Centre for Economic and Social Research

Director

The Centre for Economic and Social Research (CESOR) is a multidisciplinary research hub established in 2025 within the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Zambia. As the institutional successor to the Institute of Economic and Social Research (INESOR), which for over five decades played a key role in shaping Zambia’s research landscape, CESOR builds on this legacy with a renewed mandate to deliver high-impact, policy-relevant, and interdisciplinary research across economics, governance, and social development. Created through a university-wide restructuring process, the Centre enhances UNZA’s research leadership and ensures stronger alignment with national and regional priorities.

Vision

To be a leading African centre of excellence in economic and social research, driving transformative policy and inclusive development in Zambia and the region.

Mission

To conduct high-quality, interdisciplinary research that informs public policy, builds institutional capacity, and provides innovative, evidence-based solutions to Zambia’s and Africa’s socio-economic and environmental challenges.

Core Thematic Clusters

  1. Applied Economics and Resilience, focused on generating research to inform Zambia’s economic resilience strategies, health sector reforms, and adaptive responses to economic and climant shocks.
  2. Social Systems, Governance, and Environemnt, focused on producing evidence to promote inclusive governance, strengthen community-level resilience, and improve public service delivery...

Strategic Goals (2025-2030)

  1. Advance evidence-informed policymaking through demand-driven, timely, and contextually grounded research.
  2. Build a resilient institutional framework that nurtures sustainable research capacity and regional collaboration.
  3. Promote interdisciplinary inquiry and knowledge translation that directly contributes to solving complex national and regional development challenges.

What CESOR Does

  1. Leads demand-driven, policy-relevant research in areas such as health financing, social protection, economic resilience, and governance.
  2. Supports postgraduate and postdoctoral training to build the next generation of African researchers.
  3. Produces peer-reviewed publications, policy briefs, and technical reports to influence development policy.
  4. Offers capacity-building through short courses, advisory services, and strategic evaluations.
  5. Fosters regional and international research collaborations and stakeholder engagement through dialogues and symposia.

Work Packages

CESOR’s research activities are structured into six integrated work packages that align with national and regional development priorities:

  1. Health Systems and Applied Economics - This package focuses on strengthening health system financing, resilience, and service delivery through approaches such as climate adaptation, implementation science, and economic evaluations. It includes research on fiscal space for health, health taxes, results-based financing, and the integration of services for vulnerable populations.
  2. Social Protection, Poverty, and Vulnerability - This stream explores poverty dynamics and evaluates the effectiveness of social protection interventions. It supports the development of adaptive, shock-responsive systems designed to reduce vulnerability and promote sustained poverty escapes.
  3. Food Security, Nutrition, and Rural Development - This work package analyses the drivers of food and nutrition insecurity, assesses climate-smart agricultural strategies, and informs rural development policies aimed at diversifying livelihoods and improving household well-being.
  4. Governance, Gender, and Social Inclusion - This cluster examines public sector accountability, equity in service delivery, and socio-cultural determinants of exclusion. Areas of focus include decentralisation, gender-based violence, youth empowerment, and rights-based policy frameworks.
  5. Environmental Economics and Climate Adaptation - This package investigates the health and policy implications of waste management, access to climate finance, and sustainable practices in water, sanitation, and environmental systems.
  6. Economic Modelling, Business Analytics, and Policy Forecasting - This stream supports data-driven decision-making through macroeconomic modelling, firm-level surveys, and advanced analytics. It includes textual and sentiment analysis to inform fiscal and regulatory policy reform.