NACUAS operates through a multi-stakeholder model. Partnerships are developed around defined use cases, capacity building, research, data governance, technology access, field implementation and resource mobilisation. The table below reflects confirmed engagement or active collaboration pathways reported through Q3 2026; pipeline relationships should not be represented as funding awards or final implementation agreements until formally concluded.
| Partner | Category | Collaboration / value |
|---|---|---|
| Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) | International NGO | MoU; open mapping, technical capacity, training, project continuity and scale-up. |
| Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) | Government | Institutional anchoring, local-government use cases and national open-drone-mapping scale-up. |
| PPHPZ / ZHPPF / Slum Dwellers International | Civil society / community | Citizen-led mapping, community participation, local priorities and data interpretation. |
| Zambia Civil Aviation Authority (ZCAA) | Regulator | Regulatory coordination, field oversight, safe operations and national UAS ecosystem development. |
| Lusaka City Council (LCC) | Local government | Citywide mapping, housing, infrastructure, drainage, flooding, land-use and green-space use cases. |
| Columbia University / Prof. Kytt MacManus | Academia | Visiting scholar, technical mentoring, 3D mapping, curriculum development and research networks. |
| Planet | EO / technology industry | Collaboration scoping in satellite-drone integration, Planet University, conservation, carbon, urban resilience and agriculture. |
| Planetek Italia / GMV | EO / space industry | ESA World Informal Settlements proposal support and Lusaka pilot positioning. |
| JICA / Greater Lusaka RDP | Development cooperation | Alignment of geospatial use cases to long-term Greater Lusaka planning priorities. |
| RCMRD | Regional intergovernmental organisation | EO, GIS, UAV capacity building, disaster risk and decision-support networks. |
| Zambia Army | Government / defence | UNZA-Army MoU pathway for responsible UAS research, training and applications in agriculture/disaster management. |
| Agririgo / RigoTrace | Agri-tech industry | Agricultural plot mapping, traceability, UAV intelligence and pilot/MoU development. |
| Hermes Drones Training Academy | Training / industry | Signed MoU and preparation of professional agricultural-drone training; Q4 delivery pathway. |
| AgriSense-Africa consortium partners | Research consortium | Grant-development pathway for AI, IoT, EO and precision agriculture. |
Partnership Principles
- Co-define the problem and intended public value before selecting the technology.
- Clarify roles, approvals, data ownership, privacy, IP, licensing and benefit-sharing early.
- Build local capacity and institutional ownership rather than one-off data extraction.
- Integrate regulatory, safety and security requirements into project design.
- Convert partnership discussions into time-bound work plans, budgets and named focal points.
- Use open, shared and restricted data arrangements appropriately based on sensitivity and purpose.