RCSD PROFILE-2025

1. Overview

Founded in 2020 by a team of consultants, the Research and Capacity Building for Sustainable Development (RCSD Consultants Ltd), is based in Kicukiro Rwanda. The Firm offers a wide range of professional services on research, impact assessment, projects/programs evaluations, business advisory services and mentorship, etc. The Firm relies its capacities in a team of qualified, experience and dedicated professionals/associates. We have six Doctors (PhDs) holders, nine Masters Holders and fifteen Bachelor’s degree graduates who make the core team of the Firm. Most of our consultants (team leaders) have more than 15 years’ experience in economics, rural development, agricultural economics, climate change, applied statistics, etc.

Vision: To be the Leading Research and Capacity Building Centre in Africa

Mission: To provide high quality services in research, capacity building and exchange sessions towards a sustainable and inclusive development in Rwanda and abroad.

2. Research and Consultancies

RCSD Consultants Ltd (Registration Company Code No. 112172083) which undertakes commissioned research and consultancies on behalf of various clients in various areas:

• Socio-economic development

• Gender equality and social inclusion

• Climate change and green economy

• Natural Resources Management

• Agriculture, livestock, Food systems and food security

• Livelihoods and social economics

• Monetary policy, Tax, trade, etc.

• Education

RCSD also does projects evaluations (baseline, mid-term and endline evaluations by applying the OECD/DAC evaluation criteria. RCSD Evaluation processes apply the following key criteria: Relevance, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Impact and Sustainability. Cross-cutting issues, such as poverty, gender, coherence, community value addition and environment, may also be taken into consideration depending on projects to evaluate; and the intervention logic (e.g. Logframe) is analyzed. Additional criteria may be added such as “Participation” or “Responsibility”.

RCSD also prepares strategic plans, business plans, and offer professional capacity building services to interested clients.

Quality assurance of research and consultancy work: RCSD has a research and consultancy quality committee that provides guidance and framework for research and consultancy services. The committee oversees efficient and effective delivery of assignment to clients. To ensure that quality services are delivered to clients, RCSD applies the standard operating procedures and internal controls checks on processes and outputs of the consultants.

RCSD research uses a Participatory Action Research approach (PAR). This approach has as its two main goals the achievement of both action and research. PAR is a very effective method as it constantly monitors the intervention and simultaneously the researcher has an active advisory role in the implementation and can suggest alternative strategies based on her/his research observations while taking the specific context in which the intervention is applied into account.

RCSD follows the Participatory Action Research (PAR) as follows:

• Participative: all stakeholders are involved in the research.

• Mixed methods research: the main focus lies on descriptions and on understanding social complexities via qualitative methods, while a general picture of the results will be generated through quantitative research. This combination of methods strengthens the qualitative data and provides a deeper understanding of the quantitative data.

• Reflective: critical reflection on the intervention process and its outcomes are important features.

• Responsive: the researcher is able to respond to the emerging difficulties during the implementation and immediately take action.

• Emergent and cyclical – the process takes places gradually over a number of cycles so that interpretations of data can be tested, challenged and refined.

Most Data collection tools used by RCSD:

• Semi-structured interviews

• Questionnaires/Surveys

• Focus Group Discussions

• Participant Observation

• Significant change stories

3. Previous relevant experience

1. 1. Other Information

Ms. Eliane Nyinawumuntu

Managing Director