J-PAL North America

📢 J-PAL North America is excited to announce the launch of our new Initiative for Effective US Crime Policy (IECP)! With support from Arnold Ventures, IECP will fund rigorous research, develop public sector partnerships, and support the scaling solutions that make communities safer and improve outcomes at every stage of the criminal legal process. 🔗Read more about the new initiative: https://lnkd.in/ddHBcCfb

In our August newsletter, we feature the new Evidence Effect series from Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), which spotlights how rigorous evaluations have changed minds and influenced investments across the globe for several decades. Read more from Laura Feeney »

This month, J-PAL North America held its annual Research Staff Training as an in-person event for the first time since 2019. This immersive, three-day training equipped research staff with the technical and practical skills necessary to support randomized controlled trials. Participants gathered from across the country and the world in Beverly, MA, for interactive sessions and hands-on labs on topics ranging from sample size and power to coding best practices, project management, data visualization, and communicating about research findings. Beyond skill development, the training also cultivated a cohort of research assistants who learned with and from each other, helping to build an expansive network of mission driven peers. Sessions were presented by J-PAL staff and guest lecturers. We were thrilled to welcome J-PAL affiliated researcher Alicia Modestino, Associate Professor at Northeastern University and Executive Director of C2C Impact Engine, Northeastern University, to present on pilot studies and Christopher Robert, creator of SurveyCTO and Founder and CEO of Higher Bar AI, PBC, to present on AI-based research tools. A huge thank you to all our participants, facilitators, and guest speakers for making RST 2025 such a success!

In a recent statement from J-PAL affiliated researcher David Phillips, he shares why evidence-based approaches such as financial assistance—not punitive measures—are key to addressing homelessness effectively in the United States. Read the statement and explore the evidence: https://lnkd.in/duM2sfkZ

Summer Youth Employment Programs (#SYEP) can have many benefits for youth both during and beyond the summer, with letters of recommendation to improve future employment outcomes being one of them. Learn more about #summerjobs in our Evidence Review: https://lnkd.in/ghcRQT8F

As budgets tighten but expectations for government performance remain high across jurisdictions in the United States & countries in Europe, the time is right to invest in effective, evidence-based policies that improve lives. In a new post on the J-PAL blog—and the latest installment in J-PAL’s Evidence Effect series—J-PAL North America Co-Executive Director Laura Feeney and J-PAL Europe Executive Director Cillian Nolan share insights on how governments across both regions can tackle deep-rooted and pressing social challenges by investing in evidence-based policies, and by building the research infrastructure required to do so. 🔗Read more on the J-PAL blog: https://lnkd.in/eDPjg-BK 🔗Learn more about the Evidence Effect series: https://lnkd.in/gZfpQy9H

📆 Join us on August 28 at 3pm ET for a conversation on moving from evidence to impact in homelessness prevention across communities. The webinar, part of the Evidence Matters series, will feature J-PAL North America Co-Executive Director Vincent Quan, the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities at Notre Dame, and King County, WA. During this session, you’ll learn:  ✅ How evidence-based prevention models can translate across varied community settings  ✅ Why partnerships between research, policy and practice are critical to building impactful, sustainable systems  ✅ How the Homelessness Prevention System Toolkit provides a flexible blueprint for rapid, effective deployment and how the Right at Home initiative aims to prevent homelessness nationwide Panelists David Phillips (University of Notre Dame), Chad Bojorquez (Destination: Home), Jessica Orozco (Santa Clara County OSH), and Alyson Moon (Mary's Place) will share lessons from their own work and discuss how local governments can replicate and scale evidence-based models in their own communities utilizing the Homelessness Prevention System Toolkit.  🔗Register for the event: https://lnkd.in/d4D6hvSj 🔗Access the Homelessness Prevention System Toolkit: https://lnkd.in/ebCseMWU  🔗Learn more about the webinar series: https://lnkd.in/dHT6UNv3

Last month, we held our annual all-staff retreat at MIT’s Endicott House. Part of the day was spent identifying actionable steps each individual and team can take to be sure our work—from our internal policies and structures to our research practices and the ways we communicate—contributes to an overarching goal of racial equity. The retreat also provided a great opportunity to connect outside of the office to engage in fun icebreakers, recognizing staff with individualized superlative awards, and having some friendly competition during a field day. We’re looking forward to continuing to build on our new connections, plans, and ideas throughout the year!

🌿Last week, J-PAL North America hosted the Climate Action Learning Lab Summit, bringing together academic researchers and US state and local climate leaders from our inaugural #ClimateActionLearningLab cohort to advance evidence for effective and equitable climate action. The summit served as a culmination of three months of programming to build participant skills and knowledge in evidence generation and use in the climate space. During the summit, participants: 👩🏼🏫 Shared their priority research questions and strategic evaluation plans and heard/discussed key insights 💬 Reflected on strategies to build strong researcher / practitioner partnerships 💡 Engaged in customized researcher / practitioner evaluation strategy sessions to further explore opportunities for impact evaluation of promising decarbonization programs 🗣️ Discussed methods to recruit and engage additional state and local leaders in evidence building We're grateful to our Energy, Environment, and Climate Change sector and Training staff, to the researchers of our network who joined us throughout the Learning Lab programing and at the summit, to C40 cities for sharing key insights throughout the day, and to all of our participants for their thoughtful engagement. We look forward to continuing our work together to generate and use rigorous evidence across the climate space to improve the lives of all Americans. Learn more about the J-PAL North America Climate Action Learning Lab: https://lnkd.in/dZjiJ9d5

In our July newsletter, Alicia Modestino shares a new manual for replicating and adapting summer youth employment programming informed by a decade of work with the City of Boston. Read more »