The Alliance for Data, Evaluation, and Policy Training (ADEPT) is a global network of campuses and partners committed to training the next generation of researchers and decision-makers.
Our collective aim is to empower learners with the tools to innovate, test, and scale effective programs to improve the lives of billions. Together, our combined efforts can achieve far greater impact than any single organization or institution.
With our partners, we create innovative academic pathways, develop new academic programs on policy evaluation and data analysis, and cultivate a network of evidence-informed policy professionals to drive change globally.
The ADEPT network is convened by the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), Community Jameel, and institutional members. J-PAL has extensive experience investing in programs and courses that teach rigorous impact evaluation, including through the development and launch of the MITx Data, Economics, and Design of Policy MicroMasters program in 2017.
The DEDP MicroMasters Credential
The MITx MicroMasters program in Data, Economics, and Design of Policy (DEDP) is a shared resource for Alliance members. The DEDP MicroMasters is a rigorous, fully online graduate-level program, developed by J-PAL and MIT Economics and taught by MIT faculty. The program combines theoretical tools with practical skill-building across eight MIT courses and covers topics such as statistics, data science, and rigorous impact evaluation.
To date, the DEDP MicroMasters has engaged over 350,000 learners, with more than 12,000 achieving course certificates. Thirty-seven percent of DEDP learners are women. Learners who obtain certificates in five courses (three core and two electives) earn an MITx MicroMasters credential, granting them eligibility for an accelerated, residential DEDP master's program at MIT.
Because students’ success in the DEDP program’s online courses has correlated strongly with on-campus success, some universities now incorporate DEDP credentials into their admissions processes. Doing so helps them identify talented individuals from underrepresented communities who may lack traditional signals of their capabilities.
Alliance members are encouraged to leverage DEDP MicroMasters course materials to create new and innovative academic offers that fit the needs of their students and communities, and to use the credential as a signal in their own admissions processes. The DEDP MicroMasters program also provides Alliance members with a common foundation for exchange and collaboration in developing new programs and opportunities for learners.
Our team
Esther Duflo
Professor, MIT
Sara Ellison
Professor, MIT
Sarah Kopper
Director of ADEPT
Nour Shammout
Associate Director of ADEPT
Louis-Mael Jean
Senior Policy and Training Associate
Lisnawati
Training and Policy Manager,
J-PAL Southeast Asia
Ivan Brant
Senior Policy Associate,
J-PAL LAC