About ASPIRE

Alliance for Scaling Policy Impact through Research and Evidence (ASPIRE) is a joint initiative of J-PAL South Asia and the Veddis Foundation to bring together governments, donors and CSOs working towards alleviating poverty through scientific evidence and data.

We enable scaleups of evidence-based programs across multiple Indian states and closely track their progress – which allows all stakeholders to refine execution based on data and evidence.

ASPIRE is committed to solving pressing social problems in India. Our scale-up work is focused on cross-cutting issues that are relevant today, to build an equitable future. The outcomes we are impacting span across air pollution, rural development and livelihoods, early childhood numeracy, women’s safety, and gender equity.

J-PAL

J-PAL was founded in 2003 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) by Nobel laureate professors Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, and Sendhil Mullainathan. J-PAL is known for its experimental approach towards alleviating global poverty, anchored by a network of more than 870 researchers at universities around the world. Researchers in J-PAL’s network have over 1,600 ongoing and completed randomized evaluations in 95 countries.

J-PAL South Asia

J-PAL South Asia is the largest and the oldest regional office of J-PAL. It is based at the Institute for Financial Management and Research in India. J-PAL South Asia conducts randomized evaluations, builds partnerships for evidence-informed policymaking, and helps partners scale up effective programs.

Veddis Foundation

Veddis Foundation supports organizations working at the intersection of technology and policy to create lasting impact at scale. With a mission to create deep and irreversible social change, the Foundation also works directly with governments on effective public service delivery. The Foundation takes an evidence-based approach to supporting institutions doing impactful work. It hopes to bring analytical rigor and a collaborative spirit to philanthropic investments with a goal to achieve measurable outsized impact.

Anonymous Donor

In January 2025, an anonymous donor joined ASPIRE as a Core funder, committing $1.5 million over three years to advance evidence-based policy solutions at scale. This generous contribution underscores ASPIRE’s growing impact and strengthens its ability to foster partnerships, scale proven interventions, and drive systemic change.

Our teams

ASPIRE Governance Committee

Leading executives from the Veddis Foundation, the anonymous donor, and J-PAL provide strategic guidance and mentorship to ASPIRE.

Iqbal Dhaliwal
Global Executive Director
J-PAL

Tithee Mukhopadhyay
Deputy Executive Director
J-PAL South Asia

Vikrant Bhargava
Trustee
Veddis

Murugan Vasudevan
Chief Executive Officer
Veddis

ASPIRE Management Team

Our staff consists of policy and research experts who forge and maintain relationships with our partners, use rigorous research methods to measure progress, and disseminate our learnings to a wider audience.