Public Policy and Governance (PPG) Program under the Department of Political Science and Sociology of North South University is an international program in collaboration with Department of Administration and Organization Theory of University of Bergen (UoB), Norway, Central Department of Public Administration (CDPA) of Tribhuvan University (TU), Nepal, North South University (NSU), Bangladesh, and University of Peradeniya (UoP) from Sri Lanka. The program is funded by Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) as part of the capacity building of the public sector management practitioners. The Master degree (Master in Public Policy and Governance) offered under PPG program is a two year long research based graduate program.
For more information, please visit: www.mppg-nsu.org
RESEARCH ACTIVITIES AT PPG PROGRAM
Citizens’ Charter 2010
The citizens’ charter survey was carried out in Bangladesh and Nepal simultaneously during November 2009 – February 2010. It was a household questionnaire survey with 1,000 sample size measuring citizen responsiveness and service delivery at city corporations and municipal levels in Bangladesh. The study covered only urban areas in 4 City Corporations-Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna and Rajshahi, and 4 Pourashabhas- Narayanganj, Gazipur, Satkhira and Sherpur.
Citizen's Trust in Public and Political Institutions in Bangladesh and Nepal 2009
This survey was carried out in 2009 in Bangladesh and Nepal to assess the level of citizen’s trust towards different public and private institution and services. This study covered 2,000 households and the method was personal interview with a person who is 18 or above in a household. After selecting 21 districts from 6 divisions (Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Barisal, and Sylhet) and deciding the number of interviews from a district, the sample was again divided on the basis of upazila (or sub-district), and respondents were randomly selected from households from 43 upazilas. The study measures citizens’ trust on public institutions, citizen responsiveness, quality of governance and perspective on politics.
Citizen's Trust in Public and Political Institutions in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal 2015
Administering the same questionnaire that was used in 2009, a follow up study was conducted on citizen’s trust in public and political institutions in Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka in 2015 under the NORAD funded PGS project. Similar survey instruments have been administered in all three countries except a few country specific questions. The main objectives of the survey are to map and diagnose public sector dysfunctions of the countries; and to assess the satisfaction level of citizens towards different service delivery organizations as well as political and administrative institutions. The sample size was 2,800 for Bangladesh, 2,400 for Nepal and for Sri Lanka 1,800. The data collection of all these 3 countries has been completed and individual country report as well as cross country report will be published soon.
State of Democracy in South Asia (SDSA, Phase II) 2014
State of Democracy in South Asia (SDSA) phase II which was conducted in 2014 is a regional study to measure the level of citizens’ perception on democracy – democratic practices, norms and practices. With financial and technical support from Lokniti-CSDS, Delhi, India on training and administering survey instrument, MPPG Program at NSU, Dhaka, Bangladesh acted as partnering organization in conducting the research. The survey used standard Global Barometer instrument followed by country specific questions. The survey was cross sectional with a targeted population of 3000.
Some pictures of data collection by PPG enumerators at field level
Governance in South, South East and East Asia: Trends, Issues and Challenges (2015)
Edited by Dr. Ishtiaq Jamil, Professor Salahuddin M. Aminuzzaman, Dr. Sk. Tawfique M. Haque
The book has been published in June 2015 by Springer, USA. This book explores and analyzes governance and policy issues in South, Southeast, and East Asia. It maps governance challenges and analyzes current trends from the perspectives of democracy, public policy, and public institutions. This edited book is another milestone of Public Policy and Governance (PPG) Program of NSU. The publication of this book is an outcome of the international conference organized by the PPG Program in 2012 and includes 15 chapters containing papers contributed by several scholars.
Another publication of a book worth mentioning is Understanding Governance and Public Policy in Bangladesh (2012) jointly edited by Dr. Ishtiaq Jamil, Prof. Salahuddin M. Aminuzzaman, Dr. Steinar Askvik and Dr. Tawfique M. Haque. This book is a collection of essays on governance, public policy, public management reforms, policy implementation, and local governance in the era of New Public Management.
Another publication of a book worth mentioning is Understanding Governance and Public Policy in Bangladesh (2012) jointly edited by Dr. Ishtiaq Jamil, Prof. Salahuddin M. Aminuzzaman, Dr. Steinar Askvik and Dr. Tawfique M. Haque. This book is a collection of essays on governance, public policy, public management reforms, policy implementation, and local governance in the era of New Public Management.
Publication of MPPG Policy Paper
Title: Career Planning of Bangladesh Civil Service
Author: Salahuddin M. Aminuzzaman, Adviser, PPG Program, North South University
Publication of MPPG Working Papers
4 MPPG Working Papers have been published by the PPG Program, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The contents of the working papers are drawn from the students’ theses of Master in Public Policy and Governance (MPPG) Program. This is a regular publication of the program. The best 2 theses of each batch of MPPG are selected for the publication as working paper. The papers are as follows:
1. MPPG Working Paper, series 1
Title: People's Participation in Development Project in Rural Bangladesh
Author: Sheikh Noor Mohammad, Senior Assistant Secretary in the Cabinet Division of the Government of Bangladesh (1st Batch of MPPG).
2. MPPG Working Paper, series 2
Title: Doctor Patient Communication in Health Care Service Delivery: A Case of Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu
Author: Sarbani Kattel, Senior Project Officer, National Business Initiative, Nepal (1st Batch of MPPG)
3. MPPG Working Paper, series 3
Title: Exploring the Realities of Service Delivery in the Offices of Assistant Commissioner (Land) in Dhaka city Author: Mahmood Ibne Kasem, PS to Secretary, Bridges Division (Senior Assistant Secretary), Ministry of Communication (2nd Batch of MPPG)
4. MPPG Working Paper, series 4
Title: Devolution versus Deconcentration: Land Service Delivery System in Sri Lanka
Author: M K Nadeeka Damayanthi, Research Officer at the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute in Sri Lanka (2nd Batch of MPPG)
Special Issue of PoR Journal
Some selected articles those were presented in the MPPG International Conference held on July 13-14, 2012 at Dhaka, Bangladesh, have been recently published as a special issue of Public Organization Review (POR), Volume 13, Issue 4, December 2013, Published by Springer, USA. The issue has been edited by Ishtiaq Jamil, Salahuddin M. Aminuzzaman, Sk. Tawfique M. Haque. In this special issue, 9 articles have been published.
Publication of Seminar Proceedings on Gender
PPG Program, in collaboration with Ministry of Women and Children Affairs Bangladesh, organized a day-long national seminar on Gender Policy in Bangladesh: Strategies, Constraints and Challenges on 05 October, 2013. This seminar aimed to raise questions and issues on gender awareness, review the existing gender policies and sensitize the participants with the current policies and programs of the Government of Bangladesh. The PPG Program has published a proceedings on the seminar held on 2013..jpg)
South Asian Journal of Policy and Governance (SJPG)
SJPG is a biannual journal jointly edited by faculty members from Tribhuvan University (TU), North South University (NSU) and University of Bergen (UiB) under ongoing project on Policy and Governance Studies in South Asia: Regional Master and PhD Programs. It is published both in hard copy and online on an open access basis available at: sjpg.pactu.edu.np 
PPG Program publishes a bi-annual newsletter titled as “PPG News”. The newsletter is published on January and June of every year. It covers activities, news, events etc. of the program..jpg)
Please visit: mppg-nsu.org for getting access to all the newsletters.