The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) has drifted away from its fundamental mission of producing regular, objective, and high-quality national data due to an entrenched “project-driven culture,” according to a new taskforce report released on Monday.
The report, unveiled during an event marking National Statistics Day on Monday, found that excessive dependence on donor-funded projects has weakened field-level survey capacity, compromised data quality, and fostered a bureaucratic, headquarters centric work culture within the agency.
It says that political sensitivity, bureaucratic rigidity, and over-reliance on externally financed projects have together delayed and distorted Bangladesh’s official data publication process.
According to the taskforce, BBS has long been trapped in a cycle of project dependency that has eroded institutional memory, created unhealthy internal competition, and reduced the agency’s ability to conduct rigorous fieldwork.
The report traces this dependency to the mid-2000s, when funding uncertainty forced BBS to rely heavily on donor-supported initiatives. Over time, this evolved into a full-fledged “project culture,” creating data silos, encouraging the use of externally imposed methodologies, and worsening inefficiency and waste in the bureau’s budgeting system.
“To transform BBS into a modern, professional, and independent national statistical organization, it must break free from project dependency and adopt a permanent institutional and policy framework,” said Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman, economist and chair of the taskforce.
Formed on April 28, 2025, by the Statistics and Informatics Division (SID), the eight-member expert taskforce was mandated to review BBS’s data quality, transparency, survey methodology, and organizational capacity, and to recommend necessary reforms.
The report also warned that BBS remains vulnerable to political interference, with administrative and political pressure affecting the release of data that might reflect negatively on government performance. This, it said, undermines both the credibility and timeliness of official statistics.
“Public trust in official data can only be restored when it is produced professionally, transparently, and free from political influence,” the report emphasized.
The taskforce underscored that a credible National Statistics Office (NSO) is vital for modern governance, supporting evidence-based policymaking, accountability, efficient resource allocation, and informed public dialogue.
As a way forward, it recommended forming a task team under the Planning Adviser to oversee and accelerate the implementation of the report’s recommendations.
Dr Zillur concluded, “We hope this analysis and set of recommendations will help build BBS into a truly strong and independent institution — one that serves the interests of both the state and its citizens.”