The urban planning and housing observatory is an innovation of Civic Forum on Housing and Habitat Zambia (CFHHZ). The platform aims to gather factual information on current crisis affecting housing and human settlements which will be used to inform policy direction which is responsive to the needs and desires of marginalised communities. There is a strong consensus, partly based on lessons learned from previous development efforts, that citizens and civil society engagement is critical to the design, implementation and monitoring of the Development Agenda at local, national level for National Development Plans (NDPs) and the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This process underscores the development agenda to meet the ambition of being truly transformative as the monitoring and accountability framework which spans from local to the global levels, must be people centred, inclusive, transparent and participatory.