From pilot to policy: Scaling for impact
In our first two decades, over 850 million people were reached by programs and policies informed by evaluations in the J-PAL network. We aim to reach 500 million more people in the next ten years. As global aid budgets tighten, integrating proven solutions into government systems will be essential to meeting this ambitious goal.
Governments spend far more on health care, education, and social protection than all foreign aid combined—and they have the authority to set priorities, commit resources, and operate at scale. We partner with governments around the world to reach the people most in need with financial support, food, clean water, health care, and employment.
Through J-PAL’s dozens of government partnerships and evidence-to-policy labs, we move quickly on urgent policy opportunities with clear, relevant evidence and hands-on support. Our in-country teams create partnerships grounded in mutual trust and a long-term vision for success.
Injecting bilateral and philanthropic funding at the right time, for the right opportunities, is essential to this process, enabling governments with limited resources to de-risk innovation and work with us on proven solutions—turning evidence into real-world action.
Featured 2025 scale-ups
- Every Child Counts, a math curriculum in Indian schools, is on track to reach 500,000 students annually by 2027. J-PAL built a coalition of government and nonprofit partners to scale up the program across the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, and Punjab.
- Three new cap-and-trade markets are creating cleaner air in India thanks to partnerships with J-PAL and EPIC’s Emissions Market Accelerator. Launched earlier this year, the Accelerator works with governments to design and implement innovative markets that cost-effectively cut pollution without having an effect on a company’s bottom line.
- A national reform to improve student learning in Morocco, known as Pioneer Schools, launched a series of evaluations through J-PAL’s Morocco Innovation and Evaluation Lab to test and improve on program design for maximum impact.
Four models of scaling for impact
Moving from evaluation to large-scale program implementation requires trade-offs between fidelity to the original program design, feasibility, cost, and political and administrative realities. Our in-country teams bridge the gap between global knowledge—from thousands of evaluations in the J-PAL network—and local expertise. This practical guidance is essential to help implementers navigate roadblocks without losing key components necessary for impact.
Our agile partnership models let us move quickly on urgent policy opportunities and build coalitions of implementation partners, researchers, and on-the ground staff to unlock new opportunities for scale.
- At a global level, J-PAL’s Innovation in Government Initiative (IGI) advises governments on their development priorities and helps them adapt, test, and scale new solutions that can be integrated into governments systems. In 2025 IGI catalyzed 16 partnerships in 11 countries, including India, Zambia, Mexico, and Indonesia, to improve education, livelihoods, climate, and health. View featured IGI projects.
- At the country level, we take a strategic, focused approach to working with national governments to co-create solutions across many departments and sectors. In India, for example, the Alliance for Scaling Policy Impact through Research and Evidence (ASPIRE) complements IGI by bringing together government offices, philanthropies, civil society, and researchers to scale programs addressing India’s most pressing development challenges.
In 2025, ASPIRE adapted and scaled evidence-informed programs like the Graduation Approach and a gender equity curriculum across India. This on-the-ground, collaborative approach enables governments to adopt and own these innovative programs. - At the organizational level, we partner with government ministries and international NGOs to build Policy Labs to integrate policy-relevant research, analysis, and evidence application directly into policy decisions on a daily basis. These labs, like the Egypt Impact Lab, the Morocco Innovation and Evidence Lab, and the Air and Water Labs in Egypt, India, and South Africa, create a platform for systematic use of data and research in policy discussions, planning cycles, and operational decisions—creating a strong culture of evidence use.
- At the program level, we convene key players and provide technical support to help promising, evidence-backed programs reach more people, either scaling up an existing program or adapting a program to a new context. For example, J-PAL Africa is actively mobilizing key players and finding policy windows for disease-preventing chlorine voucher programs through a Givewell grant.
Looking ahead
Demand for evidence-informed policymaking is growing across the globe. More than 30 rigorously tested programs are ready for investment and consideration for scale. We are looking to engage a broad community of philanthropies, government partners, and international organizations to harness the resources needed to turn proven ideas into lasting change. Interested in learning more? Contact us at [email protected].
Scaling a proven solution
Scaling Up the Adoption of Rainwater Harvesting Techniques in Niger
Jenny Aker (Cornell University) , Kelsey Jack (University of California, Berkeley), Malam Assane Maigari (University of Diffa)
Degraded land and unpredictable rainfall make farming in Niger difficult and incomes uncertain. Farmers can increase their harvests—and profits—by capturing and redirecting rainwater to prevent flooding and soil erosion. IGI is supporting a scale-up of these innovative rainwater harvesting methods across Niger.
Scaling a solution to a new context
Adapting Payment for Ecosystem Programs in Guatemala
Seema Jayachandran (Princeton University), Benjamín Nicolas Leiva Crispi (J-PAL LAC)
Guatemala loses ~61,000 hectares of forest each year, driving biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation, and high carbon emissions. Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) programs reward landowners for protecting ecosystems, and can reduce deforestation and increase tree cover. IGI is supporting Guatemala’s Ministry of Environment in designing a PES program to address the consequences of deforestation across the country.
Building coalitions for scale
Scaling Every Child Counts in India
Esther Duflo (MIT), Elizabeth Spelke (Harvard University), and Harini Kannan (J-PAL SA)
In India, over 70 percent of children in grades 3-5 struggle with foundational math skills, limiting their future learning. Every Child Counts uses playful, evidence-informed math games that tap into children’s intuition, bridging the gap to formal classroom learning. IGI supports its expansion across India through a coalition of governments and NGOs.
Technology-enabled scale
User-Centered Digital Applications to Streamline Social Protections in Rural India
Rohini Pande (Yale University), Yusuf Neggers (University of Michigan), Charity Troyer Moore (Ohio State University)
An app called PayDash gives government workers real-time data to track payments to beneficiaries in India’s largest rural workfare program. In a country where one in four people receive financial assistance from the government, timely payments are essential to keeping poor households out of debt and meeting their basic needs. IGI supports integrating Paydash into government systems to reduce delays and boost participation for millions of people in rural areas.
Generating evidence on the journey to scale
Social Signaling for Childhood Immunization in Sierra Leone
Anne Karing (University of Chicago)
Sierra Leone faces high child mortality from preventable diseases; less than 50 percent of children aged 1-2 receive a full course of vaccines, leaving them vulnerable. Colorful bracelets that signal to the rest of the community that parents are on-time in completing their child’s vaccines have been shown to increase immunization at relatively little cost. IGI supports integrating malaria vaccines into this program and evaluating scale-up delivery models.
Lead photo credit: J-PAL