This blog is part of a showcase of exhibits from South Asian think tanks participating in the Think Tank Initiative’s Policy Engagement and Communications (PEC) programme. You may view other entries on the PEC Showcase Overview Page.

The BRAC Institute of Governance and Development’s (BIGD) involvement in the Think Tank Initiatives Policy Engagement and Communication (PEC) capacity development programme has helped its communication team develop a benchmark strategy for policy communication.

With the support of their local IDS-PAC facilitator, BIGD’s Communications team has co-designed a series of interventions to help them successfully develop the strategy. One such intervention included a workshop in May , 2014 on Formulating BIGD’s Policy Communications Strategy. Staff from BIGD’s Research division, Public Relations and Knowledge Services teams joined the Communications team to build capacity in effective research and policy communications.

A number of other capacity development activities have also contributed to the drafting of the strategy. These included: discussions on policy influencing, stakeholder mapping, and effective channels of communication as well meetings to define BIGD’s policy communication goals, vision and mission statements. The end product has been a draft BIGD Policy Communications Strategy crafted through consultation with peers and communications’ experts. The strategy has now reached the final stages of production, and has been dubbed a ‘benchmark’ achievement for the BIGD Communications Team by internal peers and reviewers.

The draft BIGD Policy Communications Strategy was prepared by the BIGD Communications Team under the leadership of Ekram Hossain along with guidance from Dr Sultan Hafeez Rahman, BIGD’s Executive Director. Throughout the preparation process, from the planning to the writing stages, the BIGD Communications Team has benefitted, at a team and individual level, from the PEC knowledge inputs provided by their local IDS-PAC facilitator Dr Faruk Islam. Therefore, the BIGD communication team would like to express their sincere thanks for his ongoing guidance and support.

The BIGD Communications team consists four personnel: Ekram Hossain (Manager), Shakil Md. Faisal (Associate) and two Assistants – Sameeah Zahangir & Mahmudul Alam Rasel. The IDS-PAC PEC programme is sponsored by IDRC Think Tank Initiative.

Author: Dr. Faruk-Ul-Islam, Dr. Sultan Hafeez Rahman, Ekram Hossaain

Showcase exhibit: BIGD Policy Communications Strategy

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This post has been produced as part of the Think Tank Initiative’s Policy Engagement and Communications (PEC) programme. However, these are the author’s personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect those of TTI. You can find all ongoing outputs related to this project via the PEC mini-site on Research to Action. To get updates from the PEC programme and be part of the discussion sign-up to our RSS or email updates. You can also follow our progress via Twitter using the following hashtag #ttipec.

Feature image courtesy of BIGD.