Rwanda’s Policy Research Institution opens

KIGALI - The Institute of Policy Analysis and Research - Rwanda (IPAR-Rwanda), a body tasked to promote research in economics, sociology, political science, and law has been launched. According to IPAR-Rwanda’s adviser, Dickson Eyoh, a professor at the University of Toronto in Canada, the research body is an independent, autonomous and non-profit organisation. Eyoh said in an interview on Tuesday at his office in Kigali that the institution’s primary mandate is to support the formulation and implementation of sound public policies through objective research and analysis. It will conduct research in strategic areas such as macro-economics, trade, industry, public finance, IT, energy, poverty alleviation, governance and decentralization, human resources development and regional economic integration. “Its governance is comprised of stakeholders from the public and private sectors, civil society organisations, development partners and academic institutions,” Eyoh said. He said the institute’s establishment is to make up for the major shortage of specialists in public policy research and analysis. Antonia Mutoro, IPAR-Rwanda Executive Director, added that IPAR-Rwanda will promote policy making which is adaptive, participatory and responsive to the changing socioeconomic needs of the country. Startup funding for IPAR was provided by the African Capacity Building Foundation and Government of Rwanda. Part of its mandate is to organise forums for the exchange of ideas on public policy and establish human and institutional capacity building programs. IPAR-Rwanda’s vision is to become an internationally recognised public policy research institute that contributes to national development goals. Ends