J- PA L S TATE A N D LO C A L
IN N OVAT I O N I N I T I ATI V E
R E QU E ST FO R L ETTER S O F I NTE RE ST
The J-PAL State and Local Innovation Initiative supports U.S. state and local leaders in using randomized evaluations to
generate new and widely applicable lessons about which programs work, which work best, and why.
the competition
The J-PAL State and Local Innovation Initiative features a two-phase competition for U.S. state and local leaders who are
interested in designing and implementing randomized evaluations and using the evidence generated to inform their decisionmaking.
In Phase I of the competition, state and local leaders will identify the policy questions they would like to answer using
randomized evaluations. Selected state and local leaders will receive ongoing technical support from J-PAL staff for a period
of up to one year, flexible pilot funding of up to $100,000, and connections with J-PAL’s network of researchers.
In Phase II of the competition, state and local governments that have partnered with a researcher from J-PAL’s network to
design a high-quality randomized evaluation can apply for funding, typically in the range of $250,000-500,000, to carry out
the evaluation. There will be multiple rounds of both Phase I and Phase II of the competition over five years.
application instructions
J-PAL North America invites state and local government leaders to submit a brief letter of interest describing how rigorous
evidence would help answer an important policy question. Letters of interest should be 3-5 pages and include a brief
description of the following:
1.The policy question or challenge that motivates the application. In describing the challenge, it would be beneficial to
provide some evidence of the challenge, including any relevant statistics.
2.A brief description of past or current efforts to address the policy challenge that the applicant is interested in
examining, or a brief description of potential new approaches that the applicant is interested in exploring. Any
preliminary evidence that suggests these existing or potential approaches work or will work would be helpful.
3.A description of how your jurisdiction currently uses data and evidence to inform decision-making and how new
evidence would be used to inform decision-making going forward.
4.
A description of your jurisdiction’s interest in and any experience with randomized evaluations.
5.
The names and titles of the main contact(s) for this application.
Selected state and local governments will partner with J-PAL North America to design high-quality randomized evaluations
in order to generate credible evidence about the effectiveness of social policies or programs in their jurisdictions. Therefore,
applicants to this competition must be open to working with J-PAL North America to look for ways to include random
assignment (for example, a random lottery) in the implementation of the program or policy they are interested in testing.
next steps
Please send letters of interest to [email protected]. Letters must be submitted by an authorized
representative of a U.S. state or local government (including states, counties, cities, and other municipalities).
You are also encouraged to provide a letter of support for your application from your Governor, Mayor, City Manager, County
Commissioner or Supervisor, or agency leader.
timeline
Applicants should submit a letter of interest by February 17, 2017. We will accept additional applications on a rolling basis
but cannot guarantee that they will receive full consideration.
November 14, 2016
Request for letters of interest announced
February 17, 2017
Deadline to submit letters of interest
March 20, 2017
Finalists selected and invited to submit full proposals
April 17, 2017
Deadline to submit full proposals
Week of May 22, 2017
Winners announced
J-PAL North America may conduct telephone interviews with select applicants in order to clarify our understanding of
your proposal, provide you with an opportunity to ask any questions of us, and make sure expectations are aligned in both
directions about the partnership between J-PAL and selected state and local governments.
what is j-pal north america looking for?
J-PAL North America will consider the following general criteria in reviewing letters of interest:
1. Clear description of an important policy
question or challenge
Does the proposal address questions that are crucial for the government?
Are these questions relevant for other jurisdictions?
2. Promising approach to addressing the
policy challenge
Is there an opportunity to test a promising program or policy?
3. Feasible opportunity for a randomized
evaluation
Are state and local leaders open to conducting a randomized evaluation?
Are there any practical or political concerns about implementing a
randomized evaluation?
4. Commitment to using evidence to
inform decision-making
Is there demonstrated commitment from senior leaders within the
government to use evidence to inform decision-making?
5. Potential contribution to the evidence base
Would a randomized evaluation of an intervention addressing this
policy issue make a significant contribution toward advancing the state
of knowledge? How do the proposed interventions (if any) compare to
approaches that have previously been studied?