The National Training and Productivity Centre (NTPC) and Fiji National University organized a face-to-face project on Benchmarking Study on the Evaluation System of the Fiji Quality Awards from Bangladesh to Fiji, 21‒25 August. The Bilateral Cooperation between NPOs (BCN) project, attended by four participants from the Ministry of Industries and NPO Bangladesh, was designed to enhance their understanding of how Fiji evaluates business excellence (BE) and enterprise initiatives to increase productivity and quality.

The project underscored the commitment to strengthening NPOs by sharing knowledge and fostering collaborations, contributing to the development of effective strategies for sustainable growth in the Asia-Pacific region. With a focus on working to promote productivity in its industry and service sectors, the NPO also gives awards to representatives of companies and firms for significant contributions to increasing productivity, quality, and BE. The BCN mission assisted the NPO of Bangladesh in streamlining its evaluation processes and addressing concerns about the timeline for recognizing organizations. It is expected that the learning will help improve the award system in Bangladesh.

The BCN Program provides opportunities for APO members to learn from each other by facilitating exchanges of high-level officials of NPOs and policymakers to share experiences and best practices in areas related to productivity. During the BCN project, the NTPC facilitated discussion sessions and site visits to key entities such as Energy Fiji Limited, Future Farms Limited, T/A Rooster Poultry Ltd, and Jack of Fiji Distribution Centre. Beyond knowledge transfer, the delegates also explored the establishment of long-term collaboration between the NPO Bangladesh and NTPC. This bilateral effort aligns with the broader goal of facilitating meetings among APO members to enhance strategy formulation capabilities, foster NPO development, and encourage industry sectors to adopt and benchmark against best practices.