Anowara – a remote region in Bangladesh’s south-eastern district of Chittagong. The Union Nirbahi Officer - the chief administrator of the union (the lowest government administrative body)n - has called a GO-NGO coordination meeting to present and discuss activities carried out by the different organisations operating in his jurisdiction. For the first time in Anowara’s history, a multi-media presentation on BRAC’s activities in the region is delivered to a packed audience comprised of local government representatives, the Union Chairman and representatives of various NGOs operating in the area. The presenter is a special BRAC delegate - one of 21 staff members in the recently appointed first batch of District BRAC Representatives (DBRs).
The DBRs are specially recruited and trained with a strong understanding of BRAC’s vision, mission, values and objectives and a thorough knowledge of its operations, particularly for their designated region. The first batch has been assigned 23 districts as their working areas. The continuous expansion in both range and scale of BRAC’s activities created the need for a specialised liaison present full time at the district level, equipped with the training, information and access necessary to ensure a smooth, consistent and accurate flow of information to a broad array of internal and external audience groups, including government agencies, the media and local community members as well as BRAC programme staff. The mandate of DBRs is to maintain and strengthen BRAC’s relationship with these stakeholder groups, local government in particular. The DBRs also fulfil the role of the information officer required under the Right to Information act.
Some of the responsibilities currently being undertaken by the DBRs were previously carried out by the BRAC Local Representative (BLR). The BLRs were typically the senior-most BRAC staff member in a region who carried out liaison duties in addition to his/her regular programme work. As communication requirements grew and the BLRs became over-burdened in their dual roles, the need for a standalone liaison network arose.
The DBR’s full-time mandate includes addressing internal and external information queries, representing BRAC at local events, maintaining regular communications with key government representatives and local journalists, organising BRAC exposure events and field visits, etc. Their duties also include improving the effectiveness of internal communication within BRAC, acting as a bridge between head office and the field offices. They are an integral extension of the internal communications network, acting as the eyes and ears on the ground, policing the brand and helping uphold the integrity of BRAC’s culture and values.
The DBR training regime includes development of communications and presentation skills, media management techniques, etc. and they are each equipped with laptops and multimedia kits to ensure ability to make individual presentations while remaining geographically mobile. The second batch of 19 DBRs has recently completed training and is awaiting deployment. The DBR programme is a strong example of BRAC’s continued commitment to ensuring transparency and accountability in all its work.
The DBRs are specially recruited and trained with a strong understanding of BRAC’s vision, mission, values and objectives and a thorough knowledge of its operations, particularly for their designated region. The first batch has been assigned 23 districts as their working areas. The continuous expansion in both range and scale of BRAC’s activities created the need for a specialised liaison present full time at the district level, equipped with the training, information and access necessary to ensure a smooth, consistent and accurate flow of information to a broad array of internal and external audience groups, including government agencies, the media and local community members as well as BRAC programme staff. The mandate of DBRs is to maintain and strengthen BRAC’s relationship with these stakeholder groups, local government in particular. The DBRs also fulfil the role of the information officer required under the Right to Information act.
Some of the responsibilities currently being undertaken by the DBRs were previously carried out by the BRAC Local Representative (BLR). The BLRs were typically the senior-most BRAC staff member in a region who carried out liaison duties in addition to his/her regular programme work. As communication requirements grew and the BLRs became over-burdened in their dual roles, the need for a standalone liaison network arose.
The DBR’s full-time mandate includes addressing internal and external information queries, representing BRAC at local events, maintaining regular communications with key government representatives and local journalists, organising BRAC exposure events and field visits, etc. Their duties also include improving the effectiveness of internal communication within BRAC, acting as a bridge between head office and the field offices. They are an integral extension of the internal communications network, acting as the eyes and ears on the ground, policing the brand and helping uphold the integrity of BRAC’s culture and values.
The DBR training regime includes development of communications and presentation skills, media management techniques, etc. and they are each equipped with laptops and multimedia kits to ensure ability to make individual presentations while remaining geographically mobile. The second batch of 19 DBRs has recently completed training and is awaiting deployment. The DBR programme is a strong example of BRAC’s continued commitment to ensuring transparency and accountability in all its work.
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