J-PAL North America

🚨NEW #RCT Results🚨  A new National Bureau of Economic Research working paper reports the results of a J-PAL North America-supported #RCT on the impact of medical debt relief, which found that relief did not affect the health and financial outcomes measured. These results affirm the need for ongoing improvement and evaluation and invite further research on this complex issue alongside evidence-driven partners.  https://lnkd.in/ed3MXEAg For more:  📰 Sarah Kliff (The New York Times) discusses the results in the broader policy context: https://lnkd.in/drsRv8XS 🔗 Read a summary of the evaluation on the J-PAL website: https://lnkd.in/epYdTTf9

Check out three exciting new posts on the J-PAL blog 👇 🏠 Anisha Sehgal shares lessons learned from homeless service providers who have been participating in our Los Angeles Homelessness Evaluation Network: https://lnkd.in/djZrGpyU 👪 J-PAL affiliated professor Lisa Gennetian (Duke University) and Sarah Halpern-Meekin (University of Wisconsin-Madison) discuss the importance of centering parents and their experiences to better understand the impact of cash transfer programs on children and families: https://lnkd.in/dn5KMXgD 📈Jesse Gubb and Cordelia Kwon discuss regression to the mean —a statistical phenomenon where extreme outcomes tend to be followed by more moderate outcomes. Learn more about how this affects impact evaluations from real-world examples: https://lnkd.in/dvFV_5kg

In this month’s newsletter, we share reflections on our recent work and upcoming plans to advance rigorous research on racial equity, including our seven-part blog series on how research plays a critical role in identifying systems and policies that further racial equity. Read more below!

📢 Deadline extension! 📢 J-PAL North America's LEVER Evaluation Incubator is an opportunity for government agencies to assess the feasibility of evaluating one of their policies or programs through a randomized evaluation. The Incubator provides free-of-charge training, technical assistance, flexible funding, and connections to researchers in J-PAL’s network for government agencies to turn policy-relevant research questions into well-designed randomized evaluations of social programs. The deadline for our call for letters of interest has been EXTENDED to April 15! Submit as soon as possible to begin the conversation: https://lnkd.in/eEsUHQ8q

#StaffSpotlight: Jatnna Amador, CMP is a Senior Policy and Training Events Manager at J-PAL North America, where she manages the implementation of key policy and training events. Learn more about how she uses her background to increase equity and accessibility in her work. How does your role at J-PAL North America relate to your background? I received my bachelor’s in Communications and Africana Studies, so I have always been passionate about social justice, educational access, and equity. My master’s was in Higher and Post-secondary Education, in which I again focused on education access and how to best support students. At J-PAL North America I organize events and I was able to launch the Economics Transformation Project, a program that aims to foster a more diverse and equitable field of economics by providing inclusive resources for Black, Indigenous, and Latino/a/e students at every stage of learning and advancement. It is exciting to use my background in education access and event planning to design this program. What would people never guess you do in your role? I chair the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Working Group which previously included both our internal and external DEI work, but is now more focused on our internal priorities. This shift was an opportunity to restructure the working group into three subcommittees. One subcommittee is the Special Projects subcommittee, which developed our annual climate survey to better understand our current work culture. It was launched last year, refined this year, and will now run bi-annually to highlight what we are doing well and uncover areas of improvement. What valuable career lesson have you learned so far at J-PAL North America? I have learned to communicate more effectively and I have gained the confidence to provide my ideas, insights, and feedback more consistently. I now feel equipped to advocate for myself, my team members, and for the work we do and I’ve been able to improve these skills because J-PAL’s culture allows for constant growth. What’s something you’ve always wanted to do, but haven’t yet? One thing I want to do is travel internationally again,—although I have a toddler, which complicates things! I really want to visit Italy for the first time to try authentic Italian pizza. However, before visiting Italy, I want to master the art of eating at a restaurant with my toddler. I’ve asked other parents for advice and brainstormed items to bring to keep him busy. With practice, I hope to accomplish this dream in the near future!

J-PAL North America was thrilled to participate in the Second International Symposium on Research and Impact in Education, hosted by the Forward Society Lab (FOS) and the Department of Education in Puerto Rico! It was an insightful event where research centers, researchers, implementing partners, educators, and community members were able to come together and learn more about the important research being done in Puerto Rico in education policy and programming. Para J-PAL North America fue un placer participar en el Segundo Simposio Internacional de Investigación e Impacto en la Educación, organizado por Forward Society Lab (FOS) y el Departamento de Educación de Puerto Rico. Fue un evento muy esclarecedor en el que centros de investigación, investigadores, socios implementadores, educadores y miembros de la comunidad pudieron reunirse y aprender más sobre la importante investigación que se está llevando a cabo en Puerto Rico en materia de programación y política educativa. https://lnkd.in/d9EFB99H

#StaffSpotlight: Katherine Christie is a Policy & Research Associate who provides research support to randomized evaluations, particularly in education, and disseminates key findings and policy insights across several sectors. What is your professional & educational background? I studied Quantitative Social Sciences with a concentration in education in undergrad, which gave me a broad understanding of research & evaluation through the lens of what happens in the classroom. I also worked as a research assistant in college on education & public policy projects, which sparked my interest in using rigorous research to understand what works to help students succeed. After undergrad, I spent two years working directly with schools & districts across the country. I came to J-PAL North America to focus more directly on research and the broader policy landscape. What is your favorite part about working for J-PAL North America? As mentioned, before J-PAL, most of my educational & professional experience was in education. But coming here, I’ve had the opportunity to expand my expertise in other areas in ways that are new and exciting. For example, I’m currently supporting our housing team on a project in the California Bay Area and I’m working on an evaluation related to health care delivery. I’ve also learned a lot from my peers about areas I’m not formally staffed on—such as the work of climate economists. This exposure has not only broadened my understanding of poverty alleviation and evidence-based policymaking but also helped me realize that my interests are broader than I had previously thought. What valuable career lessons have you learned here? In my first year working at J-PAL North America, I have had the opportunity to work with so many people across different teams and have been continually impressed by how high-performing my colleagues are. J-PAL North America fosters an environment of working together, learning from one another, and drawing on collective intelligence. I’ve learned how productive collaboration can be & how to be effective at my job just by observing my co-workers in their roles. I’m grateful to be surrounded by such strong examples of what it looks like to be dedicated to the J-PAL mission; this has been inspiring to me in my own work. What hobbies & interests do you have outside of work? I grew up in a community that revolved around our local swim team and spent the most of my childhood swimming—both for fun & competitively. I somewhat lost interest in swimming in college, maybe because of the indoor pools in the Northeast, but reconnected with it during Covid-19. I spent lockdown at home in California and all of the pools were closed so my friends and I started doing open-water swimming out of pure desperation. It’s way more fun than swimming in a pool so that hobby has really stuck, even after the pools reopened. It’s a hobby I get to do in many places, including here in New England, which I’m grateful for.

J-PAL North America and Results for America's LEVER program provides critical resources and training for governments to build and use evidence. Apply today for the following opportunities! 📝 The Evaluation Incubator, which provides in-depth support for government agencies as they turn ideas into randomized evaluations of social programs 🧑🏫 The Evaluating Social Programs course, which equips participants with resources and knowledge to engage with impact evaluations of social programs 🏃♂️ A training Sprint, a multi-week virtual engagement which provides a cohort of government leaders strategies to embed evaluation into decision-making processes Learn more and register: https://lnkd.in/ee56T7yT

Please see my challenge to State and Local Government colleagues in J-PAL North America's newsletter below, to build a body of evidence on the innovations we've initiated with the help of federal pandemic, economic recovery, and infrastructure funding. By demonstrating impact, we have the opportunity to shift the narrative and build support for sustaining such interventions - and ultimately help advance equitable outcomes in the communities we serve. J-PAL offers a variety of supports to help you with this! Check it out. 👇 https://lnkd.in/gq3Ws8mG

In this month's newsletter, we share upcoming opportunities for state and local governments to generate and use rigorous evidence, feature a new blog post with J-PAL affiliated researcher Greg Duncan (UC Irvine), and discuss the threats of regression to the mean in impact evaluation.