July 2024 J-PAL LAC Quarterly Newsletter
A year promoting evidence use and generation in Guatemala: Next steps
This month we celebrate the one-year anniversary of promoting evidence-informed decision-making in Guatemala in partnership with the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (UVG). This work has fostered collaboration between researchers, governments, and civil organizations to generate research and inform public policies in the country. J-PAL Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) and UVG recently presented the collaboration's first achievements and discussed the steps ahead.
Some of these achievements have included the launch of PROSA, which stands for Screening and Launching Program in Spanish, to create a culture of evidence use for implementing early childhood development (ECD) programs. In addition, J-PAL affiliated professor Costas Meghir (Yale) joined as PROSA’s scientific advisor and has provided his extensive research experience. The partnership also trained key organizations to improve public policies and initiatives surrounding ECD. Of these, the six most promising programs were selected to be provided with technical assistance.
During an event commemorating the collaboration's first year, we announced the next steps, including a partnership with the Government of Guatemala to strengthen impact evaluation knowledge of staff who monitor ECD programs. We also highlighted two programs from non-government organizations that will receive technical support this year. Watch how organizations turn evidence into action to help and improve people's lives in the event recording »
EDUCATION
New partnership to enhance preschool education in Brazil
J-PAL LAC has launched a new partnership with the Bracell Foundation to improve the quality of preschool education in Brazil through the project, Strengthening Children's Learning and Development in Preschool. The project aims to identify promising preschool programs, evaluate their effectiveness, and support the scaling of those that are effective. We will collaborate with State and Municipal Departments of Education of São Paulo, Bahia, and Mato Grosso do Sul, implementing organizations, and the J-PAL research network. Learn more about this project »
GENDER
Lessons from a government partnership to prevent gender violence in Mexico
J-PAL LAC and the Mexico City Women's Secretariat have worked together since 2021 to reduce intimate partner violence and prevent femicide. The partnership has accomplished key milestones in these years, such as improving the targeting criteria for a social program and offering a training on conducting evaluations with a gender lens for policymakers. We interviewed Dulce Colín, general director for gender equality at the Government of Mexico City, to learn lessons on this collaboration from our partner's standpoint. She shared invaluable insights about partnering with J-PAL and preventing gender violence. Watch the interview »
Presenting tools to incorporate a gender perspective in evaluation
Implementing randomized evaluations worldwide has given J-PAL affiliated researchers practical insights on how to measure women and girls’ empowerment in impact evaluations. At 2024 gLOCAL Evaluation Week session, we presented with UN Women for the Americas and the Caribbean two tools for improving gender integration into the evaluation, including J-PAL's practical guide for measuring women and girls' empowerment in impact evaluations (available in Spanish and Portuguese) and UN Women for the Americas and the Caribbean's guide to incorporating a gender perspective in national evaluation systems. The Center for Learning in Evaluation and Results for Latin America and the Caribbean also co-hosted this event. Watch the webinar »
LABOR MARKETS
Helping shape the future of Brazilian labor policies
The Jobs and Opportunities Initiative (JOI) Brazil celebrated its third anniversary in May. Supported by the Arymax Foundation, B3 Social, Tide Setubal Foundation, Potencia Ventures, the Inter-American Development Bank, and Insper, this initiative is dedicated to improving employment opportunities in Brazil. JOI Brazil's achievements throughout this period—including a research portfolio with seventeen studies and strategic partnerships that promote evidence-based policy—showcase how academic research can be applied to actionable policies to enhance labor outcomes for all Brazilians. Read more about JOI Brazil's trajectory and future goals »
HEALTH
Leading a workshop on impact evaluation for the Guatemala government
In June, J-PAL LAC and the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (UVG) hosted an impact evaluation workshop for Secretariat of Food and Nutrition Security staff who monitor government food and nutrition programs in two Guatemalan regions. The training sought to strengthen their technical knowledge of impact evaluations. Participants learned about the importance of data collection and use in improving early child development (ECD) programs. Learn more about our work in ECD in Guatemala »
GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIPS
Strengthening government partnerships in Brazil
On May 14, J-PAL LAC Policy and Research Associate Jordana De Jesus participated at the 3rd National Dialogue of Women 20, one of the G20’s official independent engagement groups dedicated to promoting gender equity and women’s economic empowerment, focused on the Care Economy. She spoke about rigorous evaluations on daycare access for women's economic empowerment, and J-PAL LAC's role in informing Brazil's National Care Plan. On May 16, J-PAL LAC Policy Manager Ariana Britto led a training on data and technology with a focus on gender for municipalities in Alagoas, in collaboration with the State Secretariat for Women and Human Rights and the GENi Institute. Read more about how we are fostering government relations in Brazil »
PARTNER VOICES AND MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
In Estadão, J-PAL Co-Founder Esther Duflo (Paris School of Economics; MIT; Director, J-PAL; Scientific Director, J-PAL South Asia) highlighted a new project being launched by J-PAL LAC and the Bracell Foundation, aiming to help improve preschool education in Brazil. Read more in Portuguese »
The Government of Guatemala highlighted the workshops given to the Secretariat of Food and Nutrition Security staff, led in partnership with the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala and J-PAL LAC. Read more in Spanish »
The Secretariat of Food and Nutrition Security interviewed Constanza Alarcón (Policy Manager, J-PAL LAC) to explain the training the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala and J-PAL LAC provided their staff. Watch the video in Spanish »
Dulce Colín (General Director for Gender Equality, Government of Mexico City), Juan Pablo Silva Macher (former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education of Peru), and Fabiola Caceres Paurinotto (former Manager of Innovation and Impact Social at the NGO Aporta of Peru) shared their experiences partnering with J-PAL LAC. Learn how we work with government and non-government organizations to alleviate poverty. Watch in Spanish, Portuguese, or English »
UPCOMING TRAININGS
[July 30] Join a J-PAL/UC Diploma in Impact Evaluation informative session
Learn more about the Diploma in Impact Evaluation of Public Policy and Social Programs—a collaborative effort between the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC) and J-PAL LAC. Students in this program will get the necessary tools to design and understand the results of rigorous program evaluations. Taught in Spanish by J-PAL affiliated professors and academics at UC, the Diploma consists of three courses: Impact Evaluation Methods, Evidence and Policy, and Implementation of an Impact Evaluation. participants will also have the opportunity to create an impact evaluation proposal for a program of their choice. J-PAL affiliated professor Jeanne Lafortune (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Co-Scientific Director, J-PAL LAC) and Tomás Rau (Instituto de Economía, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) will present more detailed information during the informative session. Register now »
[Aug 8] Join a series of webinars to promote early child development in LAC
Together with the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (UVG), we will host a webinar to share rigorous evidence on early childhood development for LAC. On August 8, with support from the Cotopaxi Foundation, J-PAL LAC Deputy Executive Director Claudia Macías will discuss key local evidence from the region on early childhood development. Register now »
FEATURED EVENTS AND TRAININGS
J-PAL Co-Founder Esther Duflo joins J-PAL LAC in Brazil
In late June, J-PAL Co-Founder Esther Duflo (Paris School of Economics; MIT; Director, J-PAL; Scientific Director, J-PAL South Asia) visited São Paulo for a series of in-person events. The Nobel laureate engaged in a closed Q&A session led by J-PAL LAC Executive Director Paula Pedro on the intersection of elections and social media, and delivered presentations on climate change and taxation at the Brazilian Social Services of Commerce and the Brazilian Federation of Banks. She also gave the keynote speech at J-PAL LAC partner the Bracell Foundation's, 1st Symposium on Early Childhood Education, where she emphasized the crucial role of impact evaluations in scaling public policies. Learn more about this partnership »
J-PAL LAC offered introductory training on impact evaluations and evidence use in Central America
In June, we offered four training sessions on the foundations of impact evaluations and evidence-informed policy to 105 organizations in Central America. Participating organizations were dedicated to implementing early childhood development, education, and/or economic agency programs and came from seven countries across LAC. The workshop was part of the Strengthening Livelihoods in Central America Through Evidence Use project, which is possible thanks to the support of the Cotopaxi Foundation. The project is dedicated to encouraging organizations to use evidence from rigorous research in their programs and make informed decisions to alleviate poverty in Central America. Read more about this project on the J-PAL blog »
J-PAL LAC conducted a series of courses on evidence generation and use in education in LAC
From April to July, J-PAL LAC conducted a series of courses on the generation and use of evidence for nearly fifty Fe y Alegría Federation staff members from fifteen countries in LAC. Participants learned about impact evaluations, the theory of change, indicators, and cost-effective programs. The course series content was tailored to Fe y Alegría Federation’s work on education in LAC. Learn more about J-PAL's custom courses »
J-PAL LAC offered workshop on applying lessons from randomized evaluations to new contexts
On June 3, as part of 2024 gLOCAL Evaluation Week, J-PAL LAC Policy Manager Ariana Britto and JOI Brazil Manager Edivaldo Constantino presented the workshop, Evaluation and transformational change: Applying lessons learned from randomized evaluations in new contexts. This session showed participants how to apply rigorous evidence from evaluations of various programs and countries to new contexts. Practical examples of rigorous evidence on labor markets were highlighted to show how decision-makers can adapt them to different settings. Watch the recording of the webinar to learn more about these insights and applications (in Portuguese) »
J-PAL LAC joined the Brazilian School of Public Administration's 1st Week of Evaluation
From May 21–24 the Brazilian School of Public Administration and the Brazilian Secretariat for Evaluation, Information Management, and Unified Registry held its 1st Week of Evaluation. The event focused on supporting evaluation practices in Brazil's public sector. J-PAL LAC Policy Manager Ariana Britto participated in the panel, Evaluation with a focus on diversity and equity, discussing the importance of equity-focused evaluations and introducing the learning cycle for evidence-informed policymaking—a framework to help policymakers identify key issues, review evidence, design and evaluate policies, and apply insights to scale effective programs—from an intersectional perspective between race and research. Watch the recording of the event (in Portuguese) »
ZOOM INTO THE EVIDENCE: EARLY CHILDHOOD STIMULATION
What have we learned from randomized evaluations on early childhood stimulation? Check out J-PAL’s resources on these topics: J-PAL’s Policy Insights highlight lessons emerging across multiple studies and Evaluation Summaries encapsulate the main results of individual evaluations.
[Policy Insight] Encouraging early childhood stimulation from parents and caregivers to improve child development
[Evaluation Summary] The impact of cognitive stimulation and nutritional supplements on early childhood development in Colombia
Research by: J-PAL affiliated professors Orazio Attanasio (Yale) and Costas Meghir (Yale), with Camila Fernandez, Emla Fitzsimons, Sally Grantham-McGregor, and Marta Rubio-Codina
[Evaluation Summary] Improving guidelines for an early childhood development program in rural Colombia
Research by: J-PAL affiliated professors Orazio Attanasio (Yale), Raquel Bernal (Universidad de los Andes), and Costas Meghir (Yale)
[Evaluation Summary] A 20-year follow-up to an early childhood stimulation program in Jamaica
Research by: J-PAL affiliated professor Paul Gertler (University of California, Berkeley), Susan M. Chang-Lopez, Sally Grantham-McGregor, James J. Heckman, Rodrigo Pinto, Christel Vermeersch, Susan Walker, and Arianna Zanolini