Multi-Methods Data Collection Mandate to Monitor the Swiss Cooperation Programme Zimbabwe Zambia 2023-2026

Switzerland, through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), is finalizing its new Cooperation Programme for Zimbabwe and Zambia 2023-2026. The SDC’s geographical focus in the region shifts to Zambia and Zimbabwe. While building on thematic expertise and past successes in food security and HIV/sexual and reproductive health and rights, the new Cooperation Programme incorporates new challenges and opportunities, including social protection, governance, resilience against climate and economic shocks, urban-rural nexus, youth employment, and private sector engagement.

The overall vision of the Swiss Cooperation Programme Zimbabwe-Zambia 2023-2026 is that the populations of Zimbabwe and Zambia, in particular women and youth, have increased wellbeing and resilience to climate change and other shocks, underpinned by accountable public institutions and citizen engagement. To reinforce coherence, Swiss cooperation in Zimbabwe and Zambia will pursue three crosssectoral portfolio outcomes that aim to unlock economic opportunities, strengthen health service delivery and shock responsive systems for resilience, and improve public sector accountability.

Monitoring of SDC projects tracks trends at two levels, the national and the SDC outreach area. Data on national trends on thematic areas that SDC supports is collected from published reports by different organisations. Data on SDC outreach areas is collected from partner reports. This data has traditionally focused on numbers reached with SDC support. As a process of monitoring the Cooperation Programme Zimbabwe and Zambia 2023-2026, SDC will engage an institution to capture the perception of the Zimbabwean and Zambian populations in SDC outreach areas regarding progress of their respective countries in the areas that SDC is working in through annual data collection and analysis.

An agreed system of data collection, survey instrument and sample from which data will be collected annually.

Accurate, up to date and statistically sound data on perceptions of beneficiaries of SDC supported projects.

Expected results:  

• Design and implementation of a qualitative and quantitative survey instrument that allows the collection of data on two sets of questions: (i) a standard set of questions to track progress in areas of SDC’s work and (H) adaptive set of indicators aimed at gaining rapid “snapshots” of issues currently relevant to the Zimbabwean and Zambian discourse.
• Constructing a representative sample of Zimbabwean and Zambian project beneficiaries from whom regular information will be collected, with particular emphasis on youth and women.
• Annual data collection on the indicators, which are reported to SDC in a user-friendly format. The results of the first survey will constitute the baselines for the relevant indicators in the Cooperation Programme 2023-2026 Results Framework.