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Copenhagen Consensus Center

Testimonials

Making choices is not an easy task. But if we want to get the best possible impact for our limited resources, it is essential to prioritize our options. The cooperation with Copenhagen Consensus Center has been a highly informative and valuable experience, and the results of Bangladesh Priorities will help BRAC specifically and the country in general set our future priorities."

- Dr. Muhammad Musa, Executive Director of BRAC


This collaboration between BRAC and Copenhagen Consensus Center has brought some of the foremost economists from Bangladesh together with their global counterparts, to focus on positive, smart ways to improve this country. Despite limitations, it has identified new interventions with high potential benefits and confirmed the potential of some of the current priorities. This will be a valuable resource for policy-makers and anybody interested in Bangladesh's future."

- Dr. Mushtaque Chowdhury, Vice-Chairperson of BRAC


This project is going to transform the way we think about priorities in Bangladesh, both with the implementation of the 7th Five Year Plan and in attaining the Vision 2021”

- Abul Kalam Azad, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister


Policy-makers prioritize between competing options many times every single day. This project will help us to take a step back and ask, where are the areas where we should focus more attention and resources?"

- Tofail Ahmed, Minister of Commerce


Bangladesh Priorities research is in the same wave length as the 7th Five Year Plan.

- Dr. Shamsul Alam, Senior Secretary, General Economics Division, Planning Commission, Government of Bangladesh 


It has for many years been difficult to get enough attention and funding for TB. The top placement of TB on the Bangladesh Priorities has given TB policies more visibility and the government seems to be taking steps towards allocating more funds for TB. Bangladesh Priorities bears testimony of the national programme's impact in making Bangladesh TB free, as envisaged by the current government."

- Dr. Md Akramul Islam, Director of Communicable Diseases & Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Programmes, BRAC.


Across all of the government, from the Prime Minister’s office to those responsible for education or agriculture or poverty alleviation, we see great potential in this approach to help Bangladesh focus on areas where our spending will achieve the most."

- Anir Chowdhury, Policy Advisor, Prime Minister's Office


The only question is why we have never done this before. It’s an unprecedented approach which I have not seen from any of the think-tanks or advisory groups that work in Bangladesh, and the results are going to be powerful and practical."

- Nojibur Rahman, National Board of Revenue Chairman and Senior Secretary, Internal Resources Division, Ministry of Finance


Land administration reform has been a longstanding priority. It will be useful for the research to examine different components of land administration system.”

- Abul Kalam Azad, Principal Secretary, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister


A cost-benefit analysis of the various interventions under Digital Bangladesh, will be useful in adding credibility to the government's agendas for good governance and more inclusive development.”

- Anir Chowdhury, Policy Advisor, Prime Minister's Office (PMO)


This effort will inevitably help to channel more money into the right areas. This will enable the country to get the most out of its public investments.”

- Ashikur Rahman, Senior Economist, Policy Research Institute (PRI)


Bangladesh will prioritize psycho-social stimulation activities for children and increasing secondary education for girls." 

- Mustafizur Rahman, Minister for Primary and Mass Education, Government of Bangladesh at Bangladesh Priorities seminar on education.


The education policy seminar can be a great input to various policies and acts. I hope the interventions discussed will be taken by the government and we will consider it for implementation." 

- Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF Representative at Bangladesh Priorities seminar on education.


There should be a second round of Bangladesh Priorities to cover some missing agendas, and complementing it within the SDGs context."

- Bazlul H. Khondker, Chairman of the South Asian Network on Economic Modelling (SANEM)


There is no magic bullet or one-size-fits-all solution to help Bangladesh hone on its new found self-confidence. The top ideas are diverse, showcasing the need to implement mixed interventions for sustaining export-led economic growth and boosting domestic demand.”

– Faisal Ahmed, Sr. Special Economic Advisor to the Governor, Bangladesh Bank


This should be a great help for us! We are always thinking about prioritizing what BRAC should do.”

- Fazle Abed, Founder and Chairperson of BRAC


There are many well-intentioned policy interventions. But some are more immediate and perhaps important than others. The Copenhagen Consensus project for Bangladesh can help inform a discussion on identifying the best options for the country’s future.”

– Mushtaque Choudhury, Executive Director of BRAC


A majority of the interventions are high-flyers as far as Bangladesh’s immediate priorities are concerned under the 7th Five Year Plan (7FYP) purview.”

- Muslim Chowdhury, Additional Secretary, Finance Division, Ministry of Finance 


Political rhetoric helps to add momentum to various agendas of reforms but such research can inject impetus to specific areas which can snowball into a big, positive effect."

- Naimuzzaman Mukta, People's Perspective Specialist, Prime Minister's Office (PMO)


The cost-benefit approach of the research, using evidence for prioritizing different policies, is unprecedented in the Bangladesh landscape, in spite of hundreds of think-tanks.”

- Nojibur Rahman, National Board of Revenue Chairman and Senior Secretary, Internal Resources Division, Ministry of Finance


The list of top ideas is accurate in terms of depicting the most important development priorities. The fact that the topics do not include too many governance interventions, given its broad scope and nature, is a good thing.”

– Rounaq Jahan, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD)


More focus could have been given to studying the costs and benefit of strengthening the capacity of health service providers, in operating modern equipment. This is important for ensuring better primary healthcare by the Upazila health complexes and health officers working in rural and peri-urban areas.”

- Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Chairman of Standing Committee on Ministry of Health and Family Welfare


Using evidence based analysis for policy decisions is a better investment than reading 100s of recommendation with little heed to sequencing pro-poor development priorities.”

- Tofail Ahmed, Minister, Ministry of Commerce


Not all policies are equal. Despite good intentions, some policies will do much more good for every taka spent – and those are the areas we should focus on. Bangladesh Priorities is making a real difference to Bangladeshi policy... It is clear that the research is having a real impact on guiding decisions on Bangladeshi priorities and promises to help even more into the future."

- Editorial, Prothom Alo, September 27 2016