Štěpán Bubák on the value of linking development practice and academic research in Western Zambia: "We need to be confident and cooperative"

Our colleague Štěpán Bubák worked closely with the research team, arranging visits to Zambia for the researchers and helping to facilitate communication with local communities. We talked with Štěpán about the research and its implications for other development organisations working in Zambia; we also focused on cooperation between academia and the non-profit sector.

People in Need joined the Coop4Wellbeing project with prominent Czech academic institutions. What was the goal?

The basic idea was to link development practice with research. We focused on socio-ecological links—the interactions between society and nature. We also explored how these relationships influence our development and humanitarian projects and how to use the information gathered to plan future activities.

What are the results or recommendations from the research?

One of the recommendations, for example, was to allocate time and funding for socio-ecological research for each development project, as there is not as much space for these activities within existing projects. Another is to focus on holistic projects which link sectors that interact, such as water access with climate resilience, education and civil society engagement.

What does the research imply for NGOs working in Zambia or specifically for People in Need?

We have created a map for organisations operating in Western Zambia—it summarises project information, including diagrams of the results. But key to our practice are maps showing how different administrative areas overlap. We need to know which actors are necessary to reach when preparing a project. The map shows where the traditional and official administrative areas overlap, which is mainly around Mongu town where People in Need operate.

Why did People in Need decide to join Coop4Wellbeing?

At People in Need, we seek to establish cooperation with universities and research institutions to improve the quality of our projects. Although all our work has scientific foundations, this opportunity has allowed us to go much more in-depth. 

What was our role in this research?

We were involved in the case study as an application partner, which means we put the research results into practice. Our value is that we are familiar with the reality of development aid and have experience working in the local environment. We facilitated two trips to Zambia that took place as part of the project. However, we were also involved in the development of the methodology for data collection. We facilitated on-site logistics and contacts with local respondents for the research team to conduct interviews and workshops with the selected groups. But I consider our most important role to be the insight we could offer into our work and the issues we encounter every day.

"Each partner brought insight to the research"

Which institutes did we collaborate with?

We worked with Czech NGOs working in Zambia, such as Carita and Adra, as well as universities such as Mendel University, the Czech University of Agriculture and Palacký University in Olomouc. We worked with the team of the Czech Academy of Sciences, specifically with the Czech Globe - Institute for Global Change Research. 

How did you find the cooperation with academia? Have you encountered problems or misunderstandings that may stem from the different ways the academic and non-profit environments work?

I have to say that the research team was great—we worked well together. Our goal was to get as many practical things out of the research as we could. For the research team and the universities, the goal was to publish research results in peer-reviewed journals. Despite divergent goals, we always found a consensus and the results of the project are now helpful for all parties. At PIN, we often work at a fast pace, which colleagues in academia may not be used to; it was not a significant problem, and the collaboration was excellent and based on mutual appreciation.

What do you take away from this experience for further collaboration with academia? Would you do anything differently next time?

This collaboration was a great experience for us. I think you need to put yourself in the shoes of partners from different backgrounds and get along. For our part, we will approach these projects more confidently next time. From the outset, we had a lot of respect for our collaborators, and we realised our added value was our local knowledge and ability to provide essential contacts.

The research focuses exclusively on the Western Zambia region, are the results transferable to other countries or regions?

We chose this region and country because it is a priority for Czech Development Cooperation. However, Western Zambia is specific in its governance system. It is a place where the Zambian civil service meets the traditional governance system. Therefore, the transferability of the results is limited and relevant mainly to our work in Zambia. However, we developed a methodology for social-ecological research that can be applied across all contexts with adaptation.

"This cooperation was a stepping stone for us"

And did we learn anything new about the local environment?

We already knew of some of the information that came from the research. But thanks to the two trips we took to Zambia with the research team, we were able to delve more deeply into some of the topics. And one of the things that has had a significant impact on our projects is access to land. Land allocation is the responsibility of the traditional administration.

Gender inequalities also play a significant role here because although women have access to land, they cannot own it. We must consider this in our assistance and ensure that women can own land. In workshops and interviews, we talked to women and gained insight into what their options are in terms of land ownership or what they do if they lose their land.

Do you see the potential for People in Need to collaborate on similar research initiatives in the future?

Projects focused on applied research, as well as research itself, are a priority for us in the future. This cooperation was a stepping stone for us. It was great, and we appreciated it very much. In the future, we would like to involve universities and research institutions in the countries where we operate more systematically, which is one of our main goals.

The project was implemented within the consortium CzechGlobe - Institute for Global Change Research of the Czech Academy of Sciences and Palacký University in Olomouc and funded by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic.