Qualitative research found wanting: adviser

Developing skills is the key to conducting effective research, which is an important tool for finding solutions to problems, Prime Minister's International Affairs Adviser Gowher Rizvi said yesterday.

At present, the local institutes' contribution of qualitative and quantitative research is found wanting, which can partly be attributable to the absence of resources, he said.

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“Our research capacity has not been developed sufficiently. I don't mean to say there is no good institution to be found here -- in fact, there are a good number of them. But the skills and training that are required for conducting research is inadequate.”

“To do that, we need to develop our research skills. We need more post-graduate courses and more think-tanks, as opposed to desktop research and consultancy type of research.”

Rizvi's comments came at a seminar styled “Horizon 2020, from the lab to the market: cooperation on research and innovation between EU and Bangladesh”, jointly organised by the European Union delegation to the country and Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) at the capital's Westin hotel.

He said no difficulties or problems can be solved from a single perspective. Even no scholar, save for an outstanding one, can solve a problem on his/her own.

“Diverse people from diverse sectors come together to solve a question, whether it is related with poverty, technology, environment and climate changes -- whatever it is, we need a combined effort from diverse disciplines.”

He also urged local researchers and institutions to collaborate with their counterparts from around the world.

“We will have to be tested. We will have to compare our work with those from around the world.”

Presenting a keynote at the seminar, Denis Dambois, regional counsellor on research and innovation of the EU delegation to India, said the 'horizon 2020' is one of the largest and most open public research and innovation programmes in the world and around 80 billion euros are allocated for it.

Between 2007 and 2013, 17 research teams from Bangladesh were included in 15 projects.

The most active Bangladeshi participants are: Brac University, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh and the Institute of Water Modelling.

Pierre Mayaudon, head of the EU delegation to Bangladesh, and Munshi Faiz Ahmed, chairman of BIISS, also spoke at the seminar.