2016 Annual Report
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2016 Annual Report Building a world with more evidence and less poverty View a digital version of this report Contents at annualreport.poverty-action.org What We Do 4 Connecting Evidence to Policy 6 Results Improving Seasonal Income Security in Bangladesh 8 Reducing Child Mortality with an Entrepreneurial 10 Community Health Model in Uganda Empowering Women and Reducing Poverty 12 with Mobile Money Access in Kenya Teacher Training for Better Quality Preschools in Ghana 14 Improving Financial Behavior with 16 a Tablet-Based App in Colombia More Results 18 Funders & Donors 20 Finances 22 Leadership & Credits 23 Our Offices 24 Dear Friends, IPA stands at the forefront of a movement to build rigorous evidence and We also continue to influence global debates and will continue to share our successes and failures communicate findings about what works and what in the coming years, so please stay tuned. ensure it is used to improve the lives of people living in poverty. In 2016, doesn’t. This past year, we authored more policy we started 75 new studies and continued our efforts to share research publications than ever before and saw our work As you will see on the following pages, IPA’s work is findings and grow our visibility through 70 events across the world. featured in many respected news outlets, including more influential and impactful than ever. We look The New York Times, NPR, The Washington Post, and forward to seeing what the next year brings forth, The Economist. and we hope you will join us. We saw more research translate into action officials working on social protection programs Looking ahead, we are becoming an organization of Warm wishes, through the scale-up of successful programs in Guyana, to hosting a policy forum on evidence learning: we learn not only from our successes, but such as Living Goods, a community health model in agriculture in Kenya, to presenting baseline from our failures, and we are sharing those lessons that reduced child mortality in Uganda, No Lean findings on a maternal cash transfer study to publicly. In 2016, IPA founder Dean Karlan published Season, a financial incentive program that improved government officials in Myanmar. a new book, Failing in the Field, with co-author Jacob income security in Bangladesh, and TextDirect, an Appel, highlighting lessons IPA has learned over the organization scaling up text message reminders to We continue to work with some of the most past decade and a half of conducting field work. We take malaria medication. respected academics in the world, who help us Annie Duflo Dean Karlan understand not just what works, but why and how. Executive Director Founder In the past year, we became increasingly engaged These research partners make critical contributions with decision-makers in the creation of evidence and to their fields and they bring rigor, integrity, and in building a culture of evidence-informed decision- independence to our work. We are proud to making around the world. These engagements collaborate with each and every one. IPA was featured ranged in size and scope, from advising government in dozens of news sources in 2016, including: 2 | Innovations for Poverty Action 2016 Annual Report | 3 What We Do Our Approach We discover and promote effective solutions to global poverty problems. 1 2 3 4 5 Develop Evaluate Replicate Influence Scale Since our founding in 2002, IPA has worked with over 575 leading academics to conduct over 650 Connect Rigorously test Test successful Build partnerships Support the evaluations in 51 countries. This research has researchers programs to find programs in new and communicate expansion of informed hundreds of successful programs that with partners and out what works contexts to see findings to programs that now impact millions of individuals worldwide. funders to answer and why if results hold decision-makers have been critical questions, elsewhere proven to work Our long-term field presence in 20 countries in and help design Africa, Asia, and Latin America enables us to build innovative solutions the strong relationships needed to conduct high- quality research and influence decision-makers. Example: Graduating the Ultra-Poor WEST AFRICA EAST AFRICA LATIN AMERICA ASIA Burkina Faso Kenya Bolivia Bangladesh 1 Develop 2 + 3 Evaluate 4 Influence 5 Scale and Replicate Côte d’Ivoire Malawi Colombia Myanmar Researchers IPA staff, researchers, The program is partnered with IPA launched a multi- and partners being expanded Ghana Rwanda Dominican Republic Philippines organizations in year field operation disseminated results to reach over 2.5 Liberia Tanzania Paraguay seven countries to track the program’s and supported million households Mali Uganda Peru Headquarters to test the impact impact in six countries. governments to in 25 countries. As of a “big push” The program was adapt the program it scales, we continue Sierra Leone Zambia United States livelihoods program. shown to improve to suit their contexts. to test and adjust income, consumption, the approach. nutrition, and have other positive impacts in multiple countries. Program Areas Who We Work With $ ₹ Governments Funders Agriculture Education Financial Governance Inclusion + Health Peace & Small & Social Recovery Medium Protection Enterprises Researchers Organizations 4 | Innovations for Poverty Action 2016 Annual Report | 5 Connecting Evidence to Policy KENYA | Working with MYANMAR | Evaluating PHILIPPINES | Technical Government to Transform Myanmar’s Maternal Support to the Department Vocational Training and Child Cash Transfer of Education Program IPA Kenya is a key driver of the IPA Philippines led a monitoring Permanent Working Group Researchers are collaborating and evaluation (M&E) workshop IPA is collaborating with government partners on Technical and Vocational with IPA Myanmar and Save the for the Department of Education. Education and Training, a Children International to evaluate The workshop will inform the in 20 countries to create rigorous evidence and platform for government, the the impacts of a maternal cash Department’s nationwide M&E apply it to policy. Here are some highlights private sector, academia, NGOs, transfer program. The Ministry framework for their 700,000 and development partners to of Social Welfare plans to begin teachers, principals, and of these collaborations from 2016. jointly oversee the sustainable piloting the maternal cash supervisors. IPA continues to transformation of Kenya’s transfer program in the Chin provide technical support to the vocational training system. State of Myanmar. Results are Department as they roll out their expected to inform the national M&E program. roll-out of the program. BURKINA FASO | Financial Inclusion and Agriculture COLOMBIA | IPA Policy Staff Conference Embedded in the National IPA organized a two-day Planning Department event in Ouagadougou to disseminate results of studies An IPA and J-PAL policy team at the intersection of financial created a repository of evaluations inclusion and agricultural RWANDA | Evaluating commissioned by the Colombian intensification in rural areas. Curriculum Reform and government, ranked the evaluations More than 150 attendees Teacher Rewards with the according to rigor, conducted a discussed how to improve the Rwandan Education Board capacity-building course for 11 use of evidence in policymaking. government entities (including the IPA is working closely with the Ministries of Education, Health, Rwandan Education Board on two Social Protection, and others), and policy-relevant education studies. connected researchers to government The first examines the impact of partners interested in running a program that trains teachers rigorous, policy-relevant evaluations. SIERRA LEONE | Assessing in Rwanda’s revised secondary the Effects of Social school entrepreneurship curriculum. The second evaluates Incentives with the Ministry a teacher recognition program of Health and Sanitation that rewards teachers whose pupils achieve strong learning IPA is partnering with researchers, outcomes. the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, and the International Growth Centre to evaluate the effects of social incentives, in the form of colorful bracelets, in reducing drop-off rates for immunization of newborn babies and improvements in timely visits for prenatal care. MALAWI | Evaluation of Malawi’s ZAMBIA | Exploring Scale-Ups Public Works Program of Girls’ Negotiation, Community PERU | Institutionalizing GHANA | Long-Term Health Worker Models Researchers worked with IPA, the the Creation and Use of Collaboration with National Statistics Office, and the Malawi IPA Zambia is working with researchers Evidence in Government Ministry of Education/ Social Action Fund (MASAF) to evaluate and Zambia’s Ministries of Education Ghana Education Service With our partners at Malawi’s public works program, a major and Health to explore ways to use at-scale, government-operated social J-PAL, IPA Peru supports IPA has an MOU and six ongoing evidence from two IPA evaluations protection program. The program was the institutionalization of research collaborations with the in education and health policy. One not effective in improving food security evidence-informed decision- Ministry of Education/Ghana program has already influenced the way or increasing use of agricultural making through MineduLAB, Education Service investigating community health workers are recruited inputs. The research team continues a policy innovation lab in policy-relevant questions in Zambia; the other would incorporate