Research and Knowledge Management Unit
This portfolio consists of Research and Knowledge Management a Unit in the Prevention Department.
The core functions of the unit are to:
“Research is a problem-driven enterprise”,
(Grinnell, 2004:12)
Section 255(h) of the Constitution mandates ZACC to make recommendations to the Government and other persons on measures to enhance integrity and accountability and prevent improper conduct in the public and private sectors. Considering this constitutional provision, the Research and Knowledge Management at ZACC is a core business area, undertaken to fulfil this provision by providing policy recommendations that are backed by empirical research findings.
Some of the Research is done internally whilst in some cases, ZACC engages a team of consultants for a collaborative effort.
Building Knowledge through Research
Corruption is increasingly becoming a highly sophisticated, elusive and complex phenomenon. Thus, fighting requires a lot of dynamic strategies. The Research and Knowledge Management portfolio has been spearheading surveys that are targeted at transforming the current anti-corruption strategy in Zimbabwe.
The major focus of the research programmes have been ‘Areas of Public Interest’ (API). The portfolio spearheaded the conducting of a National Baseline Study to establish the Corruption Perception Index (CPI). The study was successfully undertaken with Consultants from Africa Leadership Management Academy (ALMA).
The study findings are an eye-opener in as far as the general perceptions on corruption are concerned. It emerged from the study that various stakeholders and institutions are more than prepared to support ZACC in the fight against corruption. The portfolio also conducted critical research studies in the Road Infrastructure Development Sector. To seek gender sensitive measures to combat corruption, the portfolio conducted a study on Corruption and Gender issues respectively.
These are critical areas that affect the daily lives of citizens. The results of the research have been shared to relevant policy makers. In addition, the Unit has been working on a research in the Education Sector focusing on primary and secondary schools’ experiences. These studies have been targeting all the Provinces in Zimbabwe since the areas of public interest affect the livelihoods of learners and relevant clients in schools across the country.
Upcoming Researches
To be soon commissioned by ZACC The Research and Knowledge Management Unit has facilitated the conducting of cross-disciplinary research and collaborating with the Best Researchers/Consultants and institutions in Zimbabwe. From telling the story of corruption, to finding practical solutions to the deep level challenges and problems in promoting whistleblowing; research at ZACC has been at the forefront seeking empirical ways of explaining the current experiences whistleblowers are facing in reporting sensitive and high-profile corruption cases in Zimbabwe areas of public interest.
The research studies have been supported by RWI (Swedish Funding Partner).
Research and Innovation Initiatives (RIIs)
The aim of research and innovation initiatives is to produce research excellence in all the anti-corruption work done by ZACC. To this end, the research portfolio has embarked on other initiatives that include drafting and developing position papers for policy recommendations.
The Research portfolio has also been conducting online researches to align the Commission’s strategy with the so-called Best Practice Examples. This initiative is an on-going research activity which cultivates a spirit of research inquiry among Researchers.
The focus of the online bulletin was to investigate the strategies being adopted by other countries in pursuing an anti-corruption thrust during the Covid-19 pandemic era/period. This is intended to develop researchers who are passionate about enabling an innovative and end-user focused anti-corruption agenda that promotes co-designed research programmes and knowledge construction, sharing and exchange among public and private sectors, industry, policy makers and the government at large.