Scaling Impact: ASPIRE’s Collaborative Approach to Driving Change
Why is there a need to scale up effective programs in India?
ASPIRE responds to pressing economic and social challenges, which restrict the lives of millions of Indians. We are working on tackling root causes of poverty, by maximizing the impact of evidence-based solutions.
Our approach
Why we work with Governments: Governments possess the ability to extend their reach to the furthest corners geographically, ensuring that benefits of welfare programs reach the last mile. Whilst Civil Society Organizations often supplement poverty alleviation measures, the scale of existing government systems are an unparalleled resource. Therefore, ASPIRE is committed to working with governments by providing technical support to adapt proven programs.
For instance – training teachers and district education staff is an integral part of the gender equity curriculum supported by ASPIRE across 23,000 state-run schools in Odisha. The Department of School and Mass Education’s continued support allows Breakthrough and the government to utilize existing platforms for training.
Our model of working with governments: Our teams collaborate with governments to identify their key policy challenges, map it to existing evidence and local contexts, and then propose solutions that the government can take to scale. We bring in NGO partners who can support the government in adapting these programs to their context. As the programs scale-up, we support governments through process monitoring, continuous learning and adaptation.
We bring in like-minded partners including NGOs, Private Sector players, and donors who share our vision of maximizing the impact of anti-poverty programs through scale-ups.
EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEME
Reducing industrial pollution by establishing emissions trading markets
Market-based environmental regulations have the potential to cut pollution at low cost (and potentially even increase profits), in areas where pollution levels remain persistently high. In 2022, based on results from a first-of-its-kind pilot study of an emissions market for particulate matter, the Gujarat Pollution Control Board built on Surat’s success and introduced a new market covering the largest manufacturers in the textile belt in the city of Ahmedabad - which includes 9.3 million people in its airshed.
Partners:
Gujarat Pollution Control Board
EPIC India
Globally, air pollution causes billions to live shorter, less healthy, and less productive lives. However, governments may hesitate to enforce mitigation policies, such as command and control policies, that they perceive to reduce pollution or emissions at the expense of economic development. An alternative approach is to create market-based mechanisms, which can improve air quality as well as spur economic growth.
With preliminary work beginning in 2012, a randomized evaluation was launched by the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) in 2019, in close collaboration with J-PAL affiliated researchers, in Surat, to test the efficacy of the first emissions market for particulate matter in India.
Evidence-to-action story:
RESEARCH
From a sample of about 320 solid fuel burning factories equipped with continuous emissions monitoring systems (CEMS)—devices that send live readings of particulate emissions—in Surat, half were chosen at random to participate in the emissions trading scheme, while the others remained under the status-quo command and control regulation.
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RESULTS
Factories randomly assigned to participate in the market reduced their emissions by 20 to 30 percent compared to those that remained under the status quo command-and-control regime.
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SCALE-UP
In May 2022, the Government of Gujarat launched the plan for expanding the scheme to other industrialized clusters in the state in partnership with the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) India and J-PAL South Asia. Capacity building among factories in Ahmedabad began in 2022. J-PAL South Asia contributed to the design of the training portal developed by the government, and advised on process improvements. The first phase of trading started in 2023.
GENDER EQUITY CURRICULUM
Reshaping adolescents’ gender attitudes by encouraging students to discuss gender equality in the classroom
Research shows that even long-held beliefs and discriminatory gender norms can be changed by encouraging adolescents to discuss gender inequality at an age when they’re still forming their opinions. As of 2023, an evidence-based gender equity curriculum has been introduced to reshape adolescent boys and girls’ gender attitudes, behaviors, and aspirations across 6,250 schools in Punjab. It is on track to be introduced in more than 23,000 public schools in Odisha, reaching 2.5 million students across the state in each academic year.
Partners:
Breakthrough
Department of School Education, Punjab
Department of School and Mass Education, Odisha
Directorate of Education, Daman and Diu
Globally, gender inequality severely limits the academic, professional, and economic potential of women and girls. Economic development alone, however, seems unlikely to achieve gender equality. In India, deeply-entrenched cultural norms and discriminatory attitudes towards women and girls often perpetuate gender inequality despite overall economic growth.
From 2014 to 2016, J-PAL affiliated researchers partnered with the NGO Breakthrough and the Government of Haryana to evaluate an interactive classroom curriculum that encouraged adolescent boys and girls to reflect on and discuss gender roles in order to instill more progressive gender attitudes and gender-equitable behaviors among them.
Evidence-to-action story:
RESEARCH
The randomized evaluation studied the impact of the curriculum on 15,000 boys’ and girls’ (aged 11-15 years) gender attitudes, aspirations, and behaviors across 314 government schools in Haryana, India.
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RESULTS
Students who initially held discriminatory attitudes changed their views to be more gender-equal in 16 percent of cases. These changes persisted two years after the study had concluded. The program also led to behavioral changes, particularly among boys, who reported performing more household chores.
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SCALE-UP
As of 2025, the curriculum is being implemented in more than 6,250 schools in Punjab, and will be implemented across 23,000 schools across all districts in Odisha. J-PAL South Asia is in discussions with the governments of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to introduce the curriculum. A formative research activity is currently underway in Karnataka to adapt the curriculum to fit the needs of the state’s education system.
Read more:
- The Impact of a School-Based Gender Attitude Change Program in India
- Government of Punjab partners with Breakthrough and J-PAL South Asia to implement gender sensitization curriculum in all government schools
- Government of Odisha partners with Breakthrough and J-PAL South Asia to introduce gender equity program in 23,000 government schools in the state
EVERY CHILD COUNTS (MATH GAMES)
Using intuitive games to improve performance of primary level math among preschoolers and grade 1 students
Evidence shows that young children have capacity to engage with quantities and shapes from birth – an ability that can be nurtured during early childhood to enhance formal math skills during preschool and grade 1. Math Games kits with materials for students and teachers are useful in integrating such games into the formal curriculum, with learning gains persisting even one year after the introduction of games. Based on 3 studies conducted in Delhi, the Math Games curriculum is being scaled-up through a direct partnership with the Government of Andhra Pradesh; and through knowledge transfer to education sector NGOs working across 3 states.
Partners:
State Council of Educational Research and Training, Andhra Pradesh
Government of Karnataka
Key Education Foundation
Pratham Education Foundation
Early Childhood Education (ECE) is a national priority for India, reflected in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The NEP commits to strong investment in ECE and includes recommendations for play-based, activity-based, and discovery-based learning. ECE plays a crucial role in shaping the cognitive and academic trajectory of students, emphasizing foundational mathematical skills. These skills are necessary for long-term success across different educational phases. Therefore, ECE is an important focus area during formative years, as it enables students to develop necessary math skills at an early stage prior to primary schooling.
To tackle the learning disparity faced by children, J-PAL affiliated researchers investigated the impact of informal math games played during school hours on children's readiness for learning formal math through a series of three evaluations in Delhi between 2013-19. The aim was to enhance intuitive and formal numerical and spatial abilities, aiming to bridge the early learning gap. The first model tested the impact of the math games curriculum in balwadis (preschools) run by Pratham, the second model tested a modified curriculum which now linked the math games to symbol systems of elementary school mathematics, and the third model tested the impact of the games in more traditional government-run Kindergarten and Grade 1 classrooms.
Evidence-to-action story:
RESEARCH
In Phase 1 of the study (2013-15), researchers investigated the effects of non-symbolic math games on over 1500 preschool children in 214 Pratham pre-schools throughout Delhi through a randomized evaluation. The Phase 2 study (2015-17) introduced a modified curriculum in 231 Pratham pre-schools, incorporating three game suites: non-symbolic math, symbolic math, and a 'transition' set explicitly linking non-symbolic to symbolic math. The Phase 3 study (2018-19) covered 141 government schools in Delhi, specifically focusing on Kindergarten and Grade 1 classrooms to test the impact of implementing ‘transition’ games in formal and more traditional school contexts.
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RESULTS
Results from the phase 1 revealed sustained improvements in non-symbolic math abilities but no significant impact on formal mathematics proficiency. Building from this, the modified design of the phase 2 study and the introduction of transition games for children exhibited notable and lasting gains in both symbolic and non-symbolic domains. Preliminary data from the phase 3 study show an improvement in math performance (0.102 standard deviations) overall and in formal math abilities (0.125 standard deviations). Similarly, results for first graders indicate that overall math performance, formal math abilities and additionally, intuitive skills witnessed improvement.
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SCALE-UP
J-PAL South Asia and Pratham are collaborating with the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Andhra Pradesh, in 2000 schools across the state, testing the model in anticipation of a state-wide roll-out. Presently, the focus is on integrating the curriculum into the state’s core math curriculum, training of teachers, and reducing the cost of math game kits – funded through ASPIRE.
J-PAL South Asia launched an innovative knowledge-transfer and certification program to help civil society organizations rapidly expand Every Child Counts in India, with the inaugural edition held in November 2023 in Delhi. The first cohort had participants from three NGOs: TiTLi Early Childhood Training Institute (TiTLi), Centre for Learning Resources (CLR), and Key Education Foundation (KEF). After the program, these NGOs piloted the curriculum in their respective communities, showing the potential of this model to expand the reach of the Every Child Counts program.The second Cohort of the NGO certification model will be a digital training course, which is expected to reduce costs and accelerate the reach of the curriculum.
In October 2024, J-PAL South Asia partnered with KEF to scale up the Every Child Counts program across 104 schools in collaboration with the Government of Karnataka. In addition, USAID DIV is supporting J-PAL South Asia to pilot and scale the Math Games curriculum across 4 more states – Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Maharashtra.
Read more:
- Informal Math Games to Improve Children's Readiness for Learning School Mathematics in India
- MIT Study Says Pre-School Intervention Enhances Intuitive But Not Formal Mathematics, May Curb Learning Deficit In Indian Schools
- Math games in preschool stage helps kids grasp fundamentals of math better
- Games Could Be Key to Make Preschool Kids Do Better at Math, Researchers Say
- Study: Preschoolers learn from math games — to a point
TARGETING THE ULTRA POOR
A multifaceted program to lift people out of extreme poverty
Research on the Graduation Approach, developed by BRAC and evaluated by J-PAL-affiliated researchers has empowered over 14 million households across 50 countries to uplift themselves from extreme poverty. This innovative and multifaceted livelihood program strategically combines assets, training, coaching, savings access, and consumption support, resulting in significant and lasting benefits. Evaluations done by J-PAL affiliated researchers in 50 countries found that the people who received the package of support under the Graduation Approach highlight the program's transformative impact on consumption, food security, asset holdings, and savings.
Partners:
Ministry of Rural Development
JEEViKA, Government of Bihar
BRAC
Bandhan-Konnagar
The / Nudge Institute
The Graduation Approach — developed by the NGO BRAC — has been effective in putting ultra-poor households out of extreme poverty. The Graduation Approach provides asset transfers, training, coaching, access to savings, and consumption support for two years. The first study was conducted in Bangladesh, and eventually extended to 6 more countries. The first government-led-scale up of the Graduation Approach is Satat Jeevikoparjan Yojana (SJY) for households headed by women. It is implemented by the Government of Bihar and Bandhan Konnagar, with J-PAL South Asia as the knowledge partner. SJY aims to reach 1 million people, through 200,000 women-headed households.
Evidence-to-action story:
RESEARCH
J-PAL conducted evaluations across 7 countries to study the transformative power of the Graduation Approach. A randomized evaluation of the original Graduation program along with evaluations of six adaptations of the program provide important evidence that the multifaceted livelihood program is effective at spurring a transition into self-employment across diverse contexts. In India, J-PAL South Asia and Bandhan Konnagar have conducted pilots for the Graduation Approach in Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha.
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RESULTS
The Graduation approach evaluated by J-PAL and IPA found enduring economic impacts. Households receiving the intervention had greater spending power, ate regularly, and had higher incomes and savings based on the findings from 7 countries. An evaluation from Murshidabad found that the effects of the Graduation Approach persisted 10 years after the program ended. Consumption of households receiving the intervention was 18% higher than those who did not participate in the program.
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SCALE-UP
J-PAL South Asia and Bandhan Konnagar are supporting JEEViKA in scaling up SJY to more than 200,000 households. J-PAL South Asia is also collaborating with the Ministry of Rural Development to scale the Graduation Approach across more than 10 states in India as a part of the Government of India’s Samaveshi Aajeevika Yojana (SAY). Under this collaboration, J-PAL South Asia is working with BRAC and The Nudge Institute to support the implementation of the Graduation Approach in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Lessons from the scale-up will be documented closely, in order to create future pathways for implementation of the Graduation Approach.
Read more:
- Targeting the ultra-poor to improve livelihoods
- Finding the Indiscernible Poor: Community knowledge as a targeting approach
- Building Stable Livelihoods for the Ultra-poor
- How A Livelihood Programme Is Lifting Women From Extreme Poverty To Own Businesses
- Time to diversify pro-poor policies
- A scientific approach to evaluating global anti-poverty programs
- Cash as Capital
REMOTE TUTORING
Targeted, one-on-one phone tutoring program to improve math learning and parental engagement.
Randomized evaluations carried out in six countries show that a targeted instructional approach delivered over phone can be effective in improving children’s basic numeracy and math learning as well as boosting parental engagement.
In India, which has one of the biggest school systems in the world, nearly every eligible child receives primary education. But they are not learning well. The ASER 2024 report found that over half of India’s 10-year-olds struggle to read a simple story or solve basic arithmetic operations such as division. These statistics have brought the significance of foundational learning — basic literacy and arithmetic skills of children — into sharp focus.
Partners:
Department of Education, Government of Karnataka
Youth Impact
Alokit
The Government of India has been prioritizing foundational learning. It revised the National Education Policy (NEP) in 2020 to emphasize strong foundational education for children between three and eight years of age. In 2022, the Ministry of Education launched the National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN) Bharat Mission to ensure universal foundational learning by 2025.
NGO Youth Impact developed a targeted, phone-tutoring program to improve math learning and numeracy among children. Researchers part of J-PAL’s global network first tested the program’s impact in Botswana at a time when Covid-19 resulted in prolonged school closures. Following the promising results, the program was replicated and tested in India, Kenya, Nepal, Philippines, and Uganda. The program is now being piloted in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, where it has been embedded within the government system and is being delivered uninterrupted for a full academic year.
Evidence-to-action story:
RESEARCH
J-PAL affiliated researcher Peter Bergman (The University of Texas at Austin), along with Noam Angrist (University of Oxford), ran a randomized evaluation in Botswana to test the impact of a phone-based tailored instruction program on children’s math skills and parental engagement during Covid-19 school closures. Angrist is currently studying the impact of the program in Karnataka within the government system, especially when implemented uninterrupted for a full academic year.
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RESULTS
The study in Botswana found the program improved math learning among children of between grades 3 and 5 and enhanced parental engagement. The results prompted a coalition of NGOs, governments, multilateral organizations, and researchers in India, Kenya, Nepal, Philippines, and Uganda to replicate and test the program, with J-PAL as a key partner. Math learning improved in all six countries. Government and NGO tutors were equally effective at delivering the intervention.
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SCALE-UP
In 2024, J-PAL South Asia, along with NGOs Youth Impact and Alokit, partnered with the Government of Karnataka to expand the phone-based tailored instruction programme — known as ‘Ganitha Ganaka’ in the state — to reach 456,000 students between Grades 3 and 5.
Archived Projects
GENDER SENSITIVITY POLICING
Increasing women’s access to the justice system through specialized women’s help desks at police stations
Evidence shows that police reform—providing gender sensitization training to officers and introducing dedicated help desks for women at police stations—can shift police attitudes, making them more responsive to women’s security needs. In Madhya Pradesh, India, about 950 police stations across the state have introduced this approach, offering approximately 35 million women with improved access to justice.
Partners:
Madhya Pradesh Police
A majority of crimes against women go unrecorded, thus inhibiting women’s access to the justice system. Women often hesitate to report violence, due in part to low levels of trust in the police. Even when women do report, some police officers may be unwilling to adequately assist women, reflecting patriarchal norms that seek to “protect families” by minimizing legal cases, as well as political incentives to show lower crime rates.
Police reform is critical in addressing this crisis. From 2018 to 2020, J-PAL affiliated researchers partnered with the Department of Police, Madhya Pradesh to evaluate the impact of a program that introduced women’s help desks (WHDs) in police stations. WHDs offered a private space for women to make complaints to an officer trained on gender sensitization and case registration procedures. WHDs are also a national priority in India, with over USD 1.2 billion allocated under the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Nirbhaya Fund towards setting them up at police stations across the country.
Evidence-to-action story:
RESEARCH
The study randomized the introduction of WHDs in 180 police stations across Madhya Pradesh, serving 23 million people, into three separate groups: control stations (without WHDs); “woman-run” WHDs assigned female officers; and “regular” WHDs that did not specify gender of the assigned officer (the majority of which were run by men).
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RESULTS
Police stations with WHDs helped women lodge an additional 1,905 Domestic Incident Reports, which initiate cases of intimate-partner violence in civil courts compared with those without WHDs. These stations also registered an additional 3,360 complaints of crimes against women (an increase of 14.1 percent) that led to mandatory criminal investigations. This increase was driven primarily by the stations with help desks staffed by female police officers.
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SCALE-UP
Emboldened by the encouraging findings, the Department of Police in 2022 decided to scale-up the program to 1,000 police stations in Madhya Pradesh. This move can potentially benefit up to 35 million women in the state.