Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on Monday unveiled its newly established Microdata Analysis Lab, aiming to enhance research, evidence-based policymaking and public trust through secure access to comprehensive government data.
Speaking at a stakeholder workshop on the lab at the NEC Conference Room, State Minister for Planning Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki stressed the growing importance of reliable statistics and in-depth analysis in development planning and public service delivery.
The workshop, titled “Stakeholder Sensitisation Workshop on Microdata Analysis Lab of BBS,” was organised under the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA)-supported Capacity Building of Statistics Service based on Platform (CBSSP) project.
“Evidence-based policymaking, development planning and the improvement of public services increasingly depend on reliable statistics and robust analysis,” the state minister said.
He said the lab would create new opportunities for research and policy analysis while ensuring data confidentiality and maintaining public trust.
He added that the initiative would help transform BBS from a data-producing agency into a modern national data service provider.
BBS officials said the agency regularly conducts national censuses and surveys and currently releases 5 per cent sample data from censuses and full survey datasets for users.
Through the new lab, researchers will be able to access complete census and survey microdata in a secure and controlled environment.
According to BBS, the facility has been established to ensure respondent confidentiality, data security and compliance with legal requirements while enabling wider use of official statistics.
Authorised students, researchers, economists and policymakers will be allowed to analyse anonymised microdata on-site following a prescribed application and approval process.
Raw microdata will not be permitted outside the lab.
Only outputs, including tables, graphs, codes and analytical results, cleared by a review committee will be released to users.
Statistics and Informatics Division Secretary Md Firoz Sarkar described the lab as a significant milestone in modernising BBS data services and making them more secure and user-centric.
BBS Acting Director General Mohammad Obaidul Islam said the initiative would provide a safe and well-governed platform for the use of official microdata by researchers and policymakers.
KOICA Bangladesh Country Director Jihoon Kim highlighted ongoing cooperation in strengthening BBS capacity, modernising data management and developing data platforms. He said the lab, alongside data warehousing and SDMX-based dissemination systems, would make Bangladesh’s official statistical system more effective and user-friendly.
Participants from government agencies, development partners, universities, research institutions and the media attended the workshop and shared views on data security, research support, metadata and future online access to microdata.
BBS also announced plans to introduce online microdata access, a microdata catalogue, metadata services and SDMX-based data dissemination by 2027 to further facilitate research and data-driven decision-making.