PAIE Scholars Program

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The PAIE Scholars Program supports researchers based in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Asia and Africa to develop and lead rigorous, policy-relevant evaluations of innovative applications of AI for social good and in the fight against poverty.

Selected scholars will receive training in randomized evaluation and the evaluation of AI-enabled interventions, along with an award of US$1,000, conditional on successfully completing the training and meeting the program requirements.

Applicants will submit a working concept note as part of their application to the program. Selected scholars will develop and refine their concept notes during the training, applying what they learn to strengthen their initial research ideas. Scholars who pass the proctored assessment and submit a revised concept note will be considered for proposal-development and travel support and research mentorship. Those selected will use this support to develop a full pilot proposal, which will undergo a separate competitive review for pilot funding.

Application

Applications for the PAIE Scholars Program will open on September 17, 2026. The deadline to apply is October 16, 2026, at 12 PM (ET). 

Applicants will complete an online application covering their academic background, research experience, quantitative training, and interest in evaluating AI-enabled interventions.

Applicants will be asked to submit: 

  • A CV; 
  • One to three examples of their research; 
  • Brief statements describing their research experience, experience with randomized evaluations, interest in evaluating AI-enabled interventions, and interest in the PAIE Scholars Program; and 
  • A working concept note describing the research idea they would like to develop, including how it could ultimately lead to a randomized evaluation. 

The working concept note does not need to include a fully developed intervention or evaluation design, and applicants are not required to have an implementing partner at this stage. The application form provides the complete requirements and word limits.

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Eligibility Criteria

The program is open to resident scholars based in low- and middle-income countries in Asia and Africa as defined by the World Bank. See this link for the definitive list of eligible countries.

For the purposes of this program, resident scholars are researchers who have completed a PhD and whose primary professional affiliation is with a university in an eligible country. Scholars may hold additional positions at other organizations, but their primary affiliation must be with a university in an eligible country.

Applicants must: 

  • Have completed a PhD in economics, or another relevant empirical discipline 
  • Have advanced training in quantitative methods, such as statistics, econometrics, causal inference, experimental methods, or machine learning; 
  • Demonstrate an interest in evaluating how AI-enabled interventions affect social or economic outcomes; 
  • Have sufficient English proficiency to complete the required coursework, training, and assessment and prepare research outputs in English; and 
  • Be willing and available to complete all required program components.

The initial training program is tentatively expected to run for approximately three months, from November 2026 through January 2027. Selected scholars should expect to dedicate approximately four to ten hours per week, depending on their prior training and familiarity with randomized evaluations. The final schedule, assigned coursework, and expected time commitment will be shared before the program begins.

Applicants do not need an existing relationship with a J-PAL-affiliated professor or invited researcher to apply. They also do not need to have a fully developed research project or an implementing partnership at the initial application stage.

How the program works

The PAIE Scholars Program combines training with a staged process through which scholars refine their working concept notes and may progress toward developing and securing funding for a pilot study.

Advancement between stages is competitive. Selection into the initial cohort does not guarantee proposal-development and travel support, research mentorship, or pilot funding.

Training and assessment

Selected scholars will complete a structured training program covering randomized evaluation and the evaluation of AI-enabled interventions. 

The training will include: 

The PAIE-administered assessment is a requirement of the PAIE Scholars Program. It is separate from the official MITx assessment and does not result in an MITx certificate. Scholars may later complete the official MITx assessment and earn an MITx certificate, subject to the applicable MITx requirements and assessment schedule. Scholars with sufficient prior training in randomized evaluation may complete selected 102x modules. 

Scholars will receive a US$1,000 award for successfully completing the first phase of the program. The award will be paid after a scholar has completed their assigned training requirements, passed the PAIE-administered assessment, and submitted a revised concept note that meets the program requirements. This award is separate from proposal-development and travel support and does not guarantee research mentorship, pilot funding, or advancement to subsequent stages of the program.

Working concept note

Scholars will enter the program with a working concept note submitted as part of their initial application. During the training, they will refine the concept note by applying what they learn and receiving support from the PAIE team. Scholars who complete their assigned training requirements and pass the PAIE-administered assessment will submit a revised concept note, which will serve as their application for a proposal-development and travel grant and potential research mentorship. 

The revised concept note will describe: 

  • The policy or social problem motivating the research; 
  • The AI-enabled intervention or policy application to be evaluated; 
  • The research question and why rigorous evidence is needed; 
  • The relevant population and setting; 
  • The scholar’s initial thinking about the evaluation design, including potential outcomes and data sources; 
  • Any potential implementing partner or, if none has been identified, an initial plan for identifying one; 
  • The pathway toward a randomized evaluation and what a pilot study would establish; and 
  • The further development needed and how a proposal-development and travel grant would be used.

The PAIE team will review the revised concept notes and select a subset of scholars to receive a proposal-development and travel grant. Depending on their needs and mentor availability, selected scholars may also receive research mentorship.

In cases where a scholar already has an implementing partner and a sufficiently developed research design, they may be invited to proceed directly to a full pilot proposal without receiving a proposal-development grant. All pilot proposals will undergo a separate competitive review for funding. 

Proposal-development and travel support 

Scholars selected for proposal-development support will receive a proposal-development and travel grant of up to US$10,000 to develop their preliminary research idea into a full pilot proposal.

The grant may be used for activities such as: 

  • Conducting background research; 
  • Identifying or developing a relationship with an implementing partner;
  • Visiting potential field sites; 
  • Assessing the availability and suitability of existing administrative or survey data; 
  • Conducting preliminary analysis of existing data where this does not constitute human-subjects research; 
  • Refining the research question and evaluation design; and 
  • Preparing the pilot proposal and budget.

Proposal-development and travel grants may not be used to conduct human-subjects research or collect data from research participants.

Depending on scholars’ needs and mentor availability, grant recipients may also receive research mentorship as they prepare their pilot proposals. Mentors may include J-PAL affiliated professors or invited researchers with relevant subject-matter or methodological expertise.

Mentors may provide guidance on areas such as the research question, evaluation design, implementing partnerships, fieldwork preparation, and development of the pilot proposal. Scholars may also receive support from PAIE staff and the J-PAL research team.

Receiving a proposal-development and travel grant or research mentorship does not guarantee pilot funding.

PAIE pilot funding 

Scholars who complete the proposal-development stage—or are invited to proceed directly based on the readiness of their project—may submit a full proposal for an early-stage pilot study.

A pilot should have a clear research question and be designed to develop into or inform a future full-scale randomized evaluation. Pilot funding may be used to test the feasibility of the intervention and research design, refine measurement strategies, operationalize implementation and research logistics, collect pilot data, or facilitate access to administrative data. The pilot should generate the information needed to design a larger randomized evaluation with the potential to inform policy at scale.

By the pilot-proposal stage, scholars will be expected to have an implementing partner and a sufficiently developed research design.

Pilot proposals will undergo a separate competitive review. Successful proposals may receive up to US$75,000 in PAIE pilot funding. Invitation to submit a pilot proposal does not guarantee funding.

Detailed pilot-proposal guidelines and application materials will be provided to scholars invited to submit a pilot proposal.

Project Timeline

  • Applications open: September 17, 2026
  • Application deadline: October 16, 2026 at 12 PM ET
  • Scholars selected: Early November
  • Training begins: November
  • PAIE-administered assessment: To be confirmed
  • Revised concept notes due: To be confirmed
  • Proposal-development grant decisions: To be confirmed

Additional dates, including the pilot-proposal timeline, will be shared with selected scholars.

Contact Us

For questions about the PAIE Scholars Program, please contact the PAIE team at [email protected].

About Project AI Evidence 

Project AI Evidence (PAIE) identifies, evaluates, and scales innovative applications of AI for social good and in the fight against poverty by bringing together AI adopters, technology companies, and researchers. PAIE is an initiative of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL).

Learn more about PAIE.

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