On 10 June, Brac University’s Vice Chancellor Vincent Chang welcomed Dr. Erin Leitheiser of Copenhagen Business School to kick off the new project, The Regulation of International Supply Chains (RISC): Lessons from the Governance of Occupational Health and Safety in Bangladesh Ready-Made Garments. Professor Shahidur Rahman at the Department of Economics and Social Sciences will lead Brac University’s work on RISC.
The project brings together researchers from Copenhagen Business School (Denmark), Brac University, Tufts University (USA), and the Danish Ethical Trading Initiative to investigate the state of social sustainability in the RMG industry, identify attributes of effective governance, and contribute to both academic and practical knowledge on the governance of sustainability in international supply chains. RISC has been made possible through a grant from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, administered by Danida Fellowship Centre. The project will run for two years, from June 2019 until May 2021.
A unique approach of the project is that of capacity building. It begins with the premise that sustainable, systemic change is best accomplished when locally-driven and managed. Accordingly, two full-time Research Associates and one Research Assistant have been hired who will receive training and development opportunities while carrying out the research. The findings and evidence of the research will be used both to generate new academic knowledge as well as to formulate practical recommendations for the industry. RISC will also seek to identify and support local organizations to uptake the findings and recommendations.