The year 2022 happens to be a significant year in my professional life—fortunately, perfectly aligned with my ethos and philosophical orientation, something that is inextricable from my identity. This year, I completed my fourth year at BIGD, and as I start my next four years’ journey here, I desire to take BIGD, with my colleagues and our partners, to a new height of relevance and excellence, truly creating knowledge for a better world. This year, BRAC, which changed the course of my life, turned 50, and the Ultra-Poor Graduation (UPG) program turned 20, with which I started my career at BRAC.
We deeply value knowledge that is solution-driven and rooted in local context so that we can contribute to the Southern-led process of charting our unique pathways to shared prosperity and sustainable development, our vision of knowledge for a better world.
Impact evaluations using experimental methods, e.g., randomized control trials (RCTs), is one of our key strengths. We have a strong track record in experimental research in poverty reduction and skills development. We are expanding our experimental research in other topics, e.g., women’s empowerment, climate change adaptation, and digitization. We also do large-scale surveys, often with nationally representative samples, to help policymakers and practitioners better understand important issues.
BIGD has an unmatched track record of qualitative research in Bangladesh. The State of Governance, a flagship yearly publication of BIGD, primarily utilizes qualitative research techniques to provide thorough analyses of critical governance issues in Bangladesh. Realizing the potential of qualitative methods for a nuanced inquiry of complex development challenges, we established a small yet ambitious Qualitative Research Team in 2020.
BIGD collaborates with stakeholders to conceptualize models, then pilot and scale them through continuous research and adaptation. For example, we have been working with the government for years to develop and incorporate a citizen engagement model in government procurement through the Digitizing Implementation Monitoring and Public Procurement Project (DIMAPPP).
We also conduct participatory research to actively involve participants themselves in the research process, capturing their unfiltered perspectives and experiences. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we frequently employed peer researchers in slums to document lived experiences and community responses.
We frequently follow a mixed method in our research because development challenges are complex and can only be understood and solved using multiple lenses. Our gender research team regularly combines large-scale surveys with advanced qualitative methods to understand, for example, how pervasive cultural and religious norms and values affect women’s empowerment in countries like Bangladesh.
Focuses on poverty, skills and jobs, international migration, access to finance, and small and medium enterprises, with an aim to promote equitable, The overarching objective of our economic research is to contribute to equitable, shared, and sustainable economic prosperity, encompassing a wide range of themes including extreme poverty and livelihoods, skills and jobs, migration, human capital, behavioural and psycho-social development, and financial inclusion.
We study the factors that disempower women and those that enable them to exercise their agency. We also investigate the diverse pathways for transforming power structures and attaining gender justice. Our areas of interest include women’s work, social and gender norms, violence against women, and their collective movements.
We study broader issues of politics and democratic governance to generate policyrelevant knowledge to improve governance performance within the existing political, legislative, and policy environment. Themes include citizenship and democracy, labour rights, local governance, social accountability through citizen engagement, and last-mile public service delivery.
We examine the impact of environment and climate change on livelihoods and how human and institutional responses to these changes affect different population segments, using a ground-up approach that considers the socioeconomic and environmental realities of the affected population. Themes include livelihood adaptation, climate migration and urbanization, and green transition.
BIGD is expanding research on critical emerging questions—how to use digital technology for inclusive development and how to ensure that all children get equal opportunity to high-quality education.
Master of Development Studies (MDS), a pioneering development-focused programme in Bangladesh, with alumni spread across Asia and Africa.
Master of Arts in Governance and Development (MAGD), for building a new generation of impactful actors in the development-focused public policy space.
Masters in Procurement and Supply Management (MPSM), one of its kind in Bangladesh, building capacities to improve transparency and efficiency in public, development, and private sector procurement.
Post Graduate Diploma in Knitwear Industry Management (PGD-KIM), specifically designed to impart the capabilities required to take on managerial and leadership roles in the ready-made garments (RMG) industry, particularly within the knitwear sector.
The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS), an internationally recognized, 30-month certification programme for procurement and supply chain professionals.
