BRAC

History: BRAC, an international development organization based in Bangladesh, is the

largest non-governmental development organization in the world, measured by the number of
employees and the number of people it has helped, as of November 2012. Established by Sir
Fazle Hasan Abed in 1972 soon after the independence of Bangladesh, BRAC is present in all
64 districts of Bangladesh as well as in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Tanzania,
South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Haiti and The Philippines as of 2012.

BRAC employs over 100,000 people, roughly 70 percent of whom are women, reaching more
than 126 million people. The organization is 70-80% self-funded through a number of
commercial enterprises that include a dairy and food project and a chain of retail handicraft
stores called Aarong. BRAC maintains offices in 14 countries throughout the world,
including BRAC USA and BRAC UK.

Known formerly as the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee and then as

the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (currently, BRAC does not represent an
acronym), BRAC was initiated in 1972 by Sir Fazle Hasan Abed at Sulla in the district
of Sylhet as a small-scale relief and rehabilitation project to help returning war refugees after
the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. In nine months, 14 thousand homes were rebuilt as part
of the relief effort and several hundred boats were built for the fishermen. Medical centers were
opened and other essential services were ensured. At the end of 1972, when the first phase of
relief work was over, BRAC turned towards long-term development needs and re-organized
itself to focus on the empowerment of the poor and landless, particularly women and children.

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By 1974, BRAC had started providing micro credit and had started analyzing the usefulness of

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credit inputs in the lives of the poor. Until the mid-1970s, BRAC concentrated on community
development through village development programmes that included agriculture,
fisheries, cooperatives, rural crafts, adult literacy, health and family planning, vocational training
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for women and construction of community centres. A Research and Evaluation Division (RED)
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was set up by BRAC in 1975 to analyze and evaluate its activities and provide direction for the
organisation to evolve. In 1977, BRAC shifted from community development towards a more
targeted approach by organizing village groups called Village Organizations (VO). This
approach targeted the poorest of the poor – the landless, small farmers, artisans, and vulnerable
women.
In 1979, BRAC entered the health field by establishing a nation-wide Oral Therapy Extension
Programe (OTEP), a campaign to combat diarrhoea, the leading cause of the high child mortality
rate in Bangladesh. Over a ten-year period 1,200 BRAC workers went door-to-door to teach 12
million mothers the preparation of home-made oral saline.

Operation: Operations outside Bangladesh

o 3.1 Afghanistan
o 3.2 Sri Lanka
o 3.3 Pakistan
o 3.4 Tanzania
o 3.5 Uganda
o 3.6 South Sudan
o 3.7 Liberia
o 3.8 Sierra Leone
o 3.9 Haiti
o 3.10 Philippines
 Afghanistan

 BRAC registered in Afghanistan in 2002 and covers 23 out of 34 provinces. Its major
programmes in Afghanistan include Microfinance (funding from MISFA), Health, Education,
National Solidarity and Capacity Development. Its Microfinance Program has 429 branch
offices that have disbursed more than USD 96 million to over 179,000 member households.

 Sri Lanka

 BRAC registered in Sri Lanka in 2005 following the devastating Tsunami and initiated relief

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and rehabilitation activities. Its rehabilitation and livelihood programmes in Sri Lanka covers

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three districts and 43 divisions. BRAC’s work in Sri Lanka includes the fisheries, agriculture,
poultry and livestock, small business, income-generation activities, education and health
sectors. As of 2007, it employed 312 staff.
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 Pakistan

 BRAC expanded into Pakistan in 2007 and now covers six districts. BRAC Pakistan employs
337 staff members that work in 35 offices that are set up throughout the country. The
Microfinance Program supports 837 village organizations that have over 14,544 members.
 Tanzania

 BRAC Tanzania, established in 2006, has created over 7,619 microfinance village
organizations with over 116,000 members and already disbursed more than $160 million.
Over 480 community health promoters, 65225 agriculture program farmers and 15681
poultry and livestock farmers have been trained. up to December 2012 it was a field partner
of Kiva Microfunds.

 Uganda

 BRAC Uganda’s Microfinance Program has formed over 2,145 village organizations with
59,844 members.

 South Sudan

 In 2007, BRAC started operations in South Sudan. The microfinance program, which
consists primarily of returning war refugees, has formed 220 village organizations with over
8,400 members.

 Liberia

 Established in 2008, BRAC launched programs

in microfinance, health, agriculture, livestock and poultry; reaching more than 582,000 of the
poorest in Liberia. BRAC employs 161 Liberians (71% women) and has mobilised nearly
300 community-based volunteers.

 Sierra Leone

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 BRAC opened its offices in Sierra Leone in 2008 and started programmes in 2009. BRAC

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runs services in microfinance, health, agriculture, livestock and poultry, and by the end of
2009 reached over a quarter of a million Sierra Leoneans with their activities. BRAC
provides jobs for 169 Sierra Leoneans (83% female) and supports 323 local volunteers.
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 Haiti

 BRAC has provided technical assistance to Fonkoze, Haiti’s

largest microfinance organization, to replicate BRAC’s ultra poor program. In 2010, they
opened a Limb and Brace Center to support those who were injured in the 2010 Haiti
 earthquake and an agriculture, poultry and livestock program, including training and support
for rural microentrepreneurs to start tree nurseries.

 Philippines

 BRAC launched operations in the Philippines in 2012 in partnership with Australian aid
agency AusAID, with plans to operate at least 1,600 pre-primary and primary schools
in Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. 

HRM: The Human Resource Division (HRD) has established a state-of-the-art human
resource management system and practices in BRAC by adopting a qualitative and strategic
approach in managing workforce. The main focuses of HRD are to ensure procedural justice,
transparency, equality and respect for diversity, discrimination free work environment and
recognition of human potentials. HRD in BRAC has been currently operating in 41 different
field offices across the country. 

The HRD has published the Human Resource Policies and Procedures (HRPP) which came into
effect from January 2011 (reprinted on April 2011). The annual performance appraisal forms had
been revised and workshops conducted on “Performance Dialogue” to ensure an effective and
unique performance evaluating system in BRAC.

The Division has already started their journey to move strategic HR practices in BRAC from
routine HR functions. The HR line of Sight (LOS) 2012-2013 has been developed to ensure the
successful implementation of performance objectives to achieve the organisational goals. Team
engagement workshops had been conducted to motivate and energise all the HR staff to improve
their performance.

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HRD has been continually playing a significant role in helping the individuals to develop a

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committed workforce locally and internationally. In December 2010, BRAC's governing
board adopted the following child protection policy,
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through campaign for oral rehydration in the 80s and taking immunization from 2% to 70% in
Bangladesh. BRAC currently provides a range of services that reach an estimated 31 million
rural poor and include services for mothers in reproductive health care and infants.
Financial condition: BRAC'S FINANCE AND ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT performs
a vital role within the organisation in improving programme efficiency, enhancing management
decision-making capabilities, and promoting transparency and accountability. Under this
department, financial data from all transactions carried out at different cost centres in the
organisation are collected and stored. Data useful for decisionmaking is processed into
information.

The Finance and Accounts Department prepares BRAC's financial statements in accordance with
international reporting standards. BRAC strives for excellence and transparency in financial
reporting.
In 2007, for the third year in a row, BRAC was awarded the Financial Transparency Award by
the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) fin recognition of its full compliance with
international disclosure. In 2008, BRAC received the "Gold Award" for Best Printed Accounts
for 2007 from The South Asian Federation of Accounts (SAFA). BRAC received this award in
2006 and 2005 as well.

In 2008, BRAC was also awarded the First Position in the NGOs/MFIs Sector by the Institute of
Chartered Accountants of  Bangladesh (ICAB) in the category National Awards for Best
Published Accounts and Reports 2007. BRAC also received this award in 2006, 2005 and 2004.

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 BRITISH RAILWAYS

History: British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator
of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from
the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the
gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages between 1994 and 1997. Originally a trading brand
of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission, it became an
independent statutory corporation in 1962: the British Railways Board.

The also History of rail transport in Great Britain 1948–1994 covers the period when
the British railway system was nationalised under the name of British Rail (initially known
as British Railways), until its eventual privatisation in 1994.The railway system in this period
underwent modernisation, reorganisation and rebranding, some of which proved controversial.
The use of steam locomotives on the network also ended in this period.

The rail transport system in Great Britain developed during the 19th century. After the grouping
of 1923 under the Railways Act 1921 there were four large railway companies, each dominating
its own geographic area: the Great Western Railway (GWR), theLondon, Midland and Scottish
Railway (LMS), the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) and the Southern
Railway (SR). During World War I the railways were under state control, which continued until
1921. Complete nationalisation had been considered, and the Railways Act 1921 is sometimes
considered as a precursor to that, but the concept was rejected; nationalisation was subsequently
carried out after World War II, under the Transport Act 1947. This Act made provision for the
nationalisation of the network, as part of a policy of nationalising public services by Clement
Attlee's Labour Government. British Railways came into existence as the business name of
the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission (BTC) on 1 January 1948 when it
took over the assets of the Big Four.

There were also joint railways between the big four and a few light railways to consider (see list
of constituents of British Railways). Excluded from nationalisation were industrial lines like
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the Oxfordshire Ironstone Railway. Narrow-gauge railways, like the Ffestiniog Railwaywere also

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excluded, apart from three already owned by a company that was itself nationalised. The London
Underground — publicly owned since 1933 — was also nationalised, becoming the London
Transport Executive of the British Transport Commission. The Bicester Military Railway was
already run by the government. The electric Liverpool Overhead Railway was also excluded
from nationalisation.
Operation: Initially, and for the majority of its history, the BRB operated under the structure
inherited from the BTC Railway Executive. Operations were divided into five regions
- Eastern, London Midland,Western, Southern and Scottish (later rebranded ScotRail). A North
Eastern Region existed initially but was merged into the Eastern Region in 1967.

In the 1980s the BRB moved to a sectoral model based on business activity - InterCity for long-
distance passenger trains, Network SouthEast for commuter trains in London, and Regional
Railways for short-distance and commuter trains outside the Network SouthEast
area. Railfreight was organised separately. As well as the railway network, for much of its
history the BRB also ran ferry services (later as Sealink) and hotels. These were sold in the
1980s.

The final BRB structure (1994-1997) was a shadow form of the future privatised railway
industry, becoming a holding company for over 100 subsidiaries, including 25 passenger train
operating, six freight, three rolling stock leasing, and a number of track maintenance companies.
These were slowly sold during privatisation (the passenger subsidiaries were franchised to
private sector concerns).

Under the process of British Rail's privatisation, operations were split into more than 100
companies. The ownership and operation of the infrastructure of the railway system was taken
over by Railtrack. The Telecomms infrastructure and British Rail Telecommunications was sold
to Racal, which in turn was sold to Global Crossing and merged with Thales Group. The rolling
stock was transferred to three private ROSCOs (rolling stock companies). Passenger services
were divided into 25 operating companies, which were let on a franchise basis for a set number
of years, whilst freight services were sold off completely.

Since privatisation, the structure of the rail industry and number of companies has changed a
number of times as franchises have been relet and the areas covered by franchises restructured.
Franchise-based companies that took over passenger rail services include:

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 Midland Mainline—superseded in 2007 by East Midlands Trains
 Great North Eastern Railway—superseded in 2007 by National Express East Coast,
which has since been brought back full circle into public ownership with the creation of the
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new government controlled East Coast operator.

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 Virgin Trains (West Coast)

 Virgin CrossCountry—superseded in 2007 by CrossCountry
 ScotRail operated by National Express—superseded in 2004 by First ScotRail (now
branded as ScotRail—Scotland's Railway)
 Great Western Trains—from 1998: First Great Western
 Wales and West—became Wessex Trains and Wales and Borders (including the Cardiff
Railway Company services operated as Valley Lines) in 2001, after being split into two
separate franchises, and now run by First Great Western and Arriva Trains Wales
 Arriva Trains Northern originally Northern Spirit, succeeded in 2004 by First
TransPennine Express and Northern Rail
 First North Western originally North Western Trains, succeeded in 2004 by First
TransPennine Express and Northern Rail
 Anglia Railways, Great Eastern (later First Great Eastern), and the West Anglia section
of WAGN were all merged to become ONE later renamed National Express East Anglia,
superseded in 2012 by Abellio's Greater Anglia
 Thameslink and Great Northern Section of WAGN grouped together to form First Capital
Connect as part of the Thameslink Great Northern Franchise
 LTS later renamed c2c
 Connex South Eastern became South Eastern Trains, then Southeastern
 Connex South Central became South Central and later renamed Southern
 Merseyrail Electrics superseded by Arriva Trains Merseyside and now Merseyrail
 South West Trains
 Central Trains—divided in 2007 between London Midland, CrossCountry and East
Midlands Trains
 London Underground for the short underground Waterloo & City line
 Silverlink Trains—divided in 2007 between London Overground and London Midland

HRM: An operational railway is highly dependent upon the performance of its staff, both as
individuals and as part of an extended team. As a result, improvements that can be achieved with
regard to both individual and teamworking skills have the potential to impact positively on
operational performance.

British Railways operated a number of ships from its formation in 1948 on a variety of routes.
Many ships were acquired on nationalisation, and others were built for operation by British

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Railways or its later subsidiary, Sealink. Those ships capable of carrying rail vehicles were
classed under TOPS as Class 99.
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British Rail's passenger services came to an end upon the franchising of ScotRail; the final train
that the company operated was a Railfreight Distribution freight train in Autumn 1997. The
British Railways Board continued in existence as a corporation until early 2001, when it was
replaced with the Strategic Rail Authority.  The oversight of the train is the duty of a guard/train
manager.
Financial condition: The main source of income for railway companies is
from ticket revenue (for passenger transport) and shipment fees for cargo. Discounts and
monthly passes are sometimes available for frequent travellers. Freight revenue may be sold per
container slot or for a whole train. Sometimes, the shipper owns the cars and only rents the
haulage. For passenger transport, advertisement income can be significant.

Government may choose to give subsidies to rail operation, since rail transport has
fewer externalities than other dominant modes of transport. If the railway company is state-
owned, the state may simply provide direct subsidies in exchange for an increased production. If
operations have been privatized, several options are available. Some countries have a system
where the infrastructure is owned by a government agency or company—with open access to the
tracks for any company that meets safety requirements. In such cases, the state may choose to
provide the tracks free of charge, or for a fee that does not cover all costs. This is seen as
analogous to the government providing free access to roads. For passenger operations, a direct
subsidy may be paid to a public-owned operator, or public service obligation tender may be helt,
and a time-limited contract awarded to the lowest bidder.

The government appeared to endorse the 1955 programme (costing £1.2 billion), but did so
largely for political reasons. This included the withdrawal of steam traction and its replacement
by diesel (and some electric) locomotives. Not all the modernisations would be effective at
reducing costs. The dieselisation program gave contracts primarily to British suppliers, who had
limited experience of diesel locomotive manufacture, and rushed commissioning based on an
expectation of rapid electrification resulted in numbers of locomotives with poor designs, and a
lack of standardisation. At the same time containerised freight was being developed. The
marshalling yard building programme was a failure; being based on a belief in the continued
viability of wagon load traffic in the face of increasingly effective road competition, and lacking
effective forward planning or realistic assessments of future freight.

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*The end*
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