Lusaka, June 2026 – Development practitioners often cite “government ownership” as the key to reform success. But the Zambia Devolution Support Program (ZDSP) has revealed a deeper dimension: not just design ownership, where governments shape objectives, but organizational ownership, where institutions restructure their operations to make reforms part of their core business.
Funded through the World Bank’s Program‑for‑Results (PforR), ZDSP aims to strengthen financing, institutional performance, and accountability of local authorities. Initially managed as a separate track, the program risked creating a “crowding out” effect, where reform activities competed with existing responsibilities. The turning point came during Zambia’s 2025 Country Portfolio Performance Review, which raised the question of how the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) could change the way it worked because of the program.
MLGRD responded by embedding ZDSP’s objectives and indicators directly into departmental performance agreements. This structural shift meant program goals became part of the ministry’s accountability framework, ensuring departments were responsible not just for spending, but for measurable results that improve services, local economies, and opportunities for communities.
As World Bank Country Manager Achim Fock noted, “Programs leave a lasting impact not when they run smoothly alongside institutions, but when they change how those institutions work.”
Three lessons stand out from ZDSP’s experience: portfolio reviews can surface organizational questions beyond technical design, solutions may lie in government accountability systems rather than program structures, and early engagement is essential to avoid parallel management.
Whether Zambia’s approach becomes a replicable model remains to be seen, but the case highlights a critical question for reform teams everywhere: is the program being managed through the institution, or merely alongside it? The answer could determine whether reforms deliver lasting change.
