2026-2027 Policy Residency

Inclusion in Practice: Governing AI-Enabled Service Delivery in Bangladesh

The 2026-2027 policy residents examined how Bangladesh can govern AI-enabled digital government services in a way that promotes both inclusion and economic growth. Their policy brief, "Inclusion in Practice: Governing AI-Enabled Service Delivery in Bangladesh," explores how Bangladesh's new government has a window of opportunity to build a rights-based, context-sensitive model of digital governance rooted in accountability, transparency, and equity.

The research highlights how AI-enabled services risk deepening structural inequalities for digitally underrepresented communities, the critical role informal access brokers play in building trust and adoption, and the dangers of relying on imported, foreign-built AI models.

This report is intended to strengthen and build upon Bangladesh’s National AI Policy (2026-2030) as it moves toward implementation through three actionable policy recommendations:

  1. Algorithmic Impact Assessments (AIAs): Implement audits of government service delivery tools through the use of pre- and post-deployment AIAs for automated decision-making to ensure administrative actions adhere to the highest standards of accountability, transparency, and mechanisms for citizen redress.

  2. Procurement Standard for Bangla and Minority-Language Operability in AI-Enabled Services: Enable government procurement to mandate AI systems’ operational fluency in Bangla, regional dialects, and minority languages to better target low-literacy users, with reporting requirements disaggregated by accuracy and usability to mitigate risks of exclusion.

  3. Informal Access Brokers: Leverage existing social and civil society networks to support digital adoption by integrating trusted community intermediaries into AI service delivery for awareness, literacy, access, and community feedback, to reach populations least likely to engage with digital systems directly.

2026-27 Residents

  • Kimberley Moriarity

  • Jehan Mohamed

  • Andre Policzer

Biographies

  • Before completing her Master of Public Policy at McGil University’s Max Bel School of Public Policy, Kimberley served as program advisor at Immigration, Refugee, and Citizenship Canada and volunteered at a refugee resettlement organization, Matthew House Ottawa.

  • Jehan Mohamed is a public affairs practitioner based in Toronto with experience in strategic communications, public policy, and crisis management. Prior to completing her Master of Public Policy at McGil University's Max Bel School of Public Policy, she worked at Navigator, advising clients on high-profile public affairs and communications challenges.

  • Andre is a digital technology governance specialist with a focus in AI & social media regulations, cybersecurity, and environmental policy. He comes from a background of outdoor education and psychology research, and was drawn to the Max Bel School of Public Policy by the chance to work both with academics and expert practitioners.

Policy Residency Team

  • A man with short dark hair, glasses, and a beard, smiling, wearing a cream-colored shirt and a dark green cable-knit vest, standing against a warm orange background.

    Nahid Tahrima Rashid

    Manager, Policy Residency

  • Close-up of a smiling young man with dark hair, glasses, and a beard, wearing a black shirt and blazer, against a blurred orange background.

    Aditi Zahir

    Director, Policy Research

For Inquiries, contact Aditi Zahir and Nahid Tahrima Rashid