From the Co-Executive Directors
As the new co-executive directors of J-PAL North America, we are thrilled to build on the pioneering efforts of former Executive Director Mary Ann Bates, who launched the office in 2013 with Co-Scientific Directors Amy Finkelstein and Larry Katz. As we take on our new roles, we share our gratitude for Mary Ann’s visionary and empathetic leadership and remain committed to our mission to promote policy backed by rigorous research to reduce poverty and improve opportunity.
This past year, we saw tremendous response to Covid-19 driven by state and local government agencies across the country. In collaboration with our partners, we’ve worked to address urgent needs related to the pandemic, including by supporting state and local governments to scale up evidence-based approaches, such as high-impact tutoring, to improve lives and help communities rebuild.
We funded 26 new research projects on important topics including homelessness prevention, health equity, worker opportunity, and education through our initiatives and supported six projects through Research Management Support. Under the Economics Transformation Project, we also laid the groundwork to diversify the pipeline into the economics profession and amplify underrepresented voices in the field.
None of this work would be possible without our incredible community of researchers, policymakers, funders, practitioners, and partners. Thank you for your work and commitment to leveraging data, generating rigorous evidence, and informing policy to improve the lives of those experiencing poverty in North America. We look forward to continuing this critical work together in the year to come.
J-PAL North America Leadership
The Year in Review
Influenced federal recommendations and state policies on education
Our recommendations shaped a $4.6 billion package in California to address learning loss through expanded learning strategies. Tutoring (supplemental one-on-one or small group instruction) is a proven and widely accepted strategy to combat Covid-19 learning loss, as reported in J-PAL North America’s Tutoring Evidence Review. Our staff worked with the California governor's office to highlight the promise of evidence-based tutoring, leading to the inclusion of tutoring in Assembly Bill 86 and $460 million allocated to hiring paraprofessional tutors. To aid districts in implementing high-quality tutoring, we provided technical support to the California State Board of Education and other groups designing tutoring programs that adhere to research-based principles.
Launched the Bay Area Evaluation Incubator to generate evidence to reduce homelessness and increase housing stability
J-PAL North America partnered with six organizations to develop and rigorously evaluate innovative cash transfer programs to mitigate and prevent homelessness. Selected partners are receiving technical assistance, training, flexible funding, and connections to researchers in our network. Findings from these evaluations will build on growing evidence on the potential impacts of cash transfers, and inform housing policy at a time of growing instability and homelessness.
Piloted programs to spark interest and build skills in economics among students from underrepresented minority backgrounds
In partnership with researchers and peer organizations, our Economics Transformation Project launched pilot programs to inform the development of workshops and courses for underrepresented minority high school students, undergraduates, and pre-doctoral candidates. In 2022, these workshops will be rolled out in high schools and college access programs to help students learn how economists use data to inform approaches to social issues and build awareness of career options in economics.
The Year Ahead
Scale up evidence-based programs through policy outreach
Top priorities for scaling include high-intensity tutoring, summer youth employment programs, and sectoral employment programs. We will continue building from last year’s work to support states and localities, such as the State of New Mexico in partnership with Saga Education, in implementing tutoring programs that adhere to research-based principles. We will also release evidence reviews summarizing key policy lessons on summer youth employment and sectoral employment programs. We will leverage the evidence reviews in comprehensive policy outreach campaigns to encourage decision makers to support the scale up of these evidence-based interventions.
Develop a toolkit for running randomized evaluations on behavioral health
This resource will aim to improve feasibility and quality of randomized evaluations in health care delivery. Leveraging our network and experience as an MIT Roybal Center for Translational Research to Improve Health Care for the Aging, we will develop and disseminate new research resources and case studies focused on health care contexts to researchers and implementing partners interested in conducting randomized evaluations. Resource topics will include designing consent processes in health care systems and designing research to be minimally disruptive to clinical practice.
Credits:
Shutterstock.com