Learning for All Initiative (LAI) Request for Proposals
Overview
Taking a two-track approach to inform education policy, the Learning for All Initiative (LAI) at J-PAL funds proposals to design, pilot, evaluate, and scale innovations to improve children's learning in low- and middle-income countries.
- Research awards fund full randomized evaluations, pilot research projects, and travel/proposal development projects to identify potentially high-impact innovations and evaluate their effectiveness and cost-effectiveness.
- Scaling awards fund technical assistance to governments and NGOs to adapt, pilot, and scale evidence-based education solutions with demonstrated impact.
Eligibility
All J-PAL affiliates, invited researchers from any J-PAL initiative or regional office, and J-PAL postdoctoral fellows are eligible to apply to any LAI research or scaling proposal type. PhD students who have a J-PAL affiliate or invited researcher on their thesis committee are eligible to apply for up to $75k in research or scale funding. Additionally, PhD holders based at an African academic institution are eligible (learn more about our African Scholars program here). In addition to this basic eligibility criterion, some other conditions are listed below and in the RFP overview document (available in Application Materials).
- In RFP 5, African Scholars are only eligible for funding under the foundational literacy and numeracy theme
- Governments, NGOs, private sector actors, J-PAL and IPA offices, locally-based researchers, and researchers in fields outside economics can apply in collaboration with a J-PAL eligible researcher. The J-PAL eligible researcher must be fully involved as an active, engaged, and responsive PI or adviser, and complete a PI certification confirming their active engagement.
- Researchers may not submit more than three proposals (inclusive across all proposal types) within a 12-month period to LAI, either as a main PI or co-PI in the proposals.
- Applicants who are delinquent in their deliverables to any J-PAL initiative may submit proposals, but will not be eligible to receive additional funding from any J-PAL initiative until their deliverables become current.
- Applicants who are submitting a proposal for a project that has already received LAI funding must be up-to-date on the project’s deliverables and should be able to provide outcomes for the previously funded stage of the project, including a summary of all findings to date.
Focus Areas
Working across low- and middle-income countries, LAI supports randomized evaluations (full and pilot evaluations and travel/proposal development grants) and scaling projects across the following outcome areas:
- Socio-emotional Learning (SEL) and Measurement of Holistic Skills/ Breadth of Skills
- Foundational Literacy and Numeracy
- Girls’ Education
The RFP research agenda (available below) details what LAI prioritizes within each focus area along with important information on corresponding ages ranges. For all submissions measuring holistic skills, please see the resource J-PAL created, "Measurement of Holistic Skills in RCTs: Review and Guidelines" (available below). If you are unsure whether your proposed topic may be eligible for LAI funding, please reach out to our team at [email protected].
Regional Focus
Research (full and pilot evaluations and travel/proposal development grants) and scale-focused projects based in low- and middle-income countries will be eligible to apply for funding from LAI.
Please note in the RFP 5 research agenda, we are prioritizing projects from India and Sub-Saharan Africa for specific subtopics in the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy category.
Application Timeline
LAI's fifth round of funding will launch on December 9, 2025.
- Letters of Interest will be due January 7, 2026
- Proposals will be due February 17, 2026
- Decisions will be announced in mid-late April 2026
- Invoicing for project activities can begin once subaward agreements are signed, which can be as early as 3-4 months after award decisions
LAI will not regularly accept off-cycle proposal requests. If you are a researcher facing a particularly limited time window, please contact [email protected].
Application Instructions
J-PAL initiatives, including LAI, are changing to a new online portal (as of late 2024) for all proposal submissions, proposal reviews, invoice submissions, and grantee reporting. To apply to LAI, you will first need to register via our online portal. Please review these instructions for applicants. For further information and troubleshooting, please contact us at [email protected].
Letter of interest: All applications are required to submit a letter of interest (LOI).
Full proposals: During the LOI period, the LAI team will notify you via the portal once we have reviewed your LOI and you are clear to begin your proposal. If you try to submit responses in the portal before you are invited to the Main Application stage, all functionality will be frozen and you will be unable to save any responses (e.g., the Next button will not work).
In the interim, to facilitate your proposal development, below are reference application documents from our application. You are welcome to begin drafting your proposal materials using these templates. Please know that questions are subject to change. Reference applications should NOT be submitted to LAI for consideration.
Budgets: Please see the budget instructions guidance below. Please also note that if you are including air travel in your budget, we are only able to reimburse economy/cabin/coach flights. This excludes "economy premium" offerings from some airlines, e.g. Delta Comfort+, United's Economy Plus, American Airlines' Main Cabin Extra. Please see J-PAL’s “Guidance for Travel Planning and Reimbursement” to further understand which travel costs are reimbursable or not.
Application Materials
Research Agenda/ RFP Overview
Measurement of Holistic Skills in RCTs: Review and Guidelines
LAI Budget Instructions
Letter of Interest Preview
Full Evaluation Application Preview
Pilot Evaluation Application Preview
Travel/Proposal Development Grant Application Preview
Frequently Asked Questions
Am I eligible to apply to LAI?
You are eligible to apply for LAI if you are a J-PAL affiliate, a J-PAL postdoc, a J-PAL invited researcher, a PhD student who has a J-PAL affiliate or invited researcher on their thesis committee, or a J-PAL or IPA office working in collaboration with a J-PAL affiliate or invited researcher (some variation in funding amounts). African scholars will also be able to apply. Learn more about LAI's African Scholars program.
I am a policymaker or implementing organization interested in evaluating an innovation. How can I connect with an eligible researcher in the J-PAL network?
Our team is glad to facilitate connections between potential partners and J-PAL’s network of researchers. We would be interested in hearing more about your organization and the program or policy you are interested in evaluating so we can identify if there are researchers in our network who may be available and interested. Please check out our matchmaking form for more information or contact our team at [email protected].
I am a PhD student with a J-PAL affiliate or invited researcher on my thesis committee. Are there restrictions on what costs can be covered by an LAI research grant?
LAI is able to fund research projects for PhD students advised by a J-PAL affiliated researcher of up to US$75,000, and we aim for the majority of this support to go directly to the research. This means that we are able to cover costs associated with travel for the project, but we cannot cover tuition or the cost of PhD students’ time with our grants.
What does LAI’s scaling fund entail, and who qualifies for it?
LAI’s scaling fund includes several flexible types of funding, such as data collection and early-stage work. Scaling funding will be available to support technical assistance to partners in government, NGOs, and the private sector to adapt, pilot, and scale policies and programs that have already been evaluated with an RCT, and found to be effective. If you are unsure whether your project qualifies to be considered for scaling funding, please contact [email protected], and the LAI team will be happy to discuss options.
Can I apply to LAI for more than one project at a time?
Yes. We limit LAI applications per researcher to a maximum of three in a 12-month period (PI or co-PI), which can be a combination of different project types (e.g. two pilots and one randomized evaluation).
Can LAI funding be used to cover the implementation costs of the intervention being evaluated?
As LAI is primarily a research (full and pilot evaluations and travel/proposal development grants) and scaling fund, we are unable to cover any implementation costs with LAI funding. Implementing partners are expected to cover implementation costs, while LAI funding will focus on covering research costs, such as costs associated with data collection.
Does J-PAL require that the reviewing IRB have IORG status with the US Office of Human Protections?
Does the Principal Investigator (PI) need to have an official affiliation with the organization receiving the subaward and funds?
The PI of a subaward issued by MIT’s Research Administration Services must have an official affiliation with the organization receiving the subaward and funds. This individual is fully responsible for the implementation of the research project per the proposal and with appropriate research and data protection practices. IRB approval must be held by the institution that enters into the subaward agreement with MIT. The IRB must list the Institute to Receive the Award (ITRA) and name the same PI that is affiliated with the ITRA. If the institution does not have its own IRB, it must engage the services of a commercial IRB to review and provide oversight for its research activities. Please see the J-PAL Human Subjects Memo 2023 for full details. Email [email protected] and [email protected] if you have any questions.
How does J-PAL gauge if an eligible researcher is fully involved as a PI or adviser on a scaling project?
LAI scaling funds support technical assistance and/or research with government, NGOs, and/or the private sector focused on adopting evidence-informed solutions. J-PAL eligible researchers can apply for scale funding in collaboration with governments, NGOs, and/or private sector actors. In addition, J-PAL and IPA offices can apply for the scaling funding provided at least one J-PAL eligible researcher is fully involved as an active, engaged, and responsive PI or adviser. We require the PIs to complete the certification below.
PI Certification: I certify that any listed J-PAL affiliates or invited researchers have agreed to be active, engaged, and responsive PIs or advisors on this project. Affiliates and invited researchers who are involved have confirmed they will be dedicated to guaranteeing quality control on all aspects of this research; and that their participation is not merely to provide access to resources and funding to other project team members who would be otherwise ineligible.
Do all projects need a Letter of Support from the implementing organization? How about a Letter of Transmission?
Letters of support are only required for scaling and full RCT applications, as well as pilot RCT applications submitted by African Scholars. However, the Review Board will look favorably on such letters of support indicating buy-in from the implementer. Please note that all proposal teams that are working in a country with a regional J-PAL office (see list here) or IPA country office (see list here) are encouraged to reach out to that office at least three weeks in advance of the round deadline to help prepare their application and provide a letter of office support if needed.
A letter or document stating approval of the proposal materials and budget from each proposed Institute to Receive the Award (ITRA) is required for all proposal types.