This knowledge product presents a case study about Rwanda’s experience on implementing the
Rapid Result Approach (RRA). The objective is to share knowledge among the Africa
Community of Practice Members (AfCoP) in efforts to advance the result agenda in Africa. The
study was based on documentary survey and analysis. Findings show that the RRA developed
by Schaffer Consulting, has been used to transform service delivery and decentralize
development initiatives in several countries in Africa. In the aftermath of the genocide, Rwanda
sought an approach which could hasten behavioural changes within the public service and
economic recovery for political and social stability. Improvements were recorded in the areas of health, adult literacy, assets acquisition and wealth creation. In this paper, Rwanda’s success is
attributed to the commitment for results by top leadership, the existence of a robust and
implementable policy framework, readiness to learn and creation of a learning environment,
recognition and use of local resources, skills, information systems and institutions and
eagerness of the targeted groups to embrace change. Based on these findings, the paper
recommends to institutions playing key roles in Africa’s capacity development like the World
Bank (WB), African Development Bank (AfDB), and the African Capacity Building Foundation
(ACBF) to support comparative studies on how the approach worked, where and with what
results and why some countries benefited from it more than others. It also recommends to such
institutions to establish partnerships between the RRI and some of the African institutes dealing
with project development and management or any higher education partner for capacity building and support to train trainers in African tertiary education institutions and popularize and institutionalize the use of RRA. Moreover, there is need for African regional economic communities to explore alternative approaches to project implementation and facilitate exchanges of experiences within and across Africa.
