A small initiative can bring a remarkable change in public services.

It was a big challenge to give wheat farmers proper value for their crops as the market is controlled by business syndicate.

But Sabet Ali, upazila nirbahi officer of Nilphamari sadar decided to bring a change. He helped them to identify the appropriate times amid market changes to sell the wheat.

"Farmers are now not only benefited, they are also delighted," he said at a national convention.

Sabet was inspired by "Kaizen", an initiative adopted by both the governments of Bangladesh and Japan for continuous improvement of public services.

Kaizen means "change for better" in Japanese.

The National Kaizen Convention was held yesterday at the capital's Sonargaon hotel to share field experiences, award field level officers for their dedication and declare the One Year One Project initiative nation-wide.

Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre (BPATC) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) jointly organised the convention. The Daily Star was the strategic partner of the event.

Both the governments are working together to enhance public services in Bangladesh through total quality management, with a five-year (2013-18) project with focus on Kaizen.

Apart from Sabet, seven government officials also received awards for bringing changes.

Ismat Ara Sadique, state minister for public administration said, "Serving people should be the main motto…I strongly hope all upazila offices will implement at least one Kaizen each year."

Takeshi Matsunaga, Chargés d'Affaires, Embassy of Japan said Japan has been supporting Bangladesh for achieving its vision and people will get a lot of benefit from Kaizen.

Jica Bangladesh Chief Representative Mikio Hataeda termed the government officials "unsung heroes".

AKM Abdul Awal Mazumder, rector of BPATC said, "It is our responsibility to give quality service to the public."