AKM Maksud — Research Director, South Asia

Maksud has been working as a social researcher and as an expert in non-profit project design and management, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation for the last 30 years in Bangladesh and Nepal. Maksud obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1988 and a Master of Social Sciences (MSS) degree in Sociology in 1990 from the University of Dhaka (Bangladesh) and obtained his Bachelor of Laws (Honours) degree in 2017 from the University of London.

Maksud has excellent capacities of designing and development of technical and cost proposal for social research, design and development of data collection instruments, design and development of PRA/PLA tools, selection of appropriate method for the research studies, planning for data collection, develop training curriculum for the field research team, design and development of data entry and analysis programs, and finally report writing. Maksud’s other professional abilities include designing, planning, and managing non-profit social development projects; institutional capacity building; developing policy papers and operational manuals on development projects; organizing and conducting participatory workshops; designing and developing technical and cost proposals for both social development and social research projects.

Since 1993, he is actively involved in social research related to worst forms of child labour, poverty, population, tobacco control, public health, education, HIV/AIDS and STDs, Nutrition, water & sanitation, livelihood, environment and climate change, local governance, women development, gender, Behavioral Change Communication (BCC), globalization, economic and rural electrification (economic infrastructure), social policy and development strategy studies. During my professional career I worked as a Principal Investigator/Team Leader/sociologist with 71 social research projects those were funded by DFID, Institute of Development Studies UK, Government of Bangladesh, World Vision Bangladesh, Aga Khan Foundation, Asian Development Bank, WaterAid Bangladesh, Consortium for Street Children, Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) Bangladesh, ActionAid Bangladesh, Save the Children UK, Acid Survivors Foundation, CARE-Bangladesh, UNFPA, Research Initiatives Bangladesh, CIDA, UNICEF, BCO, EngenderHealth-New York, USAID/NRECA, Oxfam GB, World Health Organization (WHO), Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS), Concern Bangladesh, International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Grameen trust (Grameen Bank), ICDDR,B, Swisscontact, World Bank, Pathfinder International, Social Marketing Company. He is the founder and Executive Director of DATASEARCH, a reputed social research organization in Bangladesh.

Maksud is the founder and Executive Director of Grambangla Unnayan Committee, a national non-governmental organization since 1997. He worked as Project Director/Program Manager for implementing 36 social development projects on child labour and modern slavery, child waste pickers, child daycare, pre-schooling and early childhood development and care, non-formal education,  tobacco control, primary health care, health education, HIV and AIDS, housing for the slum dwellers, child protection and safeguarding, poverty, renewable energy, climate change, vulnerable group development of rural destitute women, etc. The projects were supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Union and The Vital Strategies, FCDO-UKAID, UNESCO, Government of Bangladesh, Protichi Foundation (A foundation of the Nobel laureate Amartya Sen), Big Lottery Fund, Comic Relief USA, GIZ, ActionAid, Save the Children International, UrbaMonde-Suisse, Selavip, Asian Council of Housing Rights (ACHR), ChildHope UK, Consortium for Street Children UK, University College London, Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO),  Global Brands Group (GBG), LC Packaging BV Netherlands, Commonwealth Foundation, Karuna Trust UK, Traid UK, etc.

Maksud was awarded ASHOKA Fellowship from Ashoka USA. Maksud served as a Member of the Technical Committee of the National AIDS Committee (2008-2012) under the Government of Bangladesh. Maksud is currently a member of the National Child Labour Welfare Council of the Government of Bangladesh.