BARD gained fame at home and abroad for the “Cumilla Model” of rural development invented by the Academy.

BARD received the “Shadhinata Padak” in the Year 1986 for his special contribution to rural development.

[1] East Pakistan Academy for Rural Development was established in 1959 in Comilla as EPARD under the initiative of Dr Akhtar Hameed Khan who became the institution's founder-Director.

The campus is spread over a vast area that also hosts residences, conference rooms, mosque, library, a health clinic, sports complex, and other amenities.

One of the main functions of BARD is to provide training for both officials and non-official members of the public and private institutions working on rural development.

[1] Since its inception, BARD has conducted a number of large and small scales development programmes.

Board of Governors (BOG) of Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD) has consisted of 21 (twenty-one) individuals.