Innovation in Government Initiative

two women look at a tablet
Photo: Paul Smith | J-PAL/IPA
J-PAL’s Innovation in Government Initiative (IGI) funds technical assistance to governments to adapt, pilot, and scale evidence-informed innovations with a strong potential to improve the lives of millions of people living in poverty.

Overview

Many governments around the world are eager to use evidence to improve the effectiveness of their social programs and policies, especially when it comes to essential services like education, health, and social assistance. Meanwhile, universities and research organizations are producing and synthesizing evidence from rigorous impact evaluations that can be used to design and improve these programs. However, demand from governments and good research are not enough to change lives. Using evidence to inform change at scale also requires a deep understanding of context and systems, coupled with political will, a policy window, and implementation capacity. Identifying these opportunities and building strong partnerships to apply evidence takes time and resources.

For more than a decade, the J-PAL network and our partners have built long-term partnerships with governments around the world to increase the use of evidence in policy, and adapt, pilot and scale programs informed by evidence. Together we work with government partners on their policy priorities, helping to determine whether and how evidence is relevant to their context, supporting them in piloting programs leveraging this evidence, and building systems for data-enabled program delivery and monitoring at scale. We believe supporting governments during this middle phase is critical to bridge the gap between the generation of promising evidence and the effective delivery of evidence-informed programs at scale.

IGI builds on the success of its predecessor initiative, the Government Partnership Initiative (GPI).

Key Facts

Office:
J-PAL Global
Status:
  • Partner RFP: Open
Eligibility:
Open to all J-PAL affiliated researchers and eligible invited researchers (see RFP for detailed eligibility conditions) working with a government partner.

Funders

  • Manglaben Chimanbhai Patel Family Foundation
Request for Proposals

IGI’s Spring/Summer 2023 request for proposals (RFP) is now closed. We expect to launch our next full RFP no earlier than April 2024. In the meantime, for projects facing a significant external time constraint or a time-limited policy window, applicants are encouraged to write to [email protected] to enquire about the possibility of submitting a proposal for off-cycle review (capped at $75,000). As a reminder, J-PAL initiatives, including IGI, are transitioning to using an online portal for all proposal submissions, proposal reviews, invoice submissions, and grantee reporting. To apply to future IGI RFPs or for off-cycle funding, you will first need to register via our online portal. Please navigate to the portal and follow the instructions to complete your registration.

Initiative Staff

Racceb Taddesse, Senior Evidence to Scale Associate
Richard Ssempagama, Senior Finance and Operations Associate
Samuel Dumesh, Finance Associate

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