Egypt Impact Lab: An embedded lab in the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation

EIL Pillar I will take a three-stage approach to use randomized evaluations (RCTs) to evaluate innovative programs and learn what works. First, we will work with strategic partners to identify their top priorities, consider insights from existing evidence, and consult on innovative program design to meet their development goals. Second, we will work together to align program implementation and RCT implementation. Third, we will use the results from the research to inform future policy decisions and scale up of effective programs. Throughout the cycle, pillars II and III will support our learning through capacity building, evidence sharing, and using administrative data.

EIL will draw on lessons from the more than 1000 existing impact evaluations to share insights that address MPED, MoSS, MSMEDA and NCW’s top priorities, and to identify which programs should be evaluated. This will ensure that lessons that are immediately applicable from the global evidence base can be incorporated into program design in Egypt, and will ensure that any research is conducted on questions that are truly unanswered, where evaluation adds maximum value to policymakers’ understanding. J-PAL’s evidence base covers the sectors of labor markets, social protection, gender empowerment, and others that are relevant to government programs such as Hayah Karima and the National Family Development Program, and we will incorporate these lessons into policy advising for the strategic partners.

EIL will aim to launch three impact evaluations per year of flagship government initiatives anchored by government partners, leveraging J-PAL MENA at AUC’s expertise. We will work with strategic government partners to identify their top priorities, consider insights from more than 2200 existing impact evaluations, and consult on innovative program design to meet their development goals. This will ensure that lessons that are immediately applicable from the global evidence base can be incorporated into program design in Egypt, and will ensure that any research is conducted on questions that are truly unanswered, where evaluation adds maximum value to policymakers’ understanding.

J-PAL’s capacity building workshops help government policymakers, program implementers, and M&E professionals become better producers and users of evidence. J-PAL’s flagship Executive Education course “Evaluating Social Programs” equips participants with resources and knowledge to engage with randomized evaluations of social programs, taught by J-PAL affiliated professors and senior staff. EIL will run variations on the course each year tailored to government priority sectors and level of technical detail, targeting government project teams and their partners (researchers, practitioners from NGOs, international organizations, private sector companies, and foundations). In addition to the ESP, EIL will also deliver different tailored training workshops, including a senior leadership training for Senior decision makers in organizations active in the labor markets sector.

EIL capacity building efforts will also focus on sharing actionable policy lessons from the global evidence. J-PAL MENA will tailor and share global evidence-informed recommendations for tackling priority issues in Egypt. 

To strengthen the research ecosystem in Egypt, EIL will also establish a ‘Scholars Fellowship’ program. Fellows will work on randomized evaluations with J-PAL affiliates and staff; receive mentorship from J-PAL affiliated professors and scientific directors; receive training on website development and proposal writing; have the opportunity to enroll in MicroMasters courses.

Finally, EIL will explore the possibility of incorporating an innovative program on impact evaluations directly into Egypt’s relevant training and education curricula and university courses.

Through J-PAL’s Innovations in Data and Experiments for Action Initiative (IDEA), EIL will help strategic government partners organize and analyze existing data; develop data dashboards and visualization tools; strengthen monitoring and evaluation; and partner with researchers to use this data to design, evaluate, and scale innovative programs, by hosting Data Incubators, which support data analysis pilot projects and evaluations using administrative data.

Social protection has a crucial role in supporting and uplifting the most vulnerable groups in society, requiring targeted, effective, and efficient programs. The need to strengthen program design and delivery related to social protection is now greater than ever. At the invitation of the Minister of Planning and Economic Development, the Minister of Social Solidarity has confirmed MoSS’s role as a strategic partner in designing and carrying out the activities of EIL. EIL will build on MoSS’s existing commitments to evidence-informed policy as it’s working with J-PAL MENA on generating new evidence on the impact of access to its subsidized nursery schools on female labor force participation and early childhood development. 

EIL will have a major focus on the Hayah Karima (HK) Initiative, a comprehensive multidimensional poverty alleviation program that aims to expand the national safety net in the poorest villages in Egypt. In its first phase, HK expanded the coverage of natural gas, sewage services and education and health services in 374 villages. In the second phase, the focus is on improving living conditions by investing in human capital, infrastructure, basic services, and job opportunities. It will be essential to test the impact of these interventions on a number of outcomes including income, consumption, asset ownership, financial inclusion, physical and mental health and others. Contact Amira El Shal to learn more.

Second, employment remains at the top of development challenges and policy priorities for the Government of Egypt, and is a key component in the country’s strategies to reduce poverty and inequality. Youth unemployment, skills mismatch, low firm growth, informality, and other structural issues hinder the creation of decent work. Along with skills training and job matching programs, the Government of Egypt places MSME development at the heart of the solution to firm growth and job creation. Given its central role in developing the MSME sector, as a crucial path for poverty alleviation, the Egyptian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA), is leading the development of MSMEs and is generating and using rigorous evidence in designing its policies. Together with J-PAL, MSMEDA has completed and ongoing randomized evaluations of several of its priority programs, including components of the "Emergency Employment Investment Project (EEIP)" and the ongoing "Addressing the Root Causes of Irregular Migration." Contact Lobna Kassim to learn more.

Third, family development and female empowerment are top national priorities. The National Family Development Program, a coordinated effort across government to curb population growth and support healthy families has been launched. The program has four pillars: digitalization and monitoring; culture, awareness and education; service provision (reproductive health services); and economic empowerment.

This brings together a focus on family planning and development, women’s empowerment, and labor force participation. The Egypt Impact Lab will test programs under the National Family Development Program, to answer questions specific to the Egyptian context. EIL will work to use key insights from its gender, health, and labor sector research to inform program design by MPED, NCW, MoSS, and MSMEDA. Contact Nadeen El Ashmawy to learn more.

The newly introduced Hub of Advanced Policy Innovation for the Environment (HAPIE) leads efforts in the thematic area of environment, energy, and climate change. HAPIE serves as J-PAL’s regional Air and Water Lab (AWL) in Egypt, as part of the global AWL network, an initiative founded by J-PAL and Community Jameel. 

HAPIE's mission is to enhance access to clean air and water in Egypt by co-generating evidence and informing the policy decisions of government partners. The hub connects J-PAL MENA researchers with government partners to innovate, test, and scale evidence-informed air and water policies. Key learning priorities under HAPIE include water resource management, clean energy access, food security, and climate adaptation. Contact Yomna El-Awamri to learn more.