Who gets what and why

Abstract

Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) is a Bangladeshi voluntary organization dedicated to the social and economic development of rural Bangladesh. BRAC operates a number of integrated rural development programmes in different parts of Bangladesh. The activities include organisation of landless and marginal farmers, agriculture, fisheries development, youth organisation, training, health, family planning, nutrition, education, rural credit and employment generation. In the course of its activities over the last seven years BRAC has developed certain capacities within the organisation and gained some perceptions of the rural scene through experience at the grassroots. It was, however, felt that more systematic investigation and analysis of the structure and dynamics of society was essential for formulating appropriate development strategies. Moreover, insights gained through experience needed to be analysed and documented if they were to be of use to others. With these ends in view, BRAC decided to develop research capabilities within the organisation. This study is the first of the series of micro-studies which was undertaken in the process of training a group of BRAC staff on the basic principles of observational research.