A meeting of BIDS Senior Fellows was held on 20 May, 2019 at the BIDS Conference Room. This distinguished body represents a key window to civil society and is highly valued by BIDS. The meeting was attended by  Mr. M Syeduzzaman, Professor Nazrul Islam, Dr. A.M.M. Shawkat Ali, Dr. Mushtaque Reza Chowdhury, Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur and Dr. Mahbubul Mokaddem Akash.  Dr. K. A. S. Murshid, Director General, BIDS made a presentation on ongoing and completed studies of BIDS, and also up dated the Fellows on issues related to staffing, finance and the newly formed BIDS Graduate School of Economics.  Senior BIDS researchers also attended the meeting. The DG welcomed everyone to the meeting and especially acknowledged his gratitude to its  new members.

A lively conversation then took place around research requirements and gaps, and strategies to breach the research-policy divide. Questions were also raised about research agenda setting and timing of flagship events, like the Research Almanac and BIDS Critical Conversations. The Senior Fellows emphasized on improving capacity to anticipate and tackle major issues in a proactive manner, to identify capacity gaps and take steps to fill those, undertake collaborative research with Universities, and develop further outreach with civil society, especially the youth. 

The DG thanked members and assured them that BIDS will try very hard to respond to their suggestions, subject to staff and resource constraints.