Partnership with the Government of Benin to Strengthen Evidence-Informed Policymaking
In March 2025, J-PAL Africa and the Ministry of Development and Coordination of Government Action (MDC) launched a multi-year partnership to support the generation and use of evidence in public policy across Benin. The collaboration builds on the country’s growing commitment to evidence-informed decisionmaking, including the passage of a 2024 law promoting the use of data in policymaking.
Objectives
The partnership is built around four key objectives:
- Understanding Benin’s policy priorities and systematically sharing evidence on these when available
- Generating rigorous evidence on critical policy questions using randomized evaluations
- Adapting, integrating, and scaling solutions shown to be effective
- Strengthening institutional capacity for the use of evidence in decision-making
Launch Event: Benin Evidence Forum
The partnership was formally launched at the Benin Evidence Forum, held on March 10, 2025, in Cotonou. Co-organized by J-PAL Africa and MDC, the event brought together leadership from across Benin’s government — including the Minister of State, Abdoulaye Bio Tchané, as well as four other ministers, and the Directors of Cabinet from all 22 ministries — along with J-PAL affiliated researchers and senior staff.
From J-PAL’s side, speakers included Pascaline Dupas (Princeton; Co-Scientific Director, J-PAL Africa), Jenny Aker (Cornell; Co-Chair, Digital Identification and Finance Initiative), Cillian Nolan (Executive Director, J-PAL Europe), and Vinayak Bhardwaj (Executive Director, J-PAL Africa). Discussions focused on the role of impact evaluations in strengthening policy effectiveness and sustainability.
Contact
J-PAL Africa partnership leads
- Teresa Lezcano Cadwallader, Associate Director, Policy, [email protected]
- Priya Nair, Education, Training and Policy Manager, [email protected]
- Josué Awonon, Senior Policy Manager, [email protected]
Benin Government focal point
- Gbetoton Nadège Djossou, Director of Public Policy Evaluation, Direction Générale de l'Évaluation et de l'Observatoire du Changement Social (DGEOCS), Ministry of Development and Coordination of Government Action
