Institutional strengths and new strategies

Human Resources: IRDP used to have permanent staff. Since last February in our restructuring vision some contracts are shortened to non-permanent contracts based on projects time limit. This is in line with our strategy of renewing the staff, make them more productive, proactive and result oriented. This is the second phase of the restructuring of human resources strategy. In this regard one of oldest researcher is retiring and a new staff is recruited.

Since 2013 IRDP faced a shortage of funds after and some researchers left. But IRDP still have a number of supporting staff with good experience in administrative and financial management. We have a Financial and administrative officer, a professional accountant and an administrative secretary. IRDP have never faced any problem with fund management. Audit reports and working Systems and procedures are set since 2002.

  • To make this strategy affective, IRDP needs a minimum of funds to be able to engage new staff and reinforce the capacity of the existing staff.
  • In this regard IRDP to recruit 3 new staff Project development and communication officer-and a professional IT manager.
  • For the existing staff needs to increase the capacity of the staff’ in financial management and administrative management.
  • 3 qualified and experienced researchers are organizing community dialogue, school of debate, making research coordination. Those experienced staff play a role of protecting the IRDP values, approach and perpetuate the practice to a pool of researchers and consultants who are intervene with specific contracts depending on the project.
  • In this regard, IRDP needs to renew the research staff and reorganize the functioning of the unity by recruiting 2 permanent senior researchers and 2 two junior researchers in the domain of social-economic studies-Demography and statistics.
  • IRDP has an audiovisual laboratory with two technicians who are managing a huge database of audiovisual data collected since 2002 on different topics.
    • A preliminary work of digitalization has started and we hope to continue. This digitalization with indexation will allow us to disseminate and avail all data collected for further research areas and training materials.
  • IRDP is a leading think tank with a structured participatory research and advocacy strategies. We have around 50 sectors from all districts dialogue forums, TWGs, Steering Committee, Group meetings…). Those are spaces of debate at the national and grassroots levels, as well as in secondary schools and universities.
  • Those spaces need to be sustained and extended in terms of capacitating facilitators and engage communities in dialogue and participation in governance
  • Physical resources: IRDP has its own office, equipments and a website.
    • IRDP needs to maintain its infrastructures including offices, 3 Cars Jeep Land cruiser, and machines.
    • This website is under revision for hosting the new programs and for better visualization. IRDP needs more capacity in communication and dissemination strategy by website development and research publication.
  • IRDP in Diaspora:
  • As the Diaspora is playing a big role in influencing policies and the Rwanda’s reconstruction process. IRDP is the only one organization which initiated community dialogues on sensitive issues with Rwandan community in Diaspora. This brought the attention of the government and started to organize the so called “Rwanda day” abroad. Even if those political gathering are contributing to the awareness of the Rwandan community abroad on different policies, it is very important that IRDP sustain the community dialogue clubs operating in USA, Canada, Belgium, France, Zambia,…among others to offer alternative free and open spaces for sustainable peace, participatory governance and development.