J-PAL LAC Government Partnerships Expansion in Brazil and Mexico

Due to their capacity to reach millions of persons, governments are primarily responsible for providing services in most low-and middle-income countries. However, significant gaps in the effectiveness of social spending persist despite increases in available evidence and data that can offer insights into how to fight against poverty and gender inequality. Therefore, building a culture of evidence-based decision-making is particularly relevant to improve people’s lives

As part of a global effort to support governments in laying the groundwork to take evidence-informed policies and programs to scale, J-PAL LAC aims to help policymakers in Brazil and Mexico overcome institutional barriers and disincentives to engage with evidence and data meaningfully through the Government Partnership Expansion.

The first stage of the  Government Partnership Expansion consisted of a selection process to identify government institutions interested in incorporating the use of evidence into their work. Through the partnerships, government organizations strengthen their capacities to generate and use evidence and data while incentivizing evidence-based policymaking to reduce gender inequality.

Selected governments establish a partnership agreement with J-PAL LAC and academics from the J-PAL network that might include several activities. The following are examples of the type of activities that a partnership could have: