J-PAL MENA
The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab Middle East and North Africa (J-PAL MENA) is a regional centre of J-PAL focused on alleviating poverty and improving lives through evidence-informed policymaking.
Launched in 2020 by J-PAL, the American University in Cairo (AUC), Community Jameel, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the centre is based at the School of Business at the American University in Cairo.
J-PAL’s rigorous, scientific approach to evaluating social programmes and policies helps shed light on the most effective approaches to reducing poverty.
J-PAL MENA brings this approach to the Middle East and North Africa region, leading on three main activities:
Using J-PAL's Nobel Prize-winning experimental approach to inform high-level decision-making
Working with governments, NGOs, foundations, and other organisations to bridge the gap between research and policy
Leading training and workshops for policy professionals and researchers to help build a culture of evidence-informed policymaking across the region