J-PAL South Asia

#IndianScholarSpotlight: Kerala faces a unique challenge - despite a relatively large number of highly educated women, there is a high rate of unemployment among them. In this study, Dr. Praveena Kodoth, Dr. Tirtha Chatterjee, and Dr. Thiagu Ranganathan explore whether there is a “motherhood penalty” — evaluating the effects of childcare responsibility on educated women's labour market behaviour in Kerala. Read about the scholars and the study 👇 — This post is part of a series on J-PAL South Asia’s Indian Scholars Program. ISP supports early-to mid-career researchers in India by providing research funding through competitive grants, technical skill-building programs, mentorship, and networking opportunities. Learn more: https://j-p.al/isp  

We’re excited to share highlights from the D4GX 2024 India Annual Conference, where ideas met action and innovation drove impact. Held on December 2nd, the event brought together nonprofit leaders, intermediaries, and data experts to explore data’s role in empowering communities. With diverse conversations, the conference reinforced a critical message: listening to communities and fostering collaboration among diverse stakeholders are essential for creating meaningful change. Featuring speakers: Keynote speech by Urvashi Prasad Panelists Antaraa Vasudev & Sonal Kapoor (moderated by Kavneet Kaur) Opening remarks by Priya Mantri Ajmera Closing remarks by Aggi Cheng Fireside chat by Aditi Namdeo & Nirali Trivedi #D4GX2024 #D4GX2024IndiaEmpowermentChallenge #D4GX2024IndiaAnnualConference #DataForGood Bloomberg Societal Thinking Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (Stanford PACS)

It's our last Weekly Job Roundup of the year! If you're looking for a career in the intersection of development economics, RCT research, and evidence-based policymaking, read on 👇 #HIRING: Research Manager to oversee a portfolio of research projects on social networks. The projects study the role of networks in developing economies and seek to improve the understanding of the impact of networks on economic interactions. You will: 1. Coordinate the work of the partner implementation team, researchers and research associates to ensure smooth collaboration and effective communication. 2. Supervise and mentor research associates responsible for designing data collection instruments and managing data collection, entry and analysis. 3. Oversee the project budget, ensuring that expenditure is accurately tracked and financial resources are used efficiently. 4. Prepare and present regular progress reports and supervise quality control measures. Apply now at: https://lnkd.in/gYVuaPN2

#DataForImpact | How can data address the world’s most urgent challenges at the intersection of climate change and public health? The India Climate and Health Data Capacity Accelerator (IDCA)—a collaboration between DataDotOrg, J-PAL South Asia, and the Wellcome Trust, launched in May 2023—aims to build a sustainable and scalable model to enhance the data capacity of India’s social sector, addressing critical challenges at the intersection of climate and health. The IDCA Fellowship brings together individuals with diverse backgrounds and expertise, placing them in social impact organizations to work on real-world challenges. Fellows develop interdisciplinary data skills and work on impactful projects, such as disaster preparedness, urban sustainability, water quality, and epidemiological studies focusing on disease patterns and public health responses. Meet Anuja Venkatachalam, an IDCA Fellow from the Pilot Cohort. At ARTPARK, Anuja’s work has included enhancing dengue prediction models by creating data pipelines and standardizing processes. These efforts aim to refine how data informs decision-making in public health initiatives. Read excerpts from our conversation with Anuja here 👇 Aditi Namdeo

53 participants. 15 sessions. 10 expert speakers. We had an incredible time last week at Evaluating Social Programs 2024 in Bengaluru! CLEAR South Asia/J-PAL South Asia’s flagship course brought together leaders and innovators from across NGOs, social enterprises, foundations, international organisations, and government bodies! 📽️ Some exciting recap videos are coming, but until then, here are some highlights! 👉 Under the expert guidance of our experienced lecturers, participants built their foundational understanding of some of the most pertinent concepts underpinning evaluation: theory of change, randomisation, generalisability, cost-effectiveness, and post-design challenges 👉 Participants brought their learnings to life at our first-ever evaluation sandbox, designing innovative evaluations for their own programs from scratch! 👉 Rigorous, hands-on case study sessions saw participants work together to break down complex concepts such as theory of change and designing randomised evaluations. 👉 In their thought-provoking plenary session, Mr Pramod Bhasin and Prof. Shawn Cole explored how evidence can help drive social impact, sharing insights and stories from their experiences with RCTs over the years. 👉 Prof. Karthik Muralidharan took the audience on a journey through India’s development — and how evidence can be used to build state capacity and accelerate national growth in his exciting plenary session. Thank you to all our participants and lecturers for their hard work and dedication at Evaluating Social Programs 2024! To learn more about ESP 2024, visit: https://j-p.al/sa-esp24 or follow us for updates! Abhijeet Singh Lisa Ho Sandip Sukhtankar Megha Pradhan Sohini Mookherjee Harini Kannan Aparna Krishnan Sourav Das Ramakrishnan N Ishwari Sonawane Bhakti Bhowmik Sruti Srinivasan Arushi Bedi Murali Mallikarjunan Nikhila Vijay Rijul Grover Sharvari Ravishankar Vatsala M Sharma Shobhini Mukerji Tithee Mukhopadhyay

#ExcitingOpportunity: Calling all AI innovators, researchers, and entrepreneurs! J-PAL South Asia is proud to support the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to advance the IndiaAI Mission, which aims to democratize AI and champion its ethical, responsible use. Join INDIAai in being a part of the Safe & Trusted AI pillar, driving the development of indigenous tools, governance frameworks, and fairness in AI. Submit your EOI by 9th January 2025. Read more:https://lnkd.in/gG_dATAr Aditi Namdeo

COP29 may have come to an end, but the momentum for driving meaningful climate action continues to grow! A central theme that resonated throughout the discussions was the critical importance of collaboration—joining forces across sectors, geographies, and communities to tackle the urgent climate challenges facing our world today. This same spirit of partnership is at the core of our SARWA initiative, which stands for Solutions and Advancements through Research for Water and Air. Sharanya Chandran, Director, Policy, J-PAL South Asia, spoke about this initiative during the panel ‘Scaling Resilience: Impact-Driven Partnerships for Food & Water Through Evidence & Innovation,’ at COP29, organized by Community Jameel and J-PAL Middle East and North Africa. Through SARWA, J-PAL South Asia is working with the governments at the state and federal levels to accelerate the adoption of scientifically proven and impactful policies on air and water in India. SARWA is part of the Air and Water Labs (AWL)—launched by Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and Community Jameel—to improve clean air and water access around the world. Watch this video on AWL to learn more: https://j-p.al/9r8 As we reflect on #COP29, the call to action is clear: collaboration is not just an option—it’s the path forward to create a greener, more sustainable future for all! Urvashi Wattal | Sanjana Gorti | Shyam Sundar Sridhar | Yomna El-Awamri | Nadine Wael | Sarah DiCioccio | Tanya Jha

It was an honour to join the partners' conclave hosted by the Department of Higher Education, Govt of Karnataka. It was a day filled with excellent conversations on strategies to improve youth employability. I'm immensely grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from various organisations working on innovative programmes, and also share global evidence from the J-PAL network related to skills development, apprenticeships, and job matching at the conclave. Thank you very much for the opportunity Srikar Mysore Sridhar sir and Manjushree Narasimhaiah ma'am. Looking forward to more such discussions. J-PAL South Asia Viji Iyer Shobhini Mukerji Sharanya Chandran Urvashi Wattal

#BTS: It’s the last few days before CLEAR/J-PAL South Asia’s flagship course, Evaluating Social Programs 2024 and our organising team and TAs are hard at work! We look forward to welcoming our incredible set of participants in Bengaluru next week for a jam-packed series of workshops, case studies, and panel discussions! Evaluating Social Programs explores the use of monitoring and evaluation to drive sustainable social impact at scale. Follow us to keep up to date and learn more about any upcoming open enrolment courses: https://lnkd.in/g4VExftX Sourav Das Ramakrishnan N Ishwari Sonawane Sohini Mookherjee Bhakti Bhowmik Vatsala M Sharma Arushi Bedi Murali Mallikarjunan Rijul Grover Sharvari Ravishankar Nikhila Vijay Sruti Srinivasan Megha Pradhan