Consultants were engaged by UNDP Bangladesh to run a structured, evidence-led feasibility study for the Bangladesh Parliament Secretariat, funded by the Embassy of Switzerland.
| 7 | 10 | 5 | 6 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parliament wings assessed | Key informant interviews | Countries benchmarked | Aug–Dec 2025 delivery |
Why Bangladesh’s Parliament needed an e-Parliament feasibility study
Bangladesh’s Parliament had the aspiration to be a modern, transparent legislature – but its day-to-day reality told a different story. Bills, committee reports and archives were all still on paper, and the rules didn’t even allow virtual sessions – a gap that became evident during COVID-19, when other countries’ parliaments moved online and Bangladesh’s couldn’t.
UNDP Bangladesh was looking for a firm to translate that aspiration into something the government could really afford and fund. Not a sales pitch from a vendor, but an honest, independent, well-reasoned study based on Bangladesh’s own official planning guidelines.
Our five-stage approach
We broke the work into five clear stages, each ending with something concrete handed over – so UNDP and Parliament always knew exactly where things stood: Getting Started & Planning, Gathering the Evidence, Writing It Up, Testing It With Real People, and Turning It Into a Fundable Proposal.
Who We Brought In
This wasn’t a two‑person desk study. We assembled a multidisciplinary panel of academic, civil‑society, and international experts to ensure the work was rigorous, balanced, and grounded in real‑world practice. The panel included a university professor from a Law Department, a social scientist with expertise in technology and society, and a digital transformation specialist with direct experience supporting parliaments through the Inter‑Parliamentary Union (IPU)..
The Solution
Findings from all seven Parliament departments were pulled together and compared against the future-state vision. We scored every proposed digital service on how much time and money it would save, how much it would improve transparency, and how citizens would benefit – then plotted that against how hard and expensive each one would actually be to build.
How It Came Together
1. Kickoff report – confirmed our approach with UNDP before a single interview happened.
2. Draft report – pulled together every wing’s workshops, interviews, and stakeholder conversations into early recommendations.
3. Validation workshop – let MPs, Parliament staff, and outside experts openly challenge those recommendations before anything was locked in.
4. Final report & funding proposal – turned the validated roadmap into the budget and paperwork the government needed to actually fund it.
utcomes: a fundable e-Parliament roadmap
A clear, phased roadmap for digitizing Parliament – easiest, highest-impact changes first.
A government-ready funding proposal, formatted for Bangladesh’s official approval pipeline.
A financial case that holds up against the government’s own investment standards.
Recommendations tested in the open by real MPs and experts, not decided behind closed doors.
A study UNDP and Parliament can actually hand to decision-makers – not file away.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an e-Parliament?
An e-Parliament moves a legislature’s work, such as bills, committee reports and archives, from paper to digital tools, including virtual sittings where rules allow.
Who commissioned and funded the study?
UNDP Bangladesh engaged us and BISR to study e-Parliament feasibility for the Parliament Secretariat, with funding from the Embassy of Switzerland.
How long did the study take, and what did it cover?
About six months, delivered August to December 2025, covering seven Parliament wings, ten key informant interviews and five benchmarked countries.
More to Explore
The Quest for Knowledge Continues. Fuel Your Curiosity.
