1. To be known as the premier research and policy advocacy group in North America with interdisciplinary skills dedicated to inform and influence the development of Bangladesh through intellectual engagement and policy advocacy.
2. To engage in scholarly research with policy implications in matters related (but not limited) to: a. Economic issues such as the government’s development strategy pertaining to economic growth, fiscal and monetary incentives, infrastructure provision, national security, institution building, human resource development, and strengthening of the financial sector. b. Social issues such as empowerment of women and excluded groups, protection of human rights, environmental management, and transparency and accountability in the public and private sectors, establishment of democratic habits and values, and removal of gross injustices in society.
3. To make BDI a conscious and deliberative voice for sustained and comprehensive development in Bangladesh.
Mission
1. Energize/motivate the intellectual community to use BDI/JBS as a platform to generate ideas through research to help shape policy and specific action.
2. Disseminate intellectually sophisticated and policy-relevant ideas through the Journal of Bangladesh Studies (JBS), books, conferences and other publications incorporating expert opinion and relevant research.
3. Generate a body of policy-relevant ideas and research relevant to issues of development in Bangladesh and archive them (Issues of JBS, books, conference proceedings, and other written material) so that they are available to the public, researchers and policymakers.
4. Engage in development by participating in civil society, nurturing women’s empowerment, devising mechanisms to fight corruption, building schools and hospitals, providing scholarships and research support, and installing chaired positions in the universities.