Directorial and Professional Staff

Dr. Durga Prasad Paudyal, Nepal
[Master's in Social Planning, University College of Swansea, U.K; Ph.D. in Local Level Planning, Wageningen Agricultural University, The Netherlands]
Director General

Email: dgcirdap@cirdap.org

With the expertise on local governance and decentralisation, Dr. Paudyal has extensive research experience on rural development issues across the Asia-Pacific region. He worked as Executive Director of Rural Self-Reliance Development Centre (1999-2004), Nepal. A Consulting Specialist, Dr. Paudyal served several national and international organisations in Nepal.  He was also a professional staff-member of CIRDAP from 1986-1995. He has contributed a lot in the policy-making process of Nepal as a member of the High Level Decentralisation Coordination Committee (1997) with the Chair of the Prime Minister of Nepal, and as a Member-Secretary of the High Level Committee to Strengthen Local Bodies (2003) constituted under the Chair of Minister of Local Development. Several papers and articles have been published to his credit, in both Nepali and English, in leading national and international newspapers and journals. Dr. Paudyal has assumed the position of the Director General of CIRDAP from 6 July 2004.

Dr. S. K. Singh, India

[Ph.D. in Political Science, India]

Director, Training Division

Email:sksingh@cirdap.org; sksingh49@gmail.com

A well – known academic, Dr Singh has been a professional Trainer and Researcher of long standing. Prior to joining CIRDAP, he was Professor and Head, National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD), Government of India, Hyderabad, India and also worked with International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, India. His areas of interest are Rural development, Decentralise Democratic Governance, Good Governance, Rural Local Government Systems, Service Delivery, Local Finance, Disaster Management, Family Welfare, Capacity Building, etc.

To his credit, he has published five books as sole author and three as co-author. He has edited a six volume series on Self-Governance for Tribals, a policy research studies sponsored by UNDP.  He has published more than hundred research papers / articles in reputed national / international journals and national dailies.  During his stay for more than two and half decades at NIRD, India, he has conducted about two hundred training programmes for national and international participants on various facets of rural development and local governance.  He has participated in several international / national conferences/workshops and presented papers. Participated in a long term programme at the School of Public Policy, University of Birmingham, U.K., on Planning and Management of Rural Development Programme. He is academically associated with several national / international bodies.  He has immensely contributed in strengthening of local government system in India and designed National Capacity Building Framework for elected and official functionaries of Panchayati Raj in India and served as member of several high level national committees dealing with rural local government and rural development. Also, he is on the Editorial Board of several professional journals / periodicals. Dr. Singh has joined CIRDAP on 1st February 2009.

Mr. Hossein Shahbaz, Iran

[Master's in Natural Resources, Tehran University]

Director (Pilot Projects)

Email: hshahbaz@cirdap.org; ppd@cirdap.org

Prior to joining CIRDAP, he was the Head of Supporting and Servicing Office for Agro-based Industries located in the rural areas, which was also the focal point of country for running a pilot project sharing with UNIDO to reduce post-harvest fruit and vegetable wastes on farmlands by training how to use drying technology. Accordingly he had a closer cooperation with two NGOs which was the executive manager of Iranian Wood and Furniture Industries Committee and the consultant of Home and Office Furniture Exporters’ Union.

He had been working for about 18 years for Ministry of Jihad-e-Agriculture, in the offices which basically were involved on rural development (RD), especially by leading small-scale industries (SSIs) to be established in rural areas and supporting them through offering facilities. He has written many manuals of small and medium industrial plans projects containing feasibility studies, market research, suitable technology for rural areas, economical and financial indexes such as BEP, IRR, Production Cost, Gant Chart and so on, with a view of helping the people who are going to invest and establish SSI in rural areas.

He is an expert on rural development qualified by international/national institutes and organisations such as Gulef University of Canada, Asian Productivity Organization (APO), Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO), and NIRD. He is an UNIDO qualified auditor of Industrial Clusters development projects running by CDA (Cluster Development Agent). 

He has participated in several international/national conferences and workshops and presented his papers on RD and SSIs. He is a member of Supreme Council of Iranian Official Experts (SCIOA). Mr. Hossein Shahbaz has joined CIRDAP in March 2009.
 

Dr. Majibar Rahman, Bangladesh 

[Master in Rural Social Development,

University of Reading, U.K.

M.Com. (Mgt.) First Class First ( Dhaka University)

Ph.D., Preston University, USA.]

Special Officer, PRMU

Email: mrahman@cirdap.org

Mr. Majibar Rahman has joined as Special Officer at the Planning and Resource Mobilisation Unit in CIRDAP in June 2006. A government servant for more than 15 years he has been serving in senior positions as a counterpart to expatriate/international advisors in several donor assisted projects devoted to rural development, poverty alleviation and livelihood improvement of the poor in Bangladesh. His areas of expertise/ specialisations include: Local governance, micro finance, promotion of income generating activities, micro enterprise development, flood proofing, participatory rural development and poverty alleviation, participatory planning, gender development, project preparation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. More specifically he worked for 8 years in RD-5 project as Deputy Project Director supported by SIDA and for 2 years in RD-9 project as Sr. Economic Development Manager assisted by EU . Mr. Majibar Rahman also acted as the Project Director in Participatory Rural Development Project ( PRDP) popularly known as the Link Model supported by JICA for long 4 years. Before joining to CIRDAP he worked in the capacity of Project Director, in Char Livelihood Programme (CLP) implemented by RDCD with financial and technical support from DFID. Mr. Rahman got National Award for his outstanding performance and contribution in the field of Cooperatives and Rural Development in 1986. He received training in UK, Greece, India and Japan in the field of Rural and Social Development; Cooperatives;  Micro finance; Human Security; Participatory Rural Development and Local Government in Japan; and  Rural Regional Development Planning  etc.
 

Ms.KhinMar Oo, Myanmar

[M.Sc. Agricultural Extension , University of Agricultural Science, Dharwad, India]

Programme Officer, Training

Email: khinmaroo@cirdap.org

Prior to joining CIRDAP she has served as a Programme Officer in the International Division, Department of Agricultural Planning, Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation in Myanmar for 11 years. She was particularly involved in activities pertaining to bilateral cooperation with Regional Organizations, International Organizations, UN Organizations, INGOs and NGOs for Rural Development and Agricultural Cooperation. Also she has participated in preparation of MOUs; Work Plans; Agricultural and Rural Development Project Planning, Management and Evaluation; and Disaster Preparedness Plan for the Agricultural Sector in Myanmar.

She has served as a Lecturer of the Agronomy Department in the State Agriculture Institute in Myanmar for 13 years. She also supervised the paddy farming project in her Institute, and  has successful experience in producing HYV paddy and transferring technologies to students as well as to farmers.

She has participated in several seminars, workshops and training programmes at national and international level. Ms Khin Mar Oo has joined CIRDAP in January 2010.

Mr. Sardar Muhammad Ali Khan, Pakistan

[M. Phil in Rural Development, Agricultural Univeristy, Pakistan

M.Sc (Hons) in Water Management

MBA (Human resource Management)]

Programme Officer, Research

Email: sardarkhan@cirdap.org
 

His areas of expertise includes works and Researches in Participatory Rural development, Poverty Alleviation, Water Management, Public Policy Implementation, and generally in Research, Teaching, Training and Disaster management, especially in earthquake-affected areas.  Sardar Muhammad Ali Khan served as a government officer for more than six years as Research Associate at National Institute of Management, Peshawar, Pakistan which is an in-service training institute for the civil bureaucracy of Pakistan.  He also served as an Independent Consultant with UNDP, WHO, WPF and SDC. Mr. Ali Khan was a lecturer in English and Pure Sciences at Beaconhouse School System for more than three years. 

He had attended numerous trainings such as ‘Executive Programme on Policy Analysis’ from Linden Group UK at NIPA Lahore in 2006 and attended a five-week training in ‘Community Management Skill’ at UNDP Kohat, on ‘Snow Lepard Conservation’ at WWF-Pakistan. ‘Impact of Morels (Mushrooms) on the Rural Economy of NWFP’- a research thesis (2000), ‘Critical Evaluation of Role of Public Administration in Alleviating Poverty & Improving Governance in Pakistan’ (NIPA-2004) & ‘New Irrigation Techniques- A Role Model for replication’ (2006), are some publications to his credit. He is fully exposed to a competitive Research & Teaching/Training environment carrying requisite management and coordination skills. Mr. Ali Khan joined CIRDAP in May 2010.
 

Mr. Muhammad Anisuzzaman, Bangladesh

[B.A (Hons), M.A. in History,

M.A (International Relations),LL.B (Dhaka University)

Certificate in Management, Soviet Union (USSR)]

Head, Administration & Finance

Email: azaman@cirdap.org

As an Officer of the Administrative service of Bangladesh, Mr. Anisuzzaman worked in different Ministries and Organisations for 30 years including the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives – Contact Ministry of CIRDAP. Though his expertise is on Administration and Management, he has developed knowledge and expertise in rural development of Bangladesh while he worked as Upazila Nirbahi Officer (Head of a small Administrative Unit under district) and Deputy Project Director under the Ministry of LGRD and Cooperatives. Mr. Anisuzzaman has joined CIRDAP in February 2005 as Administrative Officer.

Mr. Shafiqur Rahman, Bangladesh

[Master's in Statistics, Dhaka University]

Assistant Programme Officer

Email: srahman@cirdap.org

Mr. Rahman gained wide experience in the field of sustainable development and environment and related issues, with his active involvement in the multidisciplinary research/action research projects of CIRDAP. An expert-trainer of participatory development programmes, and a resource person in a number of seminars/workshops, Mr. Rahman is trained in statistical methods; community nutrition; research methodology and management of rural development projects; project design, monitoring and evaluation; poverty measurement and analysis; social accounting matrix; general algebraic modelling system; computerised information system; spreadsheet analysis using Lotus 1-2-3; and programming on Cobol and Foxpro. He has authored/coauthored a number of research articles and publications of the Centre. Mr. Rahman worked as a project staff in the project “Food Control Drainage and Irrigation (FCDI) since 1986 prior to his formal joining in CIRDAP in 1991.

Mr. David Hilton, Bangladesh

[B.S.S. (Hons.), M.S.S. in Govt. & Politics, Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh,

M.S in Economic Development,

Eastern University, USA]

Assistant Programme Officer

Email: dhilton@cirdap.org
 

Prior to joining CIRDAP, he served as Training Officer for two years and later Research and Evaluation Officer for three years in World Vision of Bangladesh (an international NGO). Worked as an Intern Consultant in two non-profit organisations, viz. Olde Kensington Redevelopment Corporation and St. Simeon's Community Centre, Philadelphia, USA, and assisted in developing their strategic plan, funding strategy, organisational development etc. His areas of expertise include project feasibility, baseline survey, management, participatory monitoring and evaluation. Experienced as facilitator in Participatory Project Cycle Management and PRA exercises both at home and abroad. He also participated in several workshops, trainings at national and international level. Mr. David has joined CIRDAP in March 1998.

Muhammad Shahadat Hossain, Bangladesh

[M.Com (Acct.), MBA (Finance)-EWU, CA (cc),

Finance Officer

Email: shahadat@cirdap.org

Mr.Muhammad Shahadat Hossain has Joined CIRDAP as a Finance Officer on 15 April 2008.Previously he worked in a Multinational organization named Asian Consumer Care (Pvt) Ltd (A joint venture of Dabur International & ACI Ltd), ACI Center, 245 Tejgaon Dhaka-1208. & he worked also PRAN-RFL group As a Assistant Manager(Accounts & Fund Management), PRAN-RFL group is one of the largest Local Food manufacturing company in Bangladesh. His total job experience in Accounts & Finance section for 8 years. He has intensive experience on Budgeting, Financial Planning and Reporting, ratio analysis,fund management, company Law, Local TAX & VAT. 

Engr. Md. Waliul Hasnat, Bangladesh

[M. Sc in Computer Science & Engg. (DIU),

B.Sc. in Computer Science & Engg. (DUET)]

Computer Programmer

Email: hasnat@cirdap.org

Mr. Md. Waliul Hasnat joined CIRDAP as a Computer Programmer on 14 August 2008. He is an  IT professional with comprehensive technical skills and expertise on Information Technology, Computer Hardware and Network Management. He is conversant with most of the computer softwares along with essential utility softwares. He has worked in a number of national intuitions/organisations. Before joining CIRDAP, he has worked in SAARC Agriculture Centre (SAC), Dhaka, Bangladesh as an IT Manager. He also worked at the Prime Minister’s Office, Bangladesh as an IT Engineer. He has carried out numerous IT projects and assignments in national and international organisations. He has also experience to prepare Specifications, Tender Documents and Procurement as per Public Procurement Regulation 2003 (PPR03). He has participated in several seminars, workshops and training programmes at national and international level.

Mr. Safiul Azam, Bangladesh

[B.Sc. (Hons), M.Sc. in Statistics,

Chittagong University]

Assistant Protocol Officer

Email: sazam@cirdap.org

He has a good experience in organising travel and tour, related to international seminar, workshop, conference etc. To accomplish his protocol duties, he has to get in touch with the high-ranking officials and dignitaries at home and abroad. Mr. Azam has to arrange travel facilities for the CIRDAP staff as well as CMC dignitaries. He also has to contact the diplomatic missions in Dhaka for passports, visas and other travel documents for the CIRDAP delegates coming from abroad. Mr. Azam has joined CIRDAP in March 1991.

Ms. Zeenat Ahmed, Bangladesh

[M.S.S. in Economics, Dhaka University]

Assistant Information and Communication Officer

Email: zahmed@cirdap.org

She has experience in project management, monitoring and evaluation, and information management. Ms. Zeenat is also trained in economic modelling, growth and poverty issues.  She was a Research Associate at the Research Division for five years and was particularly involved with the IDRC-funded ‘Monitoring Adjustment and Poverty’ project.  At CIRDAP, she also served as Training Associate. Since April 2000, she has been serving as Assistant Information and Communications Officer. Ms. Zeenat has joined CIRDAP in August 1994.

Dr. Usharani Boruah, India

[Ph.D. In Library Science, Moscow State University of Arts And Culture. Russia, Moscow]
Librarian

Email: usharani@cirdap.org

Dr. Usharani Boruah served as a Librarian in various Organisations for more than 8 years. She worked as a Librarian in the Indian Embassy, Moscow and Indian International School  Moscow, Russia. She worked as Librarian of the University of Development Alternative (UODA ) Dhaka, Bangladesh and also as  Medical Librarian in Apollo Hospitals Dhaka. Dr. Boruah has vast experience in Library Development Education Programmes, Community Development Education Programme, Ethenic Development Educations Programme through Library Education and Policy. Dr. Usharani Boruah joined CIRDAP in July 2007.

Mr. S. M. Saifuddin, Bangladesh

[B.A (Hons), M.A in Mass Communication and Journalism, Dhaka University;

M.Phil. in English Studies, National University]

Publication Assistant

Email: saifuddin@cirdap.org

With his primary background in the field of information management and journalism, Mr. Saifuddin developed his expertise on editing and page layout. He has edited several publications of CIRDAP. Equipped with knowledge on DTP software packages, he has good experience in printing and publishing line. As a Sub-editor, he worked in the English daily The Daily Star for about eight years.  Mr. Saifuddin has joined CIRDAP in December 2000.