Collaboration: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Bangladesh

Starting date: October 12, 2026
Completion date: February 09, 2027

Project description: This project provides technical facilitation and quality assurance for the second cohort of the DataNext Fellowship, which strengthens the practical skills of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics officials. It is supported by UNDP’s Strengthening Institutions, Policies and Services (SIPS) Project. The fellowship helps officials analyse, interpret, visualise, and communicate official statistics, with a focus on governance data.

The programme combines a bootcamp, hands-on masterclasses, structured mentoring, a field engagement, and an innovation lab and institutional showcase. Fellows work in small groups to develop applied capstone projects using BBS data. Topics include governance statistics, survey methodology, data quality and metadata, data analysis and visualisation, statistical confidentiality, and the responsible use of AI in official statistics. Learning is tracked through pre- and post-assessments, with attention to gender equality and social inclusion.

Team leader:
Dr Bazlul Haque Khondker, Team Leader and Fellowship Technical and Quality Lead

Team members:
Dr Selim Raihan, Resource Person and Mentor
Dr Syed Shahadat Hossain, Resource Person and Mentor
Tufail Ahmed, Resource Person and Mentor
Zubayer Hossen, Resource Person and Mentor
Md. Tuhin Ahmed, Resource Person
Shafa Tasneem, Resource Person