---
title: Rwanda Governance Board (RGB)
type: research
status: active
country: RW
website: https://www.rgb.rw
logo: /assets/org-logos/rwanda-governance-board.png
contact:
  checked: 2026-07-30
  email: info@rgb.rw
  form: https://www.rgb.rw/contact
  source: https://www.rgb.rw/contact
summary: Rwanda's government body for governance research and oversight — publishing
  annual governance scorecards, studying decentralisation and citizen participation,
  and administering the Ubudehe community classification system. Included for its
  governance design research, not as an independent watchdog of the Kagame government.
concepts:
- vanguardism
- democracy
- citizens-assembly
location:
  latitude: -1.9441
  longitude: 30.0619
  name: Kigali, Rwanda
news_page: https://www.rgb.rw/updates/news
events:
- date: '2011-01-01'
  title: Established through merger of institutions to oversee governance, decentralisation,
    and civic engagement in Rwanda
  url: https://www.icnl.org/resources/civic-freedom-monitor/rwanda
  quote: The RGB was formed from merging the Rwanda Governance Advisory Council (RGAC)
    and the National Decentralization Implementation Secretariat (NDIS).
  note: 'Merger fact confirmed by ICNL''s Civic Freedom Monitor, but there''s a genuine
    date discrepancy worth flagging: RGB''s own official About page (rgb.rw/1/about-rgb,
    checked 2026-08-12) cites its establishing law as N°56/2016 of 16/12/2016, not
    the 2010/2011 law previously cited here (Law No 42/2010) — the 2011-01-01 date
    is plausible as the original RGAC+NDIS merger with RGB later re-established under
    revised legislation, but that''s inference, not confirmed. Left the date as-is
    rather than guessing which is the "true" founding year without deeper legal research.'
  proof_level: high
  url_checked: '2026-08-12'
  notable: true
activity:
  manual:
    checked: 2026-06-07
    date: 2026-05-29
    note: website loaded. News page at https://www.rgb.rw/updates/news . Latest news  Friday,
      29 May, 2026  'Former Ethipia Prime Minister H.E. Hailemariam visits RGB'
    url: https://www.rgb.rw/updates/news
  dod:
    checked: 2026-07-19
    date: 2026-05-29
    note: Website live with May 2026 news (RGB leadership meetings, governance commemorations).
    url: https://www.rgb.rw
  rss:
    checked: 2026-08-17
    note: No feed found
  scrape:
    date: 2026-08-05
    note: Latest news page scraped
    url: https://www.rgb.rw/updates/news
    checked: 2026-08-17
last_checked: '2026-07-19'
---

> **Note on scope:** The RGB is a government body, not an independent civil society organisation. It is included here because it publishes substantive governance research — on decentralisation, citizen participation mechanisms, and Rwanda's distinctive governance innovations — rather than as a source of critical accountability. Rwanda's national political system under President Kagame does not meet DOD's accountability standard at the top level; elections are not genuinely competitive. The governance mechanisms documented by RGB are analytically interesting and separable from an overall assessment of the Rwandan political system.

The Rwanda Governance Board is the government institution responsible for governance research, oversight coordination, and civic education in Rwanda. It publishes annual governance scorecards, studies decentralisation to local government bodies, and administers programmes including Ubudehe — a community-based classification and self-governance system that assigns development resources through local participatory assessment rather than central bureaucratic determination.

Rwanda has two governance innovations that are extensively studied internationally and are separable from the broader political context:

**Women's legislative representation:** Rwanda's constitution mandates 30% women's representation in all decision-making bodies; in practice the National Parliament is 61% women — the highest proportion of any national legislature in the world as of 2024–2025. This was not a liberal feminist measure alone — post-genocide, women's leadership was also seen as a legitimacy reconstruction mechanism, as women were perceived as less implicated in the genocide and more trusted across community lines. The measurable policy outcomes (Rwanda leads sub-Saharan Africa on several health and land-rights metrics) have driven comparative governance interest.

**Gacaca courts:** Community-based transitional justice courts operating from 2001 to 2012, processing nearly two million genocide cases through a restorative, community-accountability model adapted from traditional Rwandan community governance. The most extensively studied community justice experiment in contemporary Africa, with a substantial academic literature on institutional design, outcomes, and limitations.

## Links

- Website: [rgb.rw](https://www.rgb.rw)

## See also

- [Vanguardism and Consultative Democracy](../concepts/vanguardism.md)
- [Democracy](../concepts/democracy.md)
- [Citizens' Assembly](../concepts/citizens-assembly.md)