A Journey of Research Mentorship and Skill Development in Bangladesh Participants at a Learning Lab session. © 2022 Shusmita Khan/Data for Impact October 22, 2024 By Data for Impact (D4I) D4I strengthens the capacity of local researchers to work with policymakers and program implementers in USAID priority countries to increase the use of data to inform policies and programmatic decision-making. D4I fosters collaboration, experiential learning activities, mentorship, and tailoring peer networks to meet partners’ needs. For more than a decade, icddr,b in Bangladesh has worked with the USAID-funded MEASURE Evaluation and D4I projects on a multitude of research activities. Through this partnership, D4I has implemented various approaches to strengthen the research and dissemination capacity of icddr,b staff. In the final year of the project, D4I had the opportunity to interview two key icddr,b staff members on their experiences with D4I. M. Moinuddin Haider is an Associate Scientist in the Health Systems and Population Studies Division at icddr,b, Bangladesh. He received an MSc in Applied Statistics from the University of Dhaka and a Master of Public Health from the Independent University, Bangladesh. He has 14 years of experience in M&E of population, health, and nutrition programs, plus survey and demographic surveillance research. His area of expertise includes sexual and reproductive health, health and demographic measurement improvement in population-based surveys, and social determinants of health. M. Moinuddin Haider, Associate Scientist, icddr,b. Photo provided by Haider. M. Moinnuddin Haider has worked with both D4I and MEASURE Evaluation since 2012. Under MEASURE Evaluation, his responsibilities progressed from data analysis and tool development to writing manuscripts and mentoring other researchers at icddr,b. His journey from learner to facilitator was evident when he became a co-facilitator of capacity strengthening workshops for early-career statisticians at icddr,b and the University of Dhaka. Under D4I he also led studies and translated results, which strengthened his skills as a researcher to conduct statistical analyses, design and perform impact evaluations, and disseminate results to various audiences. He co-led the D4I Learning Labs, a role that allowed him to grow skills as a mentor to other researchers, putting his technical research skills to use by demonstrating to others how to analyze data and examine results. He expects to use the research skills strengthened under MEASURE Evaluation and D4I to conduct further research in many different fields. Md. Mahabubur Rahman is a Research Investigator in the Health Systems and Population Studies Division at icddr,b, Bangladesh. He received an MSc in Applied Statistics from the University of Dhaka. He has four years of experience in public health research. His area of expertise includes sampling design, experimental study design, regression modeling, sexual and reproductive health, evaluation of population, health, and nutrition programs, health and demographic measurement improvement in population-based surveys, and social determinants of health. Md. Mahabubur Rahman, Research Investigator, icddr,b. Photo provided by Rahman. Md. Mahabubur Rahman, one of Haider’s mentees, has worked with D4I since 2022. Through the support of D4I, he has attended multiple trainings. One workshop focused on the 2017-18 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS), where he learned about marginal effects and regression models. A second workshop about impact evaluations provided him with skills to interpret data and reasons for conducting evaluations. Because of the mentorship he received, his skills in conducting analyses and developing manuscripts were strengthened over time through D4I staff assistance in reviewing his work and providing guidance on manuscript writing. “Discussion sections of my manuscripts have greatly improved since working with D4I,” which now link results to the country context and policy implications rather than solely mentioning the results. “Whatever I am writing or analyzing is because of D4I. Anything I write, I learned this from D4I.” — Md. Mahabubur Rahman Participants at the BDHS workshop in December 2022. © 2022 Shushmita Khan/Data for Impact
