About Next50
Next50 Knowledge Commons is a collaborative platform connecting knowledge, people and institutions to shape just and future-ready transformations in Bangladesh and across the Majority World. It brings research, lived experience, professional expertise and community knowledge together through six interconnected strands.
It is a shared infrastructure for producing, exchanging and applying knowledge for public good.
It brings together researchers, practitioners, communities, policymakers, professionals, entrepreneurs, cultural workers and members of the diaspora to address complex social, economic, environmental and institutional challenges. It begins from a simple principle: no single institution, discipline or form of expertise is sufficient to imagine and build better futures.
Knowledge is distributed across society. It exists in universities and public institutions, but also in neighbourhoods, grassroots organisations, professional practice, cultural memory and everyday experience. Next50 creates spaces where these different forms of knowledge can meet, challenge one another and generate new possibilities.
The idea of a knowledge commons means that knowledge should not remain enclosed within academic, institutional or professional boundaries. It should be shared, debated, translated and mobilised collectively. Next50 therefore works across the full journey from research and dialogue to experimentation, capacity-building, partnership and implementation.
Through six interconnected strands, Next50 supports the development of ideas, people, organisations and collaborations capable of responding to the changing realities of Bangladesh and the wider Majority World.
Six Interconnected Strands
1 / Future Insights
Produces research, publications, policy analysis and future-oriented thinking on the major transformations shaping society.
2 / Ideation Lab
Develops emerging ideas into practical projects, programmes, policy proposals, social enterprises and collaborative initiatives.
3 / Community Partnerships
Builds long-term relationships with communities and grassroots organisations, recognising lived experience as a vital source of knowledge and leadership.
4 / Leadership Academy
Supports emerging and established leaders through courses, workshops, mentoring and peer learning.
5 / Strategic Advisory
Works with institutions to strengthen research, strategy, programme design, partnerships, policy engagement and social impact.
6 / Forums
Creates spaces for public dialogue, specialist exchange, collective reflection and agenda-setting across sectors and geographies.
How the Knowledge Commons Works
The six strands operate as one connected ecosystem. Future Insights identifies emerging questions. Forums bring people and perspectives together. The Ideation Lab develops possible responses. Community Partnerships ground them in lived realities. The Leadership Academy strengthens the people carrying the work forward. Strategic Advisory helps institutions translate knowledge into sustained action.
Together, they create a commons in which knowledge is not simply produced and consumed, but collectively generated, shared and put to work.
Team
Next50 operates as a distributed, collaborative network rather than a traditional organisation. We carry our work forward through advisors, fellows, consultants, and contributors across multiple initiatives.
Tanzil Shafique (Associate Professor, University of Sheffield), serves as Honorary Executive Director, alongside a small core team that stewards the platform—supporting initiative leaders, enabling collaboration, and connecting people, ideas, and resources.
Our Network
Advisors
Provide strategic direction and help initiate areas of work, often on a pro bono basis. As initiatives secure funding, Advisors may transition into paid consultancy roles.
Consultants
Deliver specialised expertise within funded initiatives, supporting design, implementation, and delivery.
Fellows
From the broader Next50 community—contributing to research, policy, and initiatives. Fellows include academics, practitioners, and community leaders.
Contributors
Engage across specific publications, events, and activities, bringing additional skills and perspectives.