As countries around the world took steps to recover from the pandemic, we stepped up our efforts to ensure that policy responses are informed by rigorous scientific evidence. An unprecedented demand for engagement from leaders in government, together with the continued growth of our research network, expanding evidence base, and entrance into more geographies, has required renewed focus on fostering high-impact evidence to policy partnerships.

J-PAL affiliated researchers and staff collaborated on a range of innovative models to institutionalize the use of evidence in policy decisions and close the gap between piloting, testing, and scaling effective policies to reach millions.

Partner Snapshots

Strategies to promote social inclusion in Spain

We are partnering with Spain’s Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration to support an ambitious agenda of 18 randomized evaluations of programs to improve social inclusion of migrants, refugees, and others experiencing poverty. J-PAL Europe is helping local governments identify their policy priorities, share relevant evidence, and design rigorous evaluations.

Changing gender attitudes in India

We are working with the Government of Punjab, India’s Department of School Education, and the NGO Breakthrough to integrate an evidence-based gender sensitization curriculum for adolescents in all government schools in the region. It includes a series of interactive, safe, and open discussions held over two and a half years to empower adolescents to transform their gender attitudes, aspirations, and behaviors. Learn more »

Case Studies: From Evidence to Policy

Community-based targeting to combat Covid-19-induced poverty: Informed by the results of a J-PAL randomized evaluation, Indonesia’s Ministry of Villages adopted community-based targeting for the rollout of its Covid-19 relief program. As of December 2020, cash transfers were distributed to more than eight million recipients. Read more »

Designing a social protection program during Covid-19: Informed by guidance from J-PAL Latin America and the Caribbean, Chile’s $830 million Ingreso Familiar de Emergencia cash transfer program reached over seven million households in its first nine months. Read more »

Individualized tutoring to improve learning: After an evaluation led by J-PAL affiliates found that Saga Education’s tutoring program helped high school students perform better in school, Saga expanded its program to serve 2,500 students in New York City and Chicago and is advising implementation of a similar model in three cities in the Netherlands. Read more »

Policy Insights from Rigorous Research

We published four new J-PAL Policy Insights in 2021 that highlight lessons emerging across multiple studies:

Incentivizing higher-quality agricultural outputs: Our review of seven studies suggests that systems to grade and certify the quality of agricultural goods are a promising way to improve consumer and farmer welfare. Read more »

Designing information campaigns to increase adoption of healthy behaviors: Our review of 34 studies suggests that information that is framed in a specific and actionable way can be particularly effective in improving health behaviors, and that incentives can help in some cases. Read more »

Strategies to increase health insurance enrollment: Our review of 11 studies finds that giving individuals an opportunity to experience health insurance coverage is important for influencing future enrollment decisions. Read more »

Enhancing women’s economic empowerment: Our review of 35 studies finds that providing women with financial resources or services did not always lead to economic empowerment if women were unable to maintain control over the use of funds within their households. Read more »

Raising Awareness of Evidence-Informed Policymaking

• 56,000+ Twitter, 49,000+ LinkedIn, and 24,000+ Facebook followers
• 57,000+ subscribers to J-PAL newsletters
• 900,000+ website visitors in 2021
• 106 blog posts published on the J-PAL blog in 2021
• 25 webinars hosted in 2021

Key Partnership Opportunities

• Expand J-PAL's ability to provide technical assistance to governments to adapt, pilot, and scale evidence-informed innovations through the Innovation in Government Initiative.

• Catalyze evidence-to-policy partnerships through direct support of J-PAL's policy teams around the world.