as well as national level ensure that operations run smoothly and lessons from the district and regional level are fed back into the national design process. The Technical Working Group on Social Assistance has also commissioned different studies to inform government on the best suited design of a nationally rolled out cash transfer scheme.