Learning for All Initiative Request for Proposals
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 foundational learning and breadth of skills in low- and middle-income countries. The Initiative has two regular funding cycles per year.
- LAI 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.
- LAI 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 holders based at an African academic institution will be eligible to apply for project funding (learn more about our African Scholars program here). 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.
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. To gauge the involvement of a J-PAL eligible researcher on a scaling grant, we require them to complete a PI certification confirming their active engagement.
All proposals may include other collaborators outside of those mentioned as long as the principal investigator is eligible. Additional consideration will be given to proposals that involve locally-based researchers and partners, as well as those with interdisciplinary co-authors.
Any researcher can submit a maximum of three proposals, inclusive of all proposal types, within a 12-month period to LAI, either as a main PI or co-PI in the proposal. For example, if a researcher submitted two proposals in our Fall 2023 round, they can then only submit a maximum of one proposal in our Spring 2024 round.
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. You may submit applications to LAI, but your application will not be considered for funding until your deliverables become current.
Projects can apply to receive different types of funding over their lifecycle and receive multiple grants over time. However, 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:
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Foundational Literacy and Numeracy
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Socio-emotional Learning (SEL) and Measurement of Holistic Skills/ Breadth of Skills
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Girls’ Education
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Intersections of Climate and Education
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Long-term Economic and Health Impacts of Education Interventions
As a complement to our socio-emotional learning (SEL) and measurement of holistic skills thematic priority, J-PAL conducted a review of over 230 RCTs in the AEA registry. "Measurement of Holistic Skills in RCTs: Review and Guidelines" (available below) explores the types of holistic skills measures and the approaches used to establish the reliability and validity of those measures. It serves as a resource for all submissions measuring holistic skills in children.
Please find the RFP Research Agenda below, which includes more details on the set of priority research questions. 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.
Application Timeline
LAI's third round of funding will open on April 17, 2024. Letters of Interest are due May 29, 2024, at 1:00 PM ET. Proposals are due July 15, 2024. Funding decisions will be announced in mid-October 2024. LAI usually launches an RFP in the Fall and Spring of each year.
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
Funding round 3: All applications are required to submit a Letter of interest (LOI) by MAY 29, 2024 at 1:00 PM ET.
J-PAL initiatives use an online portal for all proposal submissions, proposal reviews, invoice submissions, and grantee reporting. To apply to LAI’s RFP, you will need to log in via our online portal with your username and password. To submit an LOI, please log into the portal and click here to access LAI’s LOI.
To request an applicant (“grantee”) account for the J-PAL portal, please complete this form and specify which type of account you require. Account creation should not exceed two business days. For team members, please utilize your institutional email addresses when possible to reduce the potential for spoofing incidents. For further information and troubleshooting, please get in touch with [email protected].
Proposals: The LAI team will notify you if you are eligible to begin your proposal via the portal once we have reviewed your LOI. In the interim, to facilitate your proposal development, below are reference application documents from our first funding round. 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.
Request for Proposals Overview
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.