BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) conducted an organization-wide assessment to determine whether its expanding portfolio of studies, surveys, academic programs, and researcher training genuinely advances its mission of improving governance and development outcomes through rigorous, evidence-based research rooted in Southern knowledge. Rather than constructing a narrative of success, the assessment set out to test BIGD’s practice honestly, examining case studies across extreme poverty, youth and women’s empowerment, climate adaptation, and participatory governance to trace how organizational impact actually occurred and to identify the factors that enabled or constrained it. Drawing on the evidence, citations, and methodology presented in the full report, the assessment finds that impact materializes through identifiable pathways rather than automatically, and that specific institutional, relational, and contextual conditions determine whether research findings translate into changed practice or policy. This executive summary distils those findings for partners, donors, and development practitioners, offering an accessible account of what BIGD’s research has changed and where its practice can improve, without requiring engagement with the underlying academic detail.
Authors: Muneer, Farah; Khakshi, James Ward; Chowdhury, Noriya Mahin; Kabir, M M Fardeen; and Ahmed, Shudipto Rawshan
Type: BIGD Reviews
Publisher: BIGD
Year: 2026
