RES.14-001 Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab Executive Training: Evaluating Social Programs 2009, Spring 2009

Abstract

This five-day program on evaluating social programs will provide a thorough understanding of randomized evaluations and pragmatic step-by-step training for conducting one's own evaluation. While the course focuses on randomized evaluations, many of the topics, such as measuring outcomes and dealing with threats to the validity of an evaluation, are relevant for other methodologies. About the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab J-PAL's goal is to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is based on scientific evidence. Every day, evidence generated by J-PAL researchers is influencing policy and improving lives, sometimes very directly – for example through the scale-up of effective programs – but also in less direct but equally important ways. To date, our evidence has helped improve the lives of at least 30 million people around the world through the scale-up of highly effective policies and programs. By 2013, J-PAL aims to have positively impacted 100 million lives.