Preparing for research abroad: fieldwork requirements in Rwanda

As foreign nationals are required to secure permission before commencing research activities in Rwanda, conducting fieldwork in the East African country has been a complicated matter for many researchers, especially those investigating politically sensitive topics such as the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. However, a host of researchers know little about the authorisation process or simply neglect to go through it. As Jessee (2012) points out, the failure to satisfy the requirements is attributed in part to a reluctance to invest time and money in seeking government permission or “lack of familiarity with Rwandan protocol”. Since Jessee delineated how to explore the process in 2012, it has changed quite considerably without detailed instructions available in the public domain. Having navigated the new procedure ourselves, we intend this written piece to provide up-to-date information based upon our findings, verified with the relevant government agencies in person and over the phone between October 2018 and April 2019.