Smart policy design and implementation framework to improve labor markets in Morocco

This second training event led by the Morocco Employment Lab (MEL) aimed at explaining the Smart Policy Design and Implementation (SPDI) framework for rigorous evaluation applied to labor policy in Morocco.

During the SPDI webinar on October 13, affiliated professors Bruno Crépon (CREST; Scientific Director, J‑PAL MENA; Co-Chair, J‑PAL Labor Markets sector) and Rema Hanna (Harvard; Scientific Director, J-PAL Southeast Asia) delivered two lectures to introduce the SPDI framework and practical examples of how it has been used to inform policymaking in other countries. 

Highlighting examples of policy-research collaborations and evaluations from Indonesia, Egypt, and other contexts, the event described the approach the MEL will take in Morocco to develop impact evaluation projects and ensure they fit into policymaking. The two and a half hour workshop gathered close to 100 participants, representing over 20 organizations from the Moroccan public sector, NGOs, and academia. 

Following the SPDI workshop, the MEL team is organizing matchmaking meetings between policymakers who attended the training and academic researchers to incubate impact evaluation projects aligned with policymaker priorities. The evaluations will be grounded in the SPDI framework, with a focus on establishing an accurate and thorough problem diagnosis before project design takes place. Staff facilitators from MEL will guide teams in the matchmaking meetings through some formal activities and discussion questions. Academic researchers will be able to apply to a competitive research fund with their evaluation projects.

Speakers

Bruno Crépon
Professor of Economics, ENSAE Paris, Ecole Polytechnique 

Rema Hanna
Jeffrey Cheah Professor of South-East Asia Studies, Harvard Kennedy School

Florencia Devoto (Moderator)
Director of the Morocco Employment Lab