Assignment name:

Impact Evaluation of the Zambia Social Cash Transfer Program

Approx. value of the contract (in current US$):

US$ 1.532 million

Country:  Zambia

Location within country: Kitwe, Luwingu, Petauke, Sikomgo and Zimba districs

Duration of assignment (months): 29

 

Name of Client: Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS), World Bank

Total No. of staff-months of the assignment: 2,112

 

Contact Person, Title/Designation, Tel. No./Address:

Steven Chiwele, Coordinator – Zambia Social Cash Transfers, Ministry of Community Development and Social Services, Lusaka, ZAMBIA

Email: [email protected], Phone: +260 977 656 399

Start date (month/year): May 2022

Completion date (month/year): October 2024

No. of professional staff-months provided by your consulting firm/organization or your sub consultants: 2,112

 

Name of associated Consultants, if any: N/A

 

 

 

Name of senior professional staff of your consulting firm/organization  involved and designation and/or functions performed (e.g. Project Director/Coordinator, Team Leader):

Prof. Gelson Tembo – Principal Investigator (PI); David Seidenfeld – Co-PI; Sudhanshu Handa – Co-PI; Hannah Ring – Qualitative Lead Researcher;

Adria Molotsky – Quantitative Lead Researcher; Rosa Castro-Zarzur – Quantitative Research Associate; Yasmin Hadad – Qualitative Research Associate; Liseteli Ndiyoi – Data Manager/IT Specialist; Festus Tembo – Financial Manager

Description of Project:

The Zambia Social Cash Transfer (SCT) Program Impact Evaluation assessed the impact of the scaled-up SCT program on household consumption, resilience, human capital, and productive outcomes. The SCT program, operational in all 116 districts of Zambia since 2003, had expanded significantly, reaching approximately 19% of the population. The evaluation provided critical evidence on the program’s effectiveness in improving beneficiaries’ living standards, focusing on outcomes such as household consumption, food security, asset accumulation, resilience to shocks, and productive engagement. Additionally, the study explored potential programmatic design improvements and assessed the cost-effectiveness of these interventions. The evaluation firm worked closely with the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services, the World Bank, and other stakeholders, implementing the evaluation through baseline and endline surveys, with the findings guiding future SCT programming decisions​ ​

Description of actual services provided by your staff within the assignment:

The survey firm for the Zambia Social Cash Transfer (SCT) Program Impact Evaluation provided several key services during the assignment. The firm conducted baseline and endline panel surveys among 3,000 households in 300 communities (called Community Welfare Assistance Committiees or CWACs) across five (5) study districts, gathering data on household consumption, food security, asset accumulation, and resilience to shocks. The firm designed and pre-tested the survey instruments, recruited and trained enumerators, and ensured ethical clearance through the Institutional Review Board (IRB). Data collection was executed using Computer-Assisted Personal Interviews (CAPI) in CSPro, with robust quality assurance measures such as high-frequency checks (HFCs) and real-time monitoring. The firm also handled data cleaning, analysis, and reporting, delivering detailed findings to the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services, the World Bank, and other key stakeholders. These findings provided evidence on the SCT program’s effectiveness and informed future policy decisions​.