Mission
BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC University is a centre of policy research and academic excellence. It was established in June 2013 through the merger of the Institute of Governance Studies (IGS) and the BRAC Development Institute (BDI). As a post graduate resource centre, BIGD is devoted to specialised research on a range of governance and development concerns, as well as the nexus between the two intertwined areas. It conducts research around five broad clusters, i.e., economic growth, governance and politics, urbanisation, gender issues, and regional studies. BIGD’s research is aimed at supporting its academic and training programmes. It does not limit knowledge creation to being an end in itself but rather to advance the pursuit of a just and prosperous society. Hence, it also plays an advocacy role to give voice to contemporary governance, political and economic issues. One of BIGD’s key strength lies in the truly interdisciplinary character of its work. These are best reflected in its two annual flagship publications: The State of Governance and the State of Cities.
On the academic side, BIGD offers four Master’s degree programmes, i.e., Master of Development Studies (MDS), Masters in Governance and Development Programme (MAGD), Masters in Development Management and Practice (MDMP) and Masters in Procurement and Supply Management (MPSM). It also offers several first rate certificate courses and training aimed at building capacity of the public and private sector and the NGOs. Some of these include: Certificate course on Management of Land Acquisition, Resettlement and Rehabilitation; Training course on Evaluation of Goods and Non-Consulting Services, Contract Management and Supplier Relationship Management; Exhaustive Training Course on BRAC Procurement Guideline and Implementation Procedure (BPGIP); The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) Level 1-6 training courses, for which BIGD is the only certified center etc.
