Three‐Year Evaluation of the Legal Aid Forum for the Period 2008‐2010 in Rwanda

With the establishment of the Legal Aid Forum, Rwanda (LAF) as an independent legal entity and with the possibility that the LAF could act as Grant Manager for the LAF’s Legal Aid Civil Society Fund (LACSF), there is a window of opportunity to establish the LAF as a truly indigenous network and the first indigenous grant-maker in Rwanda.

It is submitted that this opportunity be an element of the strategic engagement of the LAF by donors and in this case, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Kigali (EKN-Kigali) in regard to any future funding cycle.

The LAF has become somewhat of an anomaly in its success when compared to other legal aid/access to justice/paralegal/advice office networks. This is evidenced for example in South Africa by the collapse of the National Community-Based Paralegal Association and the National Paralegal Institute. Reasons for this anomaly lie in the unique utility of the LAF as seen by Government and EKN-Kigali, LAF members, ultimate beneficiaries and other stakeholders. This is indicated by an emergent yet strong social capital, effective leadership, governance and management, joint learning, and mutually beneficial partnerships and collaboration. (Ferri, 2004)

As this report will illustrate, there are flaws in the design of the programme
intervention and this has been aggravated by the lack of a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation policy and plan that might have both been underpinned by the measurement of impact. This is a technical imperative based on the use of a Logical Framework Matrix for planning, monitoring and evaluation by the LAF. It does not mean that there has been no monitoring and evaluation nor that there has been no impact.

As such, these technical imperatives should not overshadow real gains made by the LAF. What is important is that members of the LAF have a basis for perceiving benefits directly attributable to the LAF, namely:

• Enhanced efficiency, reach and impact through the multiplier effect of increased access to:
  • capacity building
  • information and knowledge sharing
  • technical expertise
  • financial resources
• Solidarity and support
• Increased visibility of issues
• Influence over Government policy
• Best practices
• Reduced isolation
• Increased credibility
• Overwhelming benefits as opposed to cost

It is submitted that in the case of the LAF, that despite it being in operation for under 3 years, its development has been exponential in practically every aspect and that furthermore, despite the technical inconsistencies in evaluating impact, the LAF has been very much result orientated.