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Mehnaz Rabbani

Mehnaz Rabbani

Director, Operations, Strategy, and Partnership

mehnaz.rabbani@bracu.ac.bd

Mehnaz Rabbani is the Director of Operations, Strategy, and Partnerships at BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC University. She joined BIGD as Lead, Research for Policy and Governance (RPG) on February 3, 2019.

An economist by training, Mehnaz has worked both as a researcher and a practitioner for over 20 years. In her last position at Save the Children Asia Regional Office, she had been involved in capacity building of research teams around the region, developing policies and guidance for improved research and knowledge management and developing country strategic papers. Before Save the Children, Mehnaz was a Lecturer at McGill University, teaching Development Economics and Agricultural Economics at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

Mehnaz started her career at BRAC as a Research Fellow for RED. She is passionate about advancing the evidence-to-policy-and-practice agenda through innovative learning methods in the development sector, effective engagement with local and global actors, meaningful partnerships and strengthened ecosystem for social science research in Bangladesh.

Position Paper

Primary School Governance in Bangladesh

Date: 2025

Author(s): Hossain, Faruq; Rabbani, Mehnaz

Publisher: BIGD

Report

Digitalization and Development: A Social Science Perspective

Date: 2025

Author(s): Cortijo, Marie Jo A.; Rabbani, Mehnaz

Publisher: BIGD

Working Paper

Resource Leakages in Primary Schools in Bangladesh: Do Horizontal Checks Have an Effect on the Quality of Governance?

Date: 2025

Author(s): Khan, Mushtaq; Rabbani, Mehnaz; Hossain, Faruq; Ananna, Rabeena Sultana

Publisher: ACE SOAS Consortium

Book/Book Chapter

Urban Community Response Supported by Government: The Case of COVID-19 Management in Dhaka

Date: 2023

Author(s): Ahmed, Shamael; Rabbani, Mehnaz

Publisher: Regional Studies Policy Impact Books

Journal Article

Trust and Citizen Participation in Community-based Monitoring System: An Experimental Evidence from Bangladesh

Date: 2022

Author(s): Rabbani, Mehnaz; Rahman, Semab; Tasneem, Dina

Topic(s): Governance and Politics

Publisher: Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics

Policy Brief

Knocked Down, but Up Again: The Case of Female Online Entrepreneurs in Bangladesh

Date: 2020

Author(s): Rabbani, Mehnaz; Zahan, Iffat; Matin, Maria

Topic(s): Digitization, Gender Justice

Publisher: BIGD

Journal Article

An Adaptive Governance and Health System Response for the COVID-19 Emergency

Date: 2020

Author(s): Khan, Mushtaq; Roy, Pallavi; Matin, Imran; Rabbani, Mehnaz; Chowdhury, Rajiv

Topic(s): COVID-19, Governance and Politics

Publisher: World Development

Policy Brief

How Resilient Are Female Online Entrepreneurs? Findings From the COVID-19 Shock

Date: 2020

Author(s): Rabbani, Mehnaz; Zahan, Iffat; Matin, Maria

Topic(s): Digitization, Skills and Jobs, COVID-19, Economic Development

Publisher: BIGD

Policy Brief

Crisis of Communication During COVID-19: A Rapid Research Report

Date: 2020

Author(s): Zaman, Shahaduz; Rahman, Sumon; Rabbani, Mehnaz; Matin, Imran; Hossain, Faruq; Ghosh, Dipanwita; Shatil, Tanvir; Kamruzzaman, MD; Sharmin, Sazia; Syed, Samia

Topic(s): COVID-19, Governance and Politics

Publisher: BIGD

Policy Brief

Trust, Institutions, and Collective Action: Rapid Study of Community Responses to COVID-19 in Bangladesh

Date: 2020

Author(s): Ali, Tariq Omar; Hassan, Mirza; Hossain, Naomi; Hoque, Md Mahan Ul; Rashid, Md. Mamun-Ur; Matin, Imran; Rabbani, Mehnaz 

Topic(s): COVID-19, Governance and Politics

Publisher: BIGD

Monograph

The Impact of Asset Transfer on Livelihoods of the Ultra-Poor in Bangladesh

Date: 2009

Author(s): Ahmed, Akhter U; Rabbani, Mehnaz; Sulaiman, Munshi; Das, Narayan C

Topic(s): BRAC Programs, Ultra-poor Graduation, Economic Development

Publisher: BRAC Research and Evaluation Division,International Food Policy Research Institute

Working Paper

Exclusion and Poverty: An Analytical Approach for Understanding Exclusion and Assessing Programs Targeting the Very Poor in Bangladesh

Date: 2008

Author(s): Zohir, Sajjad; Rabbani, Mehnaz; Mallik, Biva Arani; Huq, Iftekharul; Afsana, Raisa

Topic(s): BRAC Programs, Ultra-poor Graduation, Economic Development

Publisher: BRAC Research and Evaluation Division,Economic Research Group

Working Paper

Crafting a Graduation Pathway for the Ultra-Poor: Lessons and Evidence From a BRAC Program

Date: 2008

Author(s): Matin, Imran; Sulaiman, Munshi; Rabbani, Mehnaz

Topic(s): BRAC Programs, Ultra-poor Graduation, Economic Development

Publisher: Chronic Poverty Research Centre

Monograph

Adolescents and Youths in Bangladesh: Some Selected Issues

Date: 2006

Author(s): Ahmed, Syed Masud; Gani, Md Showkat; Geirbo, Hanne Cecilie; Imam, Nuzhat; Nath, Samir Ranjan; Rabbani, Mehnaz; Rahman, Mahjabeen; Selim, Nasheeba; Sulaiman, Munshi

Topic(s): BRAC Programs, Social Transformation

Publisher: BRAC Research and Evaluation Division

Working Paper

Impact Assessment of CFPR/TUP: A Descriptive Analysis Based on 2002-2005 Panel Data

Date: 2006

Author(s): Rabbani, Mehnaz; Prakash, Vivek A; Sulaiman, Munshi

Topic(s): BRAC Programs, Ultra-poor Graduation, Economic Development

Publisher: Aga Khan Foundation Canada,BRAC Research and Evaluation Division

Report

Financing SMEs and Its Effect on Employment Generation: A Study of BRAC Bank’s SME Lending

Date: 2005

Author(s): Rabbani, Mehnaz; Sulaiman, Munshi

Topic(s): Skills and Jobs, Economic Development

Publisher: BRAC Research and Evaluation Division

UPG & Me: 20 Years of the Graduation Approach | Remembering my first Domar days: Mehnaz Rabbani

UPG & Me: 20 Years of the Graduation Approach | Remembering my first Domar days: Mehnaz Rabbani

  • 19 October 2022

In 2004 I joined BRAC Research and Evaluation Division as a Research Associate. A fresh graduate from the US, brimming with theories of Economics, I thought I knew it all.

The 30 Per Cent Left Out of COVID-19 Big Data Analytics

The 30 Per Cent Left Out of COVID-19 Big Data Analytics

  • 6 April 2020

Urban Social Protection and Jobs Program

Status: Completed

Researcher(s): Mehnaz Rabbani, Mohammad Sirajul Islam, Raihan Ahamed

Topic(s): Cities, Economic Development, Skills and Jobs

Research, Policy, and Governance (RPG)

RPG is a flagship program of BIGD, which aims to re-establish the relationship of trust and partnership between researchers and policymakers to build institutional capacity and produce rigorous research, consequently uplifting the quality of evidence-based decision and policy-making in Bangladesh. Currently, RPG is conducting studies on digital literacy and access to public service delivery, social accountability in social safety nets, and citizen’s experience with land services.

Anti-Corruption Evidence (ACE)

The Anti-Corruption Evidence (ACE) is a research consortium, led by SOAS, University of London. ACE is working in the UK, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Tanzania with 12 partners on around 40 research projects. BIGD is a research partner of ACE in Bangladesh, conducting six research projects on anti-corruption on topics such as regulatory enforcement in garments industries and corruption in the management of water cooperatives and community-based fisheries.

Monitoring and Evaluation for Learning and Adaptation (MELA) Initiative

BIGD established the MELA (Monitoring and Evaluation for Learning and Adaptation) initiative to support the development organizations and donors to find the right balance of management coordination where learning the roles of M&E are promoted without compromising the accountability requirement for development effectiveness.

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