The expansion of BRAC both home and abroad and its diversity is challenging our mid level managers to address new and additional responsibilities on a continual basis. In the new landscape within which BRAC is functioning, its mid level managers have to quickly understand new contexts, address new problems and engage with a wider set of development actors and issues. The role today involves more than effective programme implementation, and includes networking, advising and influencing agendas. A sound understanding of contemporary development concepts, approaches, debates and policies from a global perspective thus becomes critical.

Under the given changed situation a need was strongly felt that BRAC (please see website www.brac.net) should undertake more comprehensive measures to develop the capacity of its managerial staff through strengthening their competencies and also to prepare them for taking higher responsibilities. Although, BRAC Training Division has been playing a vital role for supporting the capacity development initiatives, BRAC realizes that the new challenges it is facing and likely to encounter in the future given its expanded operational context may not be adequate to address the higher level needs of the managers.

In the past, BRAC managers have benefited from the Global Partnership (please see website www.global-partnership.net). But only forty managers from BRAC programs completed the Postgraduate Diploma program in NGO Leadership and Management organized by the Global Partnership during the period of 1997- 2004. Out of forty, seven also completed their Masters in International and Intercultural Management from the School of International Training (SIT), Brattleboro, Vermont, USA. During the same period another group of nine BRAC managers also attended a nine months long Diploma program in Rural Planning and Development from the Guelph University, Canada. Before the Global Partnership begins offering its Diploma and Masters program, BRAC also sent a total of ten senior and mid level managers in different years for attending Masters in Development Management program offered by the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), Philippines.

It may be noted here that based on the follow up discussion on the findings of the recent external evaluation on the GP’s Postgraduate Diploma in NGO Leadership and Management, BRAC Training Division has been asked to develop exclusive management programs only for the BRAC managers addressing its specific development, leadership and managerial needs given the new operational realities of BRAC.

It was observed the present short training courses organized by the BRAC Training Division for BRAC staff were focusing more on developing their operational skills, which though vital to manage the program activities effectively, were not adequate. The new reality of BRAC’s programmatic landscape requires its mid level managers to have a good grasp of the bigger picture of development challenges, concepts, and debates. This is also important to prepare them for taking higher organizational responsibilities and maintain the relevance of BRAC in an ever changing context.

Keeping this in mind BRAC is thinking to undertake more comprehensive capacity development initiatives to develop the future leaders and managers of the organization.