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The government has established an eight-member expert taskforce to evaluate the quality, transparency, and accessibility of data produced by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
Chaired by Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman, Executive Chairman of the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC), the taskforce will engage with key stakeholders to develop concrete and actionable recommendations for strengthening the BBS.
The taskforce includes several prominent academics and experts: Dr Mohammad Abdul Wazed, former Director General of BBS, Dr Fahmida Khatun, Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Dr Mohammad Abdur Razzak, Chairman of the Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID), Dr Syed Shahadat Hossain, Professor at the Institute of Statistical Research and Training (ISRT), University of Dhaka, and President of the Bangladesh Statistical Association, Dr Mohammad Moinul Islam, Professor in the Department of Population Sciences, University of Dhaka, Dr Atanu Rabbani, Professor in the Department of Economics, University of Dhaka, and Dr Mohammad Yunus, Research Director at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS).
The taskforce’s mandate includes reviewing the statistical practices of BBS and making recommendations to improve the institution’s data quality and operational transparency. Specifically, the group will focus on establishing clear survey guidelines and rules, including: Creating a core list of surveys funded by government revenue, Setting mandatory survey intervals and a fixed release calendar, Developing procedures for forming expert advisory committees to guide surveys and national accounts, including inflation and GDP statistics and Granting the BBS leadership authority to regularly publish survey results.
Additionally, the taskforce will propose ways to harmonise BBS surveys and reports with those produced by other government agencies. Emphasis will be placed on enhancing public access to statistical data, thereby promoting the concept of statistics as a public good.
The taskforce will also review a draft amendment to the Statistics Act, 2013, evaluate the BBS’s organisational structure and human resources, and recommend institutional upgrades to establish BBS as a robust national statistical authority.
The final report is to be submitted to the Planning Advisor within 90 days. Progress updates will be provided periodically. The Statistics and Information Management Division will offer the necessary secretarial and logistical support for the taskforce’s work.
