J-PAL State and Local Innovation Initiative: Year 2 Participant Convening

For more details about the conference, please see the final agenda.

This convening featured state and local policymakers who have been leaders in building rigorous evidence in their jurisdictions and the researchers who have partnered with them to conduct feasible, high-quality evaluations.

February 15th featured state and local policymakers spearheading efforts to produce rigorous evidence to address policy challenges. Policymakers, researchers, philanthropists and nonprofit leaders will discuss new mechanisms for enabling evaluations and institutionalizing evidence-based practices.

February 16th was a focused workshop on conducting randomized evaluations of programs and policies designed to address homelessness. The day included a series of short presentations showcasing Santa Clara County’s innovative work on homelessness followed by small group working sessions, with the goal of accelerating progress on common challenges. This second day of the event was targeted at policymakers currently working on these projects and their research partners.

Sessions

Click on the links in the talk titles below to view video recordings of the sessions

Opening and Closing Remarks
Mary Ann Bates, Executive Director, J-PAL North America: “Research to Policy” (slides)

Welcome Address
Joe Simitian, Santa Clara County Supervisor, Fifth District 

Keynote Address
Linda Gibbs, Principal, Bloomberg Associates and Senior Fellow, Results for America: “Data as a Public Good” (slides)

Partnering for Policy: Government Research Partnerships

• Gustavo Bobonis, University of Toronoto (Moderator)
• Commander Ralph Ennis, Metropolitan Police Department, Washington DC and Anita Ravishankar, the Lab @ DC (slides)
• Bill Evans, University of Notre Dame, and Henry Fitts, City of Rochester (slides)

Building Bridges: Cross-Sector Partnerships for Data-Driven Policy

• Melissa Kearney, University of Maryland (Moderator)
• Erica Brown, Laura and John Arnold Foundation
• Tracy Colunga, City of Long Beach (slides)
• Janey Rountree, California Policy Lab at UCLA (slides)

Bringing It Home: Evidence-Informed Decision Making

• Julia Chabrier, J-PAL North America (Moderator)
• Anjali Chainani, City of Philadelphia (slides)
• Carrie Cihak, King County (slides)
• Michael Wilkening, California Health and Human Services Agency

State of the Streets: Evidence on Reducing Homelessness (no video)
Bill Evans, University of Notre Dame (slides)

Community Resources

J-PAL State and Local Innovation Initiative Resources

• About the J-PAL State and Local Innovation Initiative
• Guide: Implementing Randomized Evaluations in Government: Lessons from the J-PAL State and Local Innovation Initiative

J-PAL Research Resources

• Checklist: Administrative Steps for Launching a Randomized Evaluation in the United States
• Catalog: Administrative data sets
• Guide: Using administrative data for randomized evaluations
• Guide: Real-World Challenges to Randomization and their Solutions
• Brief: The lessons of administrative data
• Brief: The danger of underpowered randomized evaluation
• Brief: Common Questions and Concerns about Randomized Evaluations
• Brief: Why Randomize

Other Resources

• Destination: Home, Cost of Homelessness Study
• Destination: Home, Community Plan to End Homelessness
•  “Philadelphia Develops Citywide Evaluation Model to Increase the Use and Impact of City Programs and Services,” Results for America

Watch all the talks in the playlist below:

For more information, contact Jatnna Amador (jamador@povertyactionlab.org).