WHY JOIN US AT
THE GOVERNANCE INSTITUTE OF RWANDA
Dear Rwandan young people,
I have bad and good news for you. The bad news is that because of the inferior education in Rwanda, the widespread ignorance becomes the weapon with which past and present regimes dominate every aspect of Rwandan lives. The good news is that with the power of technology, you young Rwandan can build your own knowledge stock using tools available to you at their fingertips.
I challenge you Rwandan young people to free yourselves from the mental slavery perpetuated by the regimes that rule us.
Are you a leader, an activist, a journalist, a manager, a student, a teacher, a lawmaker, or currently unemployed?
Join us to expel ignorance by exploring the widely misunderstood concept of socioeconomic development, governance and innovation. This course will empower you to become evidence-based thinkers who use scientific evidence and data to inform your views on the world you live.
Abandon, once and for all, living in a world of anecdotes, rumours, and speculation. Instead, adopt approaches that emphasize the importance of rigorous research and evaluation in conversations about socioeconomic development. Simply put, join us and transform yourself into a thought leader in social and economic development—both in your own country and globally.
Respectfully,
Dr. David Himbara
Founder, Governance Institute of Rwanda (GIOR)
Our Mission
Defeating Knowledge Poverty Among Rwandans Who Graduated from Rwandan Institutions of Higher Learning
Meet Our Founder
Our Founder and Principal, Dr. David Himbara, spent his adult life pursuing his passion and labour of love of coaching governmental leaders in evidence-based policymaking, governance and innovation in pursuit of shared prosperity.
Tasked by the consortium of African development banks including the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA), Himbara led Knowledge Management Africa (KMA), which focuses on coaching African governments in evidence-based policymaking. Under his stewardship, KMA engaged extensively with the governments of Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, and Swaziland in evidence-policymaking.
Still in the realm of leadership coaching, Dr. Himbara collaborated with the government of South Africa on its Ten-Year Review, an assessment and the reinforcement of the country's policymaking regime following the end of apartheid.
Dr. Himbara successfully led a team that brought the World Bank's Centre for Learning on Evaluation and Results (CLEAR) to the School of Governance, the University of the Witwatersrand. CLEAR Africa provides vital support to governmental clients throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
In Rwanda, Dr. Himbara, spearheaded the establishment of three vital governance institutions. He set up and was the founding head of the Strategy and Policy Unit in the Office of the President, after serving as the Principal Private Secretary to the Rwandan President.
Dr. Himbara was instrumental in founding the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and served as its first Chairperson. He also played a key role in the establishment of the role in the establishment of the Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR), where he became the founding chairperson. Furthermore, he chaired the World Bank-funded Human and Institutional Development Agency (HIDA).
Dr Himbara is currently an affiliated scholar at the University of Toronto. A graduate of Queen’s University, Canada, where he earned a PhD in socioeconomic development, Himbara is widely published. His work includes the following books: *Kenyan Capitalists, the State, and Development*, 1994; *Kagame's Economic Mirage,* 2016; and *Rwanda's Stillborn Middle Income Economy, * 2020.
