For Partners

Promoting meaningful collaboration between researchers and decision-makers

We conduct novel research to identify key policy questions and address them using the best data and methods. CEGA researchers partner with governments, non-profits, implementing organizations and industry to introduce or scale evidence-backed innovations, field- and A/B test new approaches, build stronger internal data and analysis systems, and rigorously measure the impacts of their work on communities in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)—ultimately informing their decisions, investments and strategies.

Why Partner with CEGA

CEGA can help answer interesting, thorny questions, offering value that can be difficult for governments, NGOs, and private companies to generate internally: credible, independent evidence on where and how programs, models, or other approaches benefit communities or users—and where they might fall short. CEGA brings access to populations, governments, and field settings that are hard to reach from outside, the methodological rigor to measure real welfare effects rather than usage proxies, and a researcher network that can surface failure modes before they arise. Collaborations are mutually beneficial: partners gain rigorous evidence, evaluation data, and a research presence in LMIC contexts; CEGA’s researchers gain access and technical engagement needed to study novel programs and frontier models in the settings where they matter most.

Opportunities and Services

We welcome the opportunity to work with a diversity of decision-makers to conduct timely, actionable, and scalable research about the impacts of economic and social programs in LMICs. CEGA values equal partnerships and is committed to building capacity to ensure sustainability, local ownership, and use of critical insights. Our range of research services include:

• Forging new research and policy collaborations in LMICs
• Identifying new uses of existing data and leveraging routinely-collected data, including unstructured data passively collected by mobile phones, satellites, or other networks
• Collecting new data, including detailed cost inputs for cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analyses
• Providing technical assistance to strengthen monitoring and evaluation practices
• Advising on the development of new platforms and tools for data collection or evidence synthesis
• Building capacity of researchers and policymakers in LMICs and elsewhere to rigorously measure the impact of programs and policies
• Designing impact evaluations in close collaboration with end users
• Synthesizing and promoting evidence to inform institutional and programmatic decision making

How to Partner

Partnering with CEGA begins with a discussion of program and policy priorities and identifying questions that can be answered with better data, tools, and analysis. We establish close working relationships between CEGA affiliated faculty, researchers in LMICs, and institutional counterparts to ensure that priorities are addressed, studies are context-specific, and project timelines fit the policy window we identify together. We seek out collaborators with flexible scale-up plans, so that we can be involved in decisions about timing and geographic placement of expanding programs. By engaging policy partners from project conceptualization, we maximize the likelihood of evidence being used in decision making.