Enhanced Public Services via Data Utilization
MIT's Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) Collaborates with Governments Worldwide
The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is making a significant impact by partnering with governments across the globe to scale evidence-informed policies. These collaborations are diverse, encompassing various initiatives that aim to improve the lives of people living in poverty.
One such initiative is the Innovation in Government Initiative (IGI), run by J-PAL’s Evidence to Scale team. IGI collaborates with low- and middle-income country governments, providing technical support, training, and funding to scale up innovative, rigorously evaluated anti-poverty programs. IGI also facilitates learning journeys for government officials and helps adapt evidence-based interventions to new contexts, ensuring long-term partnerships between researchers and policymakers [1].
Several European governments have also partnered with J-PAL, especially J-PAL Europe, to establish policy labs embedded within government institutions. For instance, the Innovation, Data and Experiments in Education (IDEE) initiative supports education researchers and governments in producing actionable evidence through improved data access, rigorous analysis, and co-designed research agendas. Spain’s Inclusion Policy Lab has conducted dozens of randomized evaluations on social programs to inform policy decisions [2][5].
J-PAL has also focused on policy design and evaluation workshops, as demonstrated by the Central Bank of Armenia's collaboration with J-PAL Europe. These efforts aim to embed evaluation as a standard governance practice, emphasizing experimentation, iteration, and learning before scaling policies [3].
In conflict, crisis, and fragile settings, J-PAL partners with governments and humanitarian organizations to conduct evaluations that inform strategies for state capacity building, crime and violence reduction, as well as humanitarian aid delivery. These collaborations help design and scale interventions even in highly complex and fragile environments [4].
J-PAL's partnerships extend to North America and Europe, where they work with local and national governments to rigorously evaluate policies and adapt social programs for better effectiveness. They foster multi-site coordinated research and support government-researcher partnerships for evidence generation and policy scaling [5].
Meanwhile, Oliveira Pinto, a former diplomat who represented Brazil in various countries and organizations, including the World Trade Organization (WTO), has joined MIT to further his studies. He completed the MITx MicroMasters program in Data, Economics, and Design of Policy (DEDP), and was accepted into the DEDP master's program within MIT's Department of Economics.
Oliveira Pinto believes his studies have improved his abilities as a diplomat, preparing him for his eventual return to public service. He is focused on drawing lessons from J-PAL's work with governments to improve constituents' quality of life and is helping generate case studies that may foster future collaborations between researchers and the public sector [6].
Through his personal experiences and commitment to understanding and improving the lives of his fellow Brazilians, Oliveira Pinto enrolled in the Instituto Rio Branco, Brazil's diplomatic academy. He praises MIT's support for his family, describing it as particularly rewarding. Oliveira Pinto is finishing his degree at MIT with a capstone project focused on J-PAL's partnerships with governments to support the scaling of evidence-informed policies [7].
In conclusion, J-PAL's research center and network have built long-term partnerships with government agencies worldwide to generate evidence from randomized evaluations and incorporate findings into policy decisions. These collaborations demonstrate J-PAL’s multidimensional approach: providing flexible funding, building long-term relationships, embedding labs and evaluation cultures inside governments, and supporting adaptation and scale of proven interventions across diverse contexts [1][2][3][5].
[1] J-PAL. (n.d.). Evidence to Scale. Retrieved from https://www.povertyactionlab.org/initiatives/evidence-to-scale
[2] J-PAL Europe. (n.d.). Policy Labs. Retrieved from https://www.paleurope.org/policy-labs
[3] J-PAL Europe. (n.d.). Policy Design and Evaluation Workshops. Retrieved from https://www.paleurope.org/policy-design-and-evaluation-workshops
[4] J-PAL. (n.d.). Conflict, Crisis, and Fragility. Retrieved from https://www.povertyactionlab.org/initiatives/conflict-crisis-and-fragility
[5] J-PAL North America. (n.d.). Government Partnerships. Retrieved from https://www.povertyactionlab.org/initiatives/government-partnerships
[6] MIT News. (2021, October 26). New MITx MicroMasters program helps diplomats navigate data and policy. Retrieved from https://news.mit.edu/2021/new-mitx-micromasters-program-helps-diplomats-navigate-data-and-policy-1026
[7] MIT News. (2021, December 13). Oliveira Pinto, former Brazilian diplomat, completes MITx MicroMasters program in data, economics, and policy. Retrieved from https://news.mit.edu/2021/oliveira-pinto-former-brazilian-diplomat-completes-mitx-micromasters-program-in-data-economics-and-policy-1213
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