BIDS among top 100 global think tanks

The Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), an autonomous multi-disciplinary public research organisation, has once again ranked as the best think tank in Bangladesh and 94th among 174 institutions in the world.

The ranking was revealed in the 15th edition of the University of Pennsylvania's "The 2020 Global Go To Think Tank Index" (GGTTI) report released on 28 January.

Dr Khan Ahmed Sayeed Murshid, director general of BIDS, told The Business Standard BIDS has done well and this is particularly significant that it happened in a difficult year.

"We can now unhesitatingly claim that we have reached the international stature. A close look at the different rankings will reveal this beyond doubt." 

He said the important thing for a research institute is to stay focused on producing high-quality research work, which apparently sounds enough.

"The proof, however, has to come from the breadth and depth of international publications in peer-reviewed journals. These days, this is very easy to check. All one has to do is visit some key websites like Scopus and type the appropriate keywords," explained Murshid.

There is a clear trade-off between revenue-generating, consultancy-type work and non-funded or internally funded research that addresses important policy questions, he said. 

It is a matter of balance of course, and BIDS has now edged towards a far better balance than before, he also said.

Murshid continued, "I have sometimes encountered questions from people who 'wonder' what we do. I would like to tell them to take the trouble to visit our regularly updated website. It might also help if you simply go to Google Scholar and play around with it a little. There is no longer any excuse for not knowing."

"I am proud of my researchers, especially our young researchers who are quickly becoming worthy scholars."

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in the United States was named the world's top think tank, followed by Belgium's Bruegel and Brazil's Fundação Getúlio Vargas.

BIDS has climbed up 10 notches this year from its position on the previous index, where it placed 104th.

The study also ranked BIDS in 23rd place in the Top International Development Policy Think Tanks category, climbing up three notches from its previous position.

Also, in Bangladesh, the Institute for Policy, Advocacy and Governance (IPAG) ranked 41st, while the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) was 87th in the same category.

In the Best Government-Affiliated Think Tank category, BIDS and the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) – two state-owned autonomous national research institutes and think tanks that managed to move up one notch – ranked 27th and 47th, respectively.

In the same category, Japan's Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) was on the top followed by the World Bank's Development Research Group, and the United States's Congressional Research Service.

In the category of Top Think Tanks in South and Southeast Asia and the Pacific Region (excluding India), BIDS has once again placed 17th, while BIISS ranked 22nd.

This was followed by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) at 30th, the Institute for Policy, Advocacy, and Governance (IPAG) at 34th, Alternative Development Initiative (ADI) at 49th, and CPD at 54th. These institutions have remained in the same position as last time in this category.

The rankings came as the result of an international survey of more than 73,000 scholars, public and private donors, policymakers, and journalists. The professionals helped rank over 8,000 think tanks using a number of criteria developed by the Think Tank and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) at the University of Pennsylvania under Dr James G McGann.

With 2,203 think tanks, the United States holds the largest number of think tanks in 2020, followed by China (1,413), India (612), United Kingdom (515) and South Korea (412).    

Forty-six think tanks from Bangladesh participated in the ranking.

The Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) – which specialises in the research of rice production – and CPD are once again listed as the Top Food Security Think Tanks in the Bangladesh category.

Brac, the world's largest non-governmental organisation, remained in 24th place in the Top Social Policy Think Tanks, where BIDS and the Brac Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) came in at 56th and 110th in the same category, respectively.

IPAG, one of the youngest non-governmental international think tanks in Bangladesh, was ranked in five of Bangladesh's categories: Top Energy and Resource Policy Think Tanks (45th), Top International Development Policy Think Tanks (41st), Best Institutional Collaboration Involving Two or More Think Tanks (73rd), Best Think Tank Conference (56th), Think Tank to Watch in 2020 (26th), and Think Tanks with the Best External Relations/Public Engagement Program (70th).

Further, Preneur Lab Trust from Bangladesh has been named a 2020 Best New Think Tank.