J-PAL Global Executive Education 2016, Cambridge MA

Workshop or Training
Location:
MIT Cambridge, MA USA

J-PAL Global is organizing an annual Executive Education course at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA.

Program Objectives 

This five-day course provides participants a thorough understanding of randomized evaluations and a pragmatic step-by-step guidance on conducting one’s own evaluation. It focuses on the benefits and methods of randomization, choosing an appropriate sample size, and common threats and pitfalls to the validity of the experiment. It also covers the importance of a needs assessment, measuring outcomes effectively, quality control, and monitoring—tools that are critical for both randomized and non-randomized evaluations alike.

Program Focus

The following key questions and concepts are covered:  

  • What is an evaluation?
  • Why and when is a rigorous evaluation of social impact needed?
  • The common pitfalls of evaluations, and why does randomization help.
  • The key components of a good randomized evaluation design.
  • Alternative techniques for incorporating randomization into project design.
  • How do you determine the appropriate sample size, measure outcomes, and manage data?
  • Guarding against threats that may undermine the integrity of the results.
  • Techniques for the analysis and interpretation of results.
  • How to maximize policy impact and test external validity.
  • Understanding and using the Theory of Change framework.

Target Audience 

This course is designed for managers and researchers from NGOs, governments, international development organizations, and foundations from around the world, as well as trained economists looking to retool.

Key Information

Dates: 13 – 17 June 2016 
Location: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
United States
Contact: Tom Bangura; tbangura@povertyactionlab.org


Lecture 1: What is Evaluation
Marc Shotland, Director of Research and Training, J-PAL Global MIT, MA.
Presentation slides
Video

Lecture 2: Outcomes, Impact, and Indicators
Kelsey Jack, Assistant Professor, Tufts University, MA.
Presentation slides
Video

Lecture 3: Why Randomize
Dan Levy, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, MA.
Presentation slides
Video

Lecture 4: How to Randomize
Joe Doyle, Erwin H. Schell Professor of Management, MIT Sloan School of Management, MA.
Presentation slides
Video

Lecture 5: Sampling and Sample Size
Rachel Glennerster, Executive Director, J-PAL Global MIT, MA.
Presentation slides
Video

Lecture 6: Threats and Analysis
Donald Green, Professor of Political Science, Columbia University, NY.
Presentation slides
Video

Lecture 7: Generalizability
Rachel Glennerster, Executive Director, J-PAL Global MIT, MA.
Presentation slides
Video

Lecture 8: Project from Start to Finish

Sally Hudson, Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Education, University of Virginia, VA.

External Documents