Government leaders gather at MIT to advance evidence-based policymaking
State and local government leaders, leading scholars, and social service providers gathered in Cambridge on Jan. 12 and 13 to share their first-hand experiences creating and using rigorous evidence to address key challenges related to poverty. Participants focused on highlighting examples of how governments and researchers have partnered to use evidence from randomized evaluations to reduce crime and violence, improve maternal and child health, and promote housing mobility. “Government leaders at all levels are increasingly turning to evidence to inform their policy decisions. Knowing what works best, what doesn’t, and why allows decision makers to implement policies that have a real and lasting impact and can help governments achieve budgetary savings,” said Melissa Kearney of the University of Maryland, co-chair of J-PAL North America’s State and Local Innovation Initiative. J-PAL North America, which hosted the conference, is a regional office of MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). J-PAL seeks to reduce poverty by...