Innovations For Poverty Action

INNOVATIONS FOR POVERTY ACTION DISCOVERS AND PROMOTES EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS TO GLOBAL POVERTY.

EDUCATION: THE EDUCATION SECTOR PROGRAM AT IPA WORKS TO RIGOROUSLY EVALUATE PROGRAMS THAT AIM TO IMPROVE EDUCATION OUTCOMES, INCREASE ACCESS TO AND QUALITY OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, AND IMPROVE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE, AMONG OTHER GOALS. IN 2021, THE EDUCATION SECTOR WAS ABLE TO COMPLETE SEVERAL RESEARCH PROJECTS FOCUSED ON REMOTE LEARNING AND OTHER INTERVENTIONS TO ADDRESS LEARNING LOSS AND RELATED CHALLENGES BROUGHT ON BY SCHOOL CLOSURES, INCLUDING WORK IN CTE D'IVOIRE, KENYA, RWANDA, GHANA, THE PHILIPPINES, AND PERU. IN ADDITION, TWO NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS INCLUDE 1) THE PUBLICATION OF IPA'S TEACHER PAY FOR PERFORMANCE STUDY, AN IMPORTANT COLLABORATION BETWEEN IPA, THE RWANDA EDUCATION BOARD (REB), AND RWANDAN MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND ONE OF THE FOUNDATIONAL PROJECTS FOR IPA'S EMBEDDED LAB WITH REB; THE INITIATIVE IS NOW BEING SCALED TO ADDITIONAL DISTRICTS WITH FOLLOW UP RESEARCH, AND 2) IPA'S COLLABORATION WITH THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION IN LIBERIA, WHERE WE WORKED TO DRAFT THE COUNTRY'S FIRST NATIONAL LEARNING ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK AND POLICY AS WELL AS DESIGN AND PILOT LEARNING ASSESSMENTS.

FINANCIAL INCLUSION: INNOVATIONS FOR POVERTY ACTION'S FINANCIAL INCLUSION SECTOR PRODUCES RIGOROUS EVIDENCE ON WHAT WORKS TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY, CHOICE, AND UTILIZATION OF FINANCIAL TOOLS AND POLICIES. WE SHARE THIS EVIDENCE WITH PUBLIC- AND PRIVATE-SECTOR POLICYMAKERS TO SUPPORT THEIR DEVELOPMENT OF FINANCIAL TOOLS AND POLICIES WITH PROVEN IMPACT ON CONSUMER WELFARE. THE FINANCIAL INCLUSION PROGRAM'S LARGEST INITIATIVE IS THE CONSUMER PROTECTION RESEARCH INITIATIVE, A $5.4 MILLION RESEARCH FACILITY FUNDED BY THE BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION TO SUPPORT POLICYMAKERS, FINANCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS, AND CIVIL SOCIETY TO DEVELOP AND TEST CONSUMER PROTECTION SOLUTIONS IN EMERGING MARKETS. IN 2021, THE INITIATIVE FUNDED TWELVE PROJECTS ON STUDIES RANGING FROM COMBATING FRAUDULENT FINTECH APPS WITH MACHINE LEARNING TO TESTING CONSUMERS' ABILITIES TO RECOGNIZE SCAMS. IPA DEVELOPED PARTNERSHIPS WITH PRACTITIONERS IN KENYA, UGANDA, INDIA, NIGERIA, THE PHILIPPINES, AND OTHER EMERGING MARKETS TO PROMOTE A MORE RIGOROUS APPROACH TO CONSUMER PROTECTION POLICIES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. IPA'S FINANCIAL INCLUSION SECTOR LAUNCHED THE TRANSACTION COST INDEX PROJECT IN 2021, WHICH IS A $1.9 MILLION RESEARCH FACILITY FUNDED BY THE BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION TO CAPTURE THE FULL COST OF COMPLETING MOBILE MONEY TRANSACTIONS. THIS INCLUDES MEASURING OFFICIAL LISTED PRICES OF TRANSACTIONS AND FEES, UNOFFICIAL PRICES LIKE "OFF-THE-BOOKS" AGENT FEES, AND NON-PECUNIARY COSTS SUCH AS WAIT TIMES, FAILED TRANSACTIONS, AND SECURITY CONCERNS. THE FINANCIAL INCLUSION PROGRAM ALSO ADVANCED WORK ON ITS INTEROPERABLE PAYMENT SYSTEMS RESEARCH INITIATIVE IN 2021, WHICH IS A $3.4 MILLION INITIATIVE FUNDED BY THE BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION TO PARTNER WITH ACADEMIC RESEARCHERS, AS WELL AS IN-MARKET PARTNERS TO ADDRESS KNOWLEDGE GAPS ON INTEROPERABILITY. THE INITIATIVE HAS BEGUN TO DEVELOP A PORTFOLIO OF RESEARCH PROJECTS IN ASIA AND SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA USING A COMBINATION OF RESEARCH METHODS SUCH AS DEMAND-SIDE SURVEYS, ADMINISTRATIVE DATA ANALYSIS, A/B TESTING, AND RANDOMIZED EVALUATIONS. ADDITIONALLY, THE FINANCIAL INCLUSION SECTOR PARTNERED WITH THE UNITED NATIONS CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT FUND (UNCDF) AND BRAC BANK TO EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF ALIGNING THE FINANCIAL GOALS OF REMITTANCE SENDERS AND RECIPIENTS ON FINANCIAL BEHAVIOR THROUGH A $349K PROJECT FUNDED BY UNCDF.

PEACE & RECOVERY: IPA'S WORK ON PEACE AND RECOVERY AIMS TO BUILD RIGOROUS EVIDENCE ON EFFECTIVE WAYS TO INCREASE PEACE AND STABILITY IN CONFLICT AND CRISIS-AFFECTED CONTEXTS. IN 2021, IPA SUPPORTED NEW RESEARCH PROJECTS IN THIS SECTOR THROUGH A COMPETITIVE RESEARCH FUND, INCLUDING WORK ON POLICING IN MEXICO AND BRAZIL, RESPONSES TO INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE IN PERU, AND ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR DISPLACED WOMEN IN SOMALIA.

INNOVATIONS FOR POVERTY ACTION (IPA) IS A RESEARCH AND POLICY NONPROFIT THAT DISCOVERS AND PROMOTES EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS TO GLOBAL POVERTY PROBLEMS. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TOP RESEARCHERS IN THE FIELD, WE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENT RANDOMIZED EVALUATIONS TO MEASURE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PROGRAMS AND POLICIES AIMED AT HELPING THE POOR. WE SPECIALIZE IN RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) BECAUSE THIS RIGOROUS METHODOLOGY ALLOWS US TO ISOLATE THE EFFECTS OF A PROGRAM FROM OTHER FACTORS. LIKE IN MEDICAL TRIALS, RESEARCHERS ASSIGN PARTICIPANTS AT RANDOM TO DIFFERENT STUDY GROUPS. ONE OR MORE GROUPS RECEIVE A PROGRAM (THE "TREATMENT GROUPS") AND ANOTHER GROUP SERVES AS THE COMPARISON (OR "CONTROL") GROUP.IPA EVALUATIONS DO NOT SIMPLY GIVE A PASSING OR FAILING GRADE TO PROGRAMS, BUT RATHER SEEK TO UNCOVER AND DISENTANGLE CAUSAL MECHANISMS AND DETERMINE WHICH ADJUSTMENTS WILL MAKE A PROGRAM MORE EFFECTIVE.OUR WELLESTABLISHED PARTNERSHIPS IN THE COUNTRIES WHERE WE WORK, AND A STRONG UNDERSTANDING OF LOCAL CONTEXTS, HELP MAKE OUR RESEARCH PROJECTS SUCCESSFUL. OUR TEAMS OPERATING IN 22 COUNTRIES WORK ON THE GROUND TO DEVELOP NEW STUDIES WITH NGOS AND GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS INTERESTED IN CONDUCTING RIGOROUS EVALUATIONS OF THEIR PROGRAMS AND IN TESTING NEW IDEAS. IPA HAS MORE THAN 1,000 RESEARCH STAFF WHO IMPLEMENT THE RESEARCH ONTHE GROUND. STUDIES RANGE IN TIME FROM MONTHS, TO YEARS, TO DECADES.ONCE AN INTERVENTION HAS PROVEN EFFECTIVE IN ONE CONTEXT, WE WORK TO TEST IT IN OTHER CONTEXTS. THIS REPLICATION PROCESS IS AN ESSENTIAL STEP ON THE PATH TO SCALING UP EFFECTIVE PROGRAMS.IPA HAS AN EXTENSIVE NETWORK OF MORE THAN 600 RESEARCHERS FROM AMONG THE TOP UNIVERSITIES IN THE WORLD WHO COLLABORATE WITH US IN DESIGNING AND CONDUCTING THE EVALUATIONS. MANY OF THESE ACADEMICS ARE PIONEERS IN THEIR FIELDS OF RESEARCH, PARTICULARLY IN DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS. TO DATE, WE HAVE DESIGNED AND EVALUATED MORE THAN 700 POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS TO POVERTY PROBLEMS AND HAVE OVER 250 MORE EVALUATIONS IN PROGRESS. WITH THIS EXPERIENCE, IPA HAS DEVELOPED EXTENSIVE EXPERTISE IN CONDUCTING SUCCESSFUL EVALUATIONS, FROM THE INITIAL CONCEPT STAGE TO THE SHARING OF RESULTS.

EDUCATION: THE EDUCATION SECTOR PROGRAM AT IPA WORKS TO RIGOROUSLY EVALUATE PROGRAMS THAT AIM TO IMPROVE EDUCATION OUTCOMES, INCREASE ACCESS TO AND QUALITY OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, AND IMPROVE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE, AMONG OTHER GOALS. IN 2021, THE EDUCATION SECTOR WAS ABLE TO COMPLETE SEVERAL RESEARCH PROJECTS FOCUSED ON REMOTE LEARNING AND OTHER INTERVENTIONS TO ADDRESS LEARNING LOSS AND RELATED CHALLENGES BROUGHT ON BY SCHOOL CLOSURES, INCLUDING WORK IN CTE D'IVOIRE, KENYA, RWANDA, GHANA, THE PHILIPPINES, AND PERU. IN ADDITION, TWO NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS INCLUDE 1) THE PUBLICATION OF IPA'S TEACHER PAY FOR PERFORMANCE STUDY, AN IMPORTANT COLLABORATION BETWEEN IPA, THE RWANDA EDUCATION BOARD (REB), AND RWANDAN MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND ONE OF THE FOUNDATIONAL PROJECTS FOR IPA'S EMBEDDED LAB WITH REB; THE INITIATIVE IS NOW BEING SCALED TO ADDITIONAL DISTRICTS WITH FOLLOW UP RESEARCH, AND 2) IPA'S COLLABORATION WITH THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION IN LIBERIA, WHERE WE WORKED TO DRAFT THE COUNTRY'S FIRST NATIONAL LEARNING ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK AND POLICY AS WELL AS DESIGN AND PILOT LEARNING ASSESSMENTS.

FINANCIAL INCLUSION: INNOVATIONS FOR POVERTY ACTION'S FINANCIAL INCLUSION SECTOR PRODUCES RIGOROUS EVIDENCE ON WHAT WORKS TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY, CHOICE, AND UTILIZATION OF FINANCIAL TOOLS AND POLICIES. WE SHARE THIS EVIDENCE WITH PUBLIC- AND PRIVATE-SECTOR POLICYMAKERS TO SUPPORT THEIR DEVELOPMENT OF FINANCIAL TOOLS AND POLICIES WITH PROVEN IMPACT ON CONSUMER WELFARE. THE FINANCIAL INCLUSION PROGRAM'S LARGEST INITIATIVE IS THE CONSUMER PROTECTION RESEARCH INITIATIVE, A $5.4 MILLION RESEARCH FACILITY FUNDED BY THE BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION TO SUPPORT POLICYMAKERS, FINANCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS, AND CIVIL SOCIETY TO DEVELOP AND TEST CONSUMER PROTECTION SOLUTIONS IN EMERGING MARKETS. IN 2021, THE INITIATIVE FUNDED TWELVE PROJECTS ON STUDIES RANGING FROM COMBATING FRAUDULENT FINTECH APPS WITH MACHINE LEARNING TO TESTING CONSUMERS' ABILITIES TO RECOGNIZE SCAMS. IPA DEVELOPED PARTNERSHIPS WITH PRACTITIONERS IN KENYA, UGANDA, INDIA, NIGERIA, THE PHILIPPINES, AND OTHER EMERGING MARKETS TO PROMOTE A MORE RIGOROUS APPROACH TO CONSUMER PROTECTION POLICIES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. IPA'S FINANCIAL INCLUSION SECTOR LAUNCHED THE TRANSACTION COST INDEX PROJECT IN 2021, WHICH IS A $1.9 MILLION RESEARCH FACILITY FUNDED BY THE BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION TO CAPTURE THE FULL COST OF COMPLETING MOBILE MONEY TRANSACTIONS. THIS INCLUDES MEASURING OFFICIAL LISTED PRICES OF TRANSACTIONS AND FEES, UNOFFICIAL PRICES LIKE "OFF-THE-BOOKS" AGENT FEES, AND NON-PECUNIARY COSTS SUCH AS WAIT TIMES, FAILED TRANSACTIONS, AND SECURITY CONCERNS. THE FINANCIAL INCLUSION PROGRAM ALSO ADVANCED WORK ON ITS INTEROPERABLE PAYMENT SYSTEMS RESEARCH INITIATIVE IN 2021, WHICH IS A $3.4 MILLION INITIATIVE FUNDED BY THE BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION TO PARTNER WITH ACADEMIC RESEARCHERS, AS WELL AS IN-MARKET PARTNERS TO ADDRESS KNOWLEDGE GAPS ON INTEROPERABILITY. THE INITIATIVE HAS BEGUN TO DEVELOP A PORTFOLIO OF RESEARCH PROJECTS IN ASIA AND SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA USING A COMBINATION OF RESEARCH METHODS SUCH AS DEMAND-SIDE SURVEYS, ADMINISTRATIVE DATA ANALYSIS, A/B TESTING, AND RANDOMIZED EVALUATIONS. ADDITIONALLY, THE FINANCIAL INCLUSION SECTOR PARTNERED WITH THE UNITED NATIONS CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT FUND (UNCDF) AND BRAC BANK TO EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF ALIGNING THE FINANCIAL GOALS OF REMITTANCE SENDERS AND RECIPIENTS ON FINANCIAL BEHAVIOR THROUGH A $349K PROJECT FUNDED BY UNCDF.

PEACE & RECOVERY: IPA'S WORK ON PEACE AND RECOVERY AIMS TO BUILD RIGOROUS EVIDENCE ON EFFECTIVE WAYS TO INCREASE PEACE AND STABILITY IN CONFLICT AND CRISIS-AFFECTED CONTEXTS. IN 2021, IPA SUPPORTED NEW RESEARCH PROJECTS IN THIS SECTOR THROUGH A COMPETITIVE RESEARCH FUND, INCLUDING WORK ON POLICING IN MEXICO AND BRAZIL, RESPONSES TO INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE IN PERU, AND ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR DISPLACED WOMEN IN SOMALIA.

INNOVATIONS FOR POVERTY ACTION (IPA) IS A RESEARCH AND POLICY NONPROFIT THAT DISCOVERS AND PROMOTES EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS TO GLOBAL POVERTY PROBLEMS. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TOP RESEARCHERS IN THE FIELD, WE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENT RANDOMIZED EVALUATIONS TO MEASURE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PROGRAMS AND POLICIES AIMED AT HELPING THE POOR. WE SPECIALIZE IN RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) BECAUSE THIS RIGOROUS METHODOLOGY ALLOWS US TO ISOLATE THE EFFECTS OF A PROGRAM FROM OTHER FACTORS. LIKE IN MEDICAL TRIALS, RESEARCHERS ASSIGN PARTICIPANTS AT RANDOM TO DIFFERENT STUDY GROUPS. ONE OR MORE GROUPS RECEIVE A PROGRAM (THE "TREATMENT GROUPS") AND ANOTHER GROUP SERVES AS THE COMPARISON (OR "CONTROL") GROUP.IPA EVALUATIONS DO NOT SIMPLY GIVE A PASSING OR FAILING GRADE TO PROGRAMS, BUT RATHER SEEK TO UNCOVER AND DISENTANGLE CAUSAL MECHANISMS AND DETERMINE WHICH ADJUSTMENTS WILL MAKE A PROGRAM MORE EFFECTIVE.OUR WELLESTABLISHED PARTNERSHIPS IN THE COUNTRIES WHERE WE WORK, AND A STRONG UNDERSTANDING OF LOCAL CONTEXTS, HELP MAKE OUR RESEARCH PROJECTS SUCCESSFUL. OUR TEAMS OPERATING IN 22 COUNTRIES WORK ON THE GROUND TO DEVELOP NEW STUDIES WITH NGOS AND GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS INTERESTED IN CONDUCTING RIGOROUS EVALUATIONS OF THEIR PROGRAMS AND IN TESTING NEW IDEAS. IPA HAS MORE THAN 1,000 RESEARCH STAFF WHO IMPLEMENT THE RESEARCH ONTHE GROUND. STUDIES RANGE IN TIME FROM MONTHS, TO YEARS, TO DECADES.ONCE AN INTERVENTION HAS PROVEN EFFECTIVE IN ONE CONTEXT, WE WORK TO TEST IT IN OTHER CONTEXTS. THIS REPLICATION PROCESS IS AN ESSENTIAL STEP ON THE PATH TO SCALING UP EFFECTIVE PROGRAMS.IPA HAS AN EXTENSIVE NETWORK OF MORE THAN 600 RESEARCHERS FROM AMONG THE TOP UNIVERSITIES IN THE WORLD WHO COLLABORATE WITH US IN DESIGNING AND CONDUCTING THE EVALUATIONS. MANY OF THESE ACADEMICS ARE PIONEERS IN THEIR FIELDS OF RESEARCH, PARTICULARLY IN DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS. TO DATE, WE HAVE DESIGNED AND EVALUATED MORE THAN 700 POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS TO POVERTY PROBLEMS AND HAVE OVER 250 MORE EVALUATIONS IN PROGRESS. WITH THIS EXPERIENCE, IPA HAS DEVELOPED EXTENSIVE EXPERTISE IN CONDUCTING SUCCESSFUL EVALUATIONS, FROM THE INITIAL CONCEPT STAGE TO THE SHARING OF RESULTS.