Research and development priorities in achieving the SDGs in Bangladesh

We are now going through a transformative mood in the real values of social, economic and environmental aspects. This is indeed a time of our transforming in daily work, thinking and lifestyle with a new shape of the development agenda

As a signatory of the United Nations (UN) framed SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), Bangladesh is aimed to reform many new policies in the forthcoming development process. The SDGs have 17 major goals covering a total of 169 targets that include a broad range of development issues. If we analyze these goals and targets within the relevancy to our exiting development path, we must create a lot of innovations for our future work in both the existing and new development agenda. It is true that we have progressively achieved the targets of the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals), but we cannot expect our same trend of success story on the SDGs, since the goals and targets of the SDGs are more dynamic, challenging and ambitious in context of a short period of time frame to achieve by 2030. In addition, compared to the developed countries, the developing countries like Bangladesh has to work a lot on some basic issues regarding infrastructure, flexible investment and need based prioritization on all the problems to be solved under the 17 sustainable development goals. Moreover, some basic areas of social components (social norms, values and ethical practices) that we have to nurture at every stage of the development (planning, designing, implementing etc) separately and, or as the integrated way in our regular activities. However, considering all the targets of SDGs, we are still far behind from our reality based focuses onto the planning that how to achieve specific targets of the SDGs, even we have not yet taken some remarkable initiatives in achieving SDGs, or not to prioritize the goals for action in a stipulated time period to achieve. 

So, over the current thoughts on development, we are now going through a transformative mood in the real values of social, economic and environmental aspects. This is indeed a time of our transforming in daily work, thinking and lifestyle with a new shape of the development agenda. In fact, we have to design our every thought corresponding to the meaningful future values entitled in the SDGs. As the SDG language says, this new form of development is to be initiated from person to person, community to community, region to region or country to country.     
During our transformation with the SDGs, many local and international organizations have started their work jointly for the benefits of Bangladesh. Beyond the own thinking and efforts, Bangladesh has also been receiving guidelines and investments from the international donors/agencies with the conditions of doing such kind of innovative projects which correspond to achieve our SDGs vision. Even, many donors have cut down their money for the mainstream development of Bangladesh, because Bangladesh has already entered in the lower middle income country. But the real scenario is that the future donor money would be invested in a new transformative way of our regular development projects. That means the new shape of development is certainly going through a social entrepreneurship model with a flexible return on investment. 
Regarding the transformation issues, the Copenhagen Consensus (Copenhagen Consensus is a project that seeks to establish priorities for advancing global welfare using methodologies based on the theory of welfare economics using cost-benefit analysis) has been working for more than 10 years at a global level – mostly on the applied economic inputs to these UN sustainable development goals. In collaboration, most recently they have worked with BRAC at a national level discussion to provide a prioritized scenario of implementing the SDGs in Bangladesh based on the cost-benefit analysis of further investment in different development sectors. After community involvement and Roundtables held with the universities, government and NGOs had generated an extensive list of 1,000 ideas and among them 76 policy options were considered for further analysis. The project is approached with the researchers mostly where about 60% of the researchers were Bangladeshi. They have given some smarter prioritized ideas in our prospective work for better Bangladesh. 
However, the seventy six policy issues have been ranked on the basis of the return benefit on investment if we do now. All the ranked issues then categorized under 19 broad heads within the different development sectors. After all of the cost benefit analysis, the team considered an emerging sector “Digital Bangladesh” as the highest possible return on further investment (rank 1). Under this development sector three prioritized areas were selected for our further investment, e.g. a) e-procurement across government (663 taka worth of social, economic and environmental good, if we spend more 1 taka in this sector), b) more services at Union Digital Centres (8 taka of good return in against of spending 1 taka), and c) Expanding broadband (5 taka of good return is for 1 taka).
Similarly, the second highest possible profitable sector is ranked for the “Land administration” sector where land records digitization can be a vital issue for our further development. In this sector, if we spend 1 more taka, we will do 619 taka of sustainable return (considering social, economic and environmental return collectively). Then, other development sectors have been ranked sequentially in against of significant return on further investment, e.g. rank 3) food security, nutrition and agriculture; 4) non-communicable diseases; 5) health system and access; 6) infrastructure (energy); 7) migration; 8) education; 9) governance and institutions; 10) water and sanitations; 11) industrial policy and trade; 12) environment and biodiversity; 13) urbanization; 14) fiscal management and revenue mobilization, 15) infrastructure (transport); 16) gender equality; 17) climate change; 18) capital and financial markets; and 19) poverty, entrepreneurship and growth. So, here we see the least possible investment sector can be the poverty eradication sector, since we have already achieved lots of success in this sector in comparison to other sectors. Under this theme, the study says that only 2 taka will be returned now if we invest 1 taka in the flexible microfinance program. After ranking all of these sectors, the Copenhagen Consensus framework concludes to identify the top most 3 major areas with the greatest returns to the society- investment in tuberculosis treatment, infant nutrition, and e-Government solutions. 
The above development sectors and policy issues are analyzed and ranked in case of our further investment to implement different projects in Bangladesh. The priority of these development sectors considers the present context of Bangladesh and the SDGs for its further implications in the country. It seems this analysis consists of only economic benefits and costs, but the overall benefits consider the achievements of the social, environmental and health benefits corresponding to the UN sustainable development goals as well. 
Finally, The Bangladesh Priorities have been set up closely with the eminent stakeholders and citizens across Bangladesh to discover, analyze, rank and publicize the innovative solutions for the country. These prioritized areas of development will now help the government and other implementing partners to make the relevant policies for their organisations. 
The government and private sectors should think about these prioritized issues in their relevancy to research and upgrade the program and projects under a constructive budget and timeline.    

The writer is a researcher on sustainability at BRAC Research and Evaluation Division [email protected]; [email protected] 

Research and development priorities in achieving the SDGs in Bangladesh

We are now going through a transformative mood in the real values of social, economic and environmental aspects. This is indeed a time of our transforming in daily work, thinking and lifestyle with a new shape of the development agenda

As a signatory of the United Nations (UN) framed SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), Bangladesh is aimed to reform many new policies in the forthcoming development process. The SDGs have 17 major goals covering a total of 169 targets that include a broad range of development issues. If we analyze these goals and targets within the relevancy to our exiting development path, we must create a lot of innovations for our future work in both the existing and new development agenda. It is true that we have progressively achieved the targets of the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals), but we cannot expect our same trend of success story on the SDGs, since the goals and targets of the SDGs are more dynamic, challenging and ambitious in context of a short period of time frame to achieve by 2030. In addition, compared to the developed countries, the developing countries like Bangladesh has to work a lot on some basic issues regarding infrastructure, flexible investment and need based prioritization on all the problems to be solved under the 17 sustainable development goals. Moreover, some basic areas of social components (social norms, values and ethical practices) that we have to nurture at every stage of the development (planning, designing, implementing etc) separately and, or as the integrated way in our regular activities. However, considering all the targets of SDGs, we are still far behind from our reality based focuses onto the planning that how to achieve specific targets of the SDGs, even we have not yet taken some remarkable initiatives in achieving SDGs, or not to prioritize the goals for action in a stipulated time period to achieve. So, over the current thoughts on development, we are now going through a transformative mood in the real values of social, economic and environmental aspects. This is indeed a time of our transforming in daily work, thinking and lifestyle with a new shape of the development agenda. In fact, we have to design our every thought corresponding to the meaningful future values entitled in the SDGs. As the SDG language says, this new form of development is to be initiated from person to person, community to community, region to region or country to country. During our transformation with the SDGs, many local and international organizations have started their work jointly for the benefits of Bangladesh. Beyond the own thinking and efforts, Bangladesh has also been receiving guidelines and investments from the international donors/agencies with the conditions of doing such kind of innovative projects which correspond to achieve our SDGs vision. Even, many donors have cut down their money for the mainstream development of Bangladesh, because Bangladesh has already entered in the lower middle income country. But the real scenario is that the future donor money would be invested in a new transformative way of our regular development projects. That means the new shape of development is certainly going through a social entrepreneurship model with a flexible return on investment. Regarding the transformation issues, the Copenhagen Consensus (Copenhagen Consensus is a project that seeks to establish priorities for advancing global welfare using methodologies based on the theory of welfare economics using cost-benefit analysis) has been working for more than 10 years at a global level mostly on the applied economic inputs to these UN sustainable development goals. In collaboration, most recently they have worked with BRAC at a national level discussion to provide a prioritized scenario of implementing the SDGs in Bangladesh based on the cost-benefit analysis of further investment in different development sectors. After community involvement and Roundtables held with the universities, government and NGOs had generated an extensive list of 1,000 ideas and among them 76 policy options were considered for further analysis. The project is approached with the researchers mostly where about 60% of the researchers were Bangladeshi. They have given some smarter prioritized ideas in our prospective work for better Bangladesh. However, the seventy six policy issues have been ranked on the basis of the return benefit on investment if we do now. All the ranked issues then categorized under 19 broad heads within the different development sectors. After all of the cost benefit analysis, the team considered an emerging sector Digital Bangladesh as the highest possible return on further investment (rank 1). Under this development sector three prioritized areas were selected for our further investment, e.g. a) e-procurement across government (663 taka worth of social, economic and environmental good, if we spend more 1 taka in this sector), b) more services at Union Digital Centres (8 taka of good return in against of spending 1 taka), and c) Expanding broadband (5 taka of good return is for 1 taka). Similarly, the second highest possible profitable sector is ranked for the Land administration sector where land records digitization can be a vital issue for our further development. In this sector, if we spend 1 more taka, we will do 619 taka of sustainable return (considering social, economic and environmental return collectively). Then, other development sectors have been ranked sequentially in against of significant return on further investment, e.g. rank 3) food security, nutrition and agriculture; 4) non-communicable diseases; 5) health system and access; 6) infrastructure (energy); 7) migration; 8) education; 9) governance and institutions; 10) water and sanitations; 11) industrial policy and trade; 12) environment and biodiversity; 13) urbanization; 14) fiscal management and revenue mobilization, 15) infrastructure (transport); 16) gender equality; 17) climate change; 18) capital and financial markets; and 19) poverty, entrepreneurship and growth. So, here we see the least possible investment sector can be the poverty eradication sector, since we have already achieved lots of success in this sector in comparison to other sectors. Under this theme, the study says that only 2 taka will be returned now if we invest 1 taka in the flexible microfinance program. After ranking all of these sectors, the Copenhagen Consensus framework concludes to identify the top most 3 major areas with the greatest returns to the society- investment in tuberculosis treatment, infant nutrition, and e-Government solutions. The above development sectors and policy issues are analyzed and ranked in case of our further investment to implement different projects in Bangladesh. The priority of these development sectors considers the present context of Bangladesh and the SDGs for its further implications in the country. It seems this analysis consists of only economic benefits and costs, but the overall benefits consider the achievements of the social, environmental and health benefits corresponding to the UN sustainable development goals as well. Finally, The Bangladesh Priorities have been set up closely with the eminent stakeholders and citizens across Bangladesh to discover, analyze, rank and publicize the innovative solutions for the country. These prioritized areas of development will now help the government and other implementing partners to make the relevant policies for their organisations. The government and private sectors should think about these prioritized issues in their relevancy to research and upgrade the program and projects under a constructive budget and timeline. The writer is a researcher on sustainability at BRAC Research and Evaluation [email protected]; [email protected]