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

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.