The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a global research center working to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. Anchored by a network of more than 900 researchers at universities around the world, J-PAL conducts randomized impact evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty.
The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a global research center working to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. Anchored by a network of more than 1,000 researchers at universities around the world, J-PAL conducts randomized impact evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty.
Our affiliated professors are based at over 120 universities and conduct randomized evaluations around the world to design, evaluate, and improve programs and policies aimed at reducing poverty. They set their own research agendas, raise funds to support their evaluations, and work with J-PAL staff on research, policy outreach, and training.
Our research, policy, and training work is fundamentally better when it is informed by a broad range of perspectives.
Research Associate, J-PAL South Asia
Sukhmani Kaur is a Research Associate at J-PAL South Asia, where she works on a digital literacy randomized control trial in Punjab in collaboration with researchers from the University of Illinois, Glasgow University, and Stanford University.
Prior to this, she was a Research Consultant and Project Associate on the same project, overseeing data collection, stakeholder engagement, and field team management to ensure high-quality research implementation. She also worked as a Field Manager on a research project with Columbia University, leading data collection across 82 rural schools in Punjab and Haryana and contributing to intervention design.
Sukhmani was selected for the highly competitive Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations (HPAIR) Conference 2025 in Boston, where she was a finalist in the Impact Challenge, presenting innovative solutions to pressing global issues.
She holds a B.Sc. (Hons) in Community Science from Punjab Agricultural University, specializing in Extension Education and Communication Management.