BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC University

What BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC University does

BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) is a research institute housed within BRAC University in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Founded in 2013, BIGD operates as the dedicated research arm focused on governance, development economics, and public policy issues relevant to Bangladesh and the wider Global South. The institute is positioned within the broader BRAC ecosystem — leveraging BRAC's field presence, BRAC University's academic standing, and a stated headcount of approximately 206 staff to conduct empirical research, policy analysis, and survey-based studies on topics including poverty, governance, social protection, gender, and labor markets.

BIGD's output is research rather than a commercial product portfolio. Core "products" are policy briefs, working papers, peer-reviewed publications, panel and longitudinal surveys, and capacity-building programs targeting policymakers, donors, academics, and development practitioners. The underlying research infrastructure relies on BRAC's field operations for primary data collection — a notable technical/operational asset that distinguishes it from purely academic centers.

As a non-profit unit of BRAC University, BIGD's financial model is grant- and donation-funded rather than revenue-generating. No pricing, GTM, customer segment, or revenue model details are disclosed in the available source material, which returned primarily CAPTCHA/verification content. Customer constituencies are institutional: government agencies, multilateral donors, NGOs, and academic consumers of its research outputs. No leadership team, partnerships, awards, M&A, funding rounds, or strategic moves beyond the 2013 founding are observable in the input.

Name

BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC University

Website

https://bigd.bracu.ac.bd

Company type

Private

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

BIGD is a Dhaka-based research institute within BRAC University, founded in 2013, that conducts empirical governance and development research for policymakers, donors, and academic audiences, leveraging BRAC's field operations for primary data collection.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Development Research and Policy Advisory

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

akta.pro primary industry

Think Tanks, Policy Research & Public Policy Institutes (BPAGAFAO)

Keywords

• Development research
• Governance research
• Policy analysis
• Capacity building
• Social science research

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Core offering

BIGD is a multidisciplinary research and policy institute based at BRAC University in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It conducts applied research on governance, development, poverty, and public policy, and engages in capacity building, training, and policy advisory work for government, development partners, and civil society audiences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves1 record

Direct peers

• Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS): Government-sponsored policy research institute in Dhaka conducting development and governance research; highly comparable as a Bangladesh-anchored policy research organization.
• Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD): Bangladesh-based independent think tank focused on policy research, governance, and development—closely comparable to BIGD in mandate, geography, and donor-funded research model.
• Centre for Governance Studies: Bangladesh-focused governance research organization; directly comparable in country-specific governance research mandate and NGO-affiliated operating model.

Broad incumbents

• Overseas Development Institute (ODI): Global think tank on international development and humanitarian policy; comparable in research focus on governance, development economics, and donor advisory work.
• International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI): CGIAR-affiliated policy research institute producing development-oriented policy evidence globally; comparable in applied policy research and donor-funded model.
• Brookings Institution: Large US-based public policy think tank with global development and governance programs; comparable in think-tank operating model and policy research output.
• Institute of Development Studies (IDS): UK-based global development research institute with similar governance and development research remit, operating at greater scale and geographic breadth.

Regional players

• Center for Policy Research (CPR): India-based public policy research institution; comparable as a South Asian think tank working on governance and development, though operating in a different national context.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/brac-institute-of-governance-and-development-bigd-brac-university

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC University