Welcome to Bangladesh Development Initiative (BDI)
Bangladesh Development Initiative (BDI) is a non-profit organization based in the United States. Its members include scholars and professionals committed to supporting development initiatives in Bangladesh aimed at improving the quality of life for all its citizens.
BDI engages in and facilitates scholarly exchange between Bangladesh and overseas scholars through educational programs, an academic peer-reviewed journal (Journal of Bangladesh Studies), and a book publication program. BDI also regularly organizes conferences to promote new and relevant research on Bangladesh and provide a forum for debating policy alternatives pertaining to Bangladesh.
Forthcoming BDI Events
BDI members’ meeting on Saturday, January 3, 2026, 1:00 pm USA (Central), via Zoom: link
BDI members’ meeting on Saturday, March 7, 2026, 1:00 pm USA (Central), via Zoom: link
BDI members’ meeting on Saturday, May 2, 2026, 1:00 pm USA (Central), via Zoom: link
Zoom recording for the BDI webinar on November 22nd, 2025, featuring Dr. Nadine Shaanta Murshid, Associate Professor at the School of Social Work, University at Buffalo, speaking on “Intimacies of Violence: Reading Transnational Middle-Class Women in Bangladeshi America”, with comments by Dr. Elora Halim Chowdhury, Professor, Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies, Director, Human Rights Minor, University of Massachusetts Boston, moderated by Prof. Munir Quddus.
Zoom recording for the BDI webinar on November 1st, 2025, featuring Chairman, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Prof. Rehman Sobhan speaking on “Advocacy for a Just Society: An End of Term Balance Sheet” with comments by Prof. David C. Engerman, Leitner International Interdisciplinary Professor, Department of History, and Jackson School of Global Affairs, Yale University, moderated by Prof. Munir Quddus.
Zoom recording for the BDI webinar on Sept. 20th, 2025, featuring economist and author Dr. Syed Akhtar Mahmood speaking on “The Interaction of Three Worlds: Analyzing Bangladesh’s Growth Performance” with comments by Dr. KAS Murshid, Former Director General, BIDS, moderated by Prof. Munir Quddus.
Bangladesh Development Initiative joins Bangladeshis, and friends of Bangladesh, across the world in congratulating Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government on the successful completion and opening of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge.…
Since its inception, the Journal of Bangladesh Studies (JBS) has focused on content related to development and policy. However, after twenty years, in 2020, those on the editorial board find…
Dr. Hameeda Hossain, the recipient of the Bangladesh Development Initiative’s 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award, was honored in a virtual ceremony on June 26, 2021. The event attracted more than a hundred participants, including a distinguished panel…
