The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a global research center working to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. Anchored by a network of more than 1,000 researchers at universities around the world, J-PAL conducts randomized impact evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty.
The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a global research center working to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. Anchored by a network of more than 1,000 researchers at universities around the world, J-PAL conducts randomized impact evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty.
Our affiliated professors are based at over 120 universities and conduct randomized evaluations around the world to design, evaluate, and improve programs and policies aimed at reducing poverty. They set their own research agendas, raise funds to support their evaluations, and work with J-PAL staff on research, policy outreach, and training.
Our research, policy, and training work is fundamentally better when it is informed by a broad range of perspectives.
Associate Director - Training, J-PAL South Asia and Director - CLEAR South Asia, J-PAL South Asia
Megha Pradhan is the Associate Director of Training at J-PAL South Asia and the Director of CLEAR South Asia, a global initiative for evaluation capacity development coordinated by the World Bank's Independent Evaluation Group. In this role, she leads efforts to strengthen monitoring and evaluation capacities and systems and the use of evidence in the region through long term government partnerships, trainings and advisory services. She provides technical and strategic direction to J-PAL South Asia’s capacity building partnerships with state and central governments, including the Development Monitoring & Evaluation Office (DMEO) at NITI Aayog, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), LBSNAA and others. She also leads the scale-up of an evidence-based early childhood education program with different state governments in India.
Prior to joining J-PAL South Asia in 2015, Megha was an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Delhi. She has also worked with the National Knowledge Commission, an advisory body to the Prime Minister of India, with the objective of transforming India into a knowledge economy. Megha holds a Masters in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics and a second Masters in Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park.