Year
2025
Reform Domain
Data
Sub Domain
Accessibility
Source of Reform Proposals
Report of the Taskforce Strengthening BBS National Statistical Organisation
Reform Proposed
Reform Initiated
Legal and Policy Framework
Operationalisation
Action Implementation
Stage of Implementation
Reform Proposed
Last Update: 25-Oct-26
This reform proposal has not been initiated yet.
Reform Initiated
Last Update: 25-Oct-26
On 21 June 2026, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics formed a committee to prepare recommendations for ensuring the preparation and publication of quality statistics. Under its Terms of Reference, the committee was authorised, where necessary, to consult relevant stakeholders and obtain their views while preparing recommendations and a time-bound action plan for BBS reform.
Legal and Policy Framework
Last Update: 25-Oct-26
In April 2026, BBS published the dedicated Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of the Microdata Analysis Lab developed under the KOICA-supported CBSSP Project. The SOP establishes the Lab’s governance and access arrangements, including a formal application and approval process, confidentiality requirements, on-site access rules, designated workstations and software, and mandatory disclosure review before analytical outputs can be released. It also sets out operational procedures, user responsibilities, application forms, disclosure checklists, and equipment arrangements, thereby providing an institutional framework for the Lab’s functioning.
Operationalisation
Last Update: 25-Oct-26
On 22 June 2026, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics launched a Microdata Analysis Lab as a secure on-site facility for authorised researchers, students, economists, policymakers, and other users to access and analyse anonymised census and survey microdata. The facility provides a dedicated research-access mechanism and functionally advances the Taskforce proposal for establishing a Research Visitor Room. The draft Data and Microdata Dissemination and Access Policy, 2026 also mentioned the Microdata Analysis Lab into BBS’s proposed data-access framework. It defines the Lab as an on-site secure research environment and provides that BBS will establish and operate it for the secure analysis of sensitive microdata, with access, security, approval, and operating procedures governed through separate guidelines and SOPs.
Observation
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The Microdata Analysis Lab has already been established and represents a significant step towards the Taskforce proposal for a dedicated Research Visitor Room. The Lab has a defined operational framework, including an application and approval process, fixed operating hours, dedicated workstations and analytical software, and procedures for protecting confidentiality and reviewing research outputs. However, it is limited to approved researchers and other eligible users, and analysis must be conducted on-site, with no remote access permitted. While the Lab substantially advances this component of the proposal, it mainly serves approved researchers who need secure access to microdata, rather than functioning as a broader visitor facility. BBS is also preparing an Integrated Statistical Data Warehouse (ISDW), with a pilot planned for the third and fourth quarters of 2027 and full operational control expected to transfer to BBS by 2028. Once operational, the warehouse could support the Microdata Analysis Lab by providing a more integrated, standardised and accessible data environment for research and controlled microdata use.
It may be noted that the taskforce proposal also calls for the establishment of a one-stop dedicated window within the National Statistical Organisation to respond to users, applicants, and visitors through both in-person and virtual channels. It also provides for a dedicated Research Visitor Room, an Annual Stakeholder Conference, and formal internship opportunities for young professionals. In addition, the proposal envisages the publication of an annual data-release calendar to improve the predictability of statistical dissemination.
The draft Data and Microdata Dissemination and Access Policy, 2026 also mentioned provisions relating to the Microdata Analysis Lab. On 7 October 2026, the Statistics and Informatics Division issued a notice for an inter-ministerial meeting scheduled for 12 October to finalise the draft policy, indicating that the policy formulation process was still ongoing at that time.
Resources