Evidence for Policy Design (EPoD)

What Evidence for Policy Design (EPoD) does

Evidence for Policy Design (EPoD) is a non-profit academic research initiative operating under the Harvard Center for International Development (CID) at Harvard Kennedy School, headquartered at 79 JFK Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts. EPoD and the broader CID research portfolio generate evidence-based research addressing global development challenges, including poverty reduction, education quality, healthcare access, and environmental inequality. The unit's core outputs are peer-reviewed publications, policy research reports, and convening events such as the Global Empowerment Meeting (GEM), produced through specialized programs including China and the Global Economy, Global Education and Research: Unleashing Potential (GEAR:UP), the Growth Lab, the Morocco Innovation and Evaluation Lab, Reimagining the Economy, the Social Economics Lab, the Social Protection Initiative, and the CID Visiting Researcher Program.

EPoD serves two primary constituencies: governments and global development stakeholders seeking evidence-based policy solutions, and academic researchers and policy analysts who consume its research outputs. The entity operates with a small team of approximately 5 employees and leverages Harvard's faculty, PhD affiliates, and visiting researchers as its operational backbone. There are no commercial products, disclosed pricing models, or revenue-generating activities; the unit is sustained through institutional support within the Harvard CID framework. Distribution occurs through academic publications, the CID Voices Blog, conferences, and a multi-platform social media presence on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Instagram. No proprietary technology platform, AI/ML capabilities, patents, or API products are disclosed in the source material.

Name

Evidence for Policy Design (EPoD)

Website

https://epod.cid.harvard.edu

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Evidence for Policy Design (EPoD) is a small non-profit academic research unit within Harvard's Center for International Development that produces evidence-based policy research on global development challenges for governments and academic audiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

EPoD is a research program at Harvard's Center for International Development that conducts academic research to produce evidence-based policy recommendations addressing global development challenges including poverty reduction, education improvement, healthcare access, and environmental inequality. The program generates scholarly outputs through research projects, surveys, and experiments that inform policy design for governments and development stakeholders.

Product overview

The source content from Harvard Kennedy School's Center for International Development (CID) describes research programs and initiatives rather than commercial products or services. The available programs include: China and the Global Economy, Global Education and Research: Unleashing Potential (GEAR:UP), Growth Lab, The Morocco Innovation and Evaluation Lab, Reimagining the Economy, Social Economics Lab, Social Protection Initiative, and the CID Visiting Researcher Program. No products or services were identified for Evidence for Policy Design (EPoD) in the provided source material.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• China and the Global Economy Research program fostering a deeper understanding of the Chinese economy and its far-reaching implications for the global economic landscape.
• Global Education and Research: Unleashing Potential (GEAR:UP) Research program transforming education systems and developing personalized learning journeys at scale.
• Growth Lab Research program conducting innovative research on economic growth and development policies to foster inclusive prosperity.
• Morocco Innovation and Evaluation Lab Research program fostering effective policy-making by promoting actionable, evidence-backed research in Morocco.
• Social Economics Lab Research program creating and conducting large-scale online social economic surveys and experiments that shed light on people's understanding and reasoning about economic matters.
• Social Protection Initiative Research program researching change and empowering global impact with social protection.
• CID Visiting Researcher Program Program welcoming PhD and Postdoc researchers to pursue research for a year in residence at Harvard Kennedy School and join the CID research community.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights1 record

Direct peers

• Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL): MIT-based global research center focused on evaluating poverty programs using randomized controlled trials. Directly comparable to EPoD's evidence-based, rigorous-evaluation approach to development challenges in education, health, and social protection.
• Center for Global Development (CGD): Independent policy think tank focused on global development, poverty reduction, and evidence-based policy — directly comparable mission to EPoD's work on poverty, education, healthcare, and environmental inequality, though CGD is larger and DC-based.
• Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR): Stanford-based policy research institute producing economic research with policy implications. Comparable as a university-anchored, academic-policy research outfit focused on evidence-based economic analysis, though narrower in economic-policy framing versus EPoD's broader development scope.
• Harvard Growth Lab: Sibling research program within Harvard CID focused on inclusive economic growth and development policy. Operates within the same parent institution and shares EPoD's evidence-based approach to international development challenges.

Broad incumbents

• RAND Corporation: Large non-profit research institution producing rigorous policy analysis for governments globally. Comparable academic rigor and policy orientation, but much larger headcount and broader mandate than EPoD's development-focused portfolio.
• Brookings Institution: Major Washington-based think tank producing policy research across economics, foreign policy, and development. Comparable in generating evidence-based policy research for governments, but operates at much greater scale and across many domains beyond EPoD's development focus.
• World Bank Research: Research arm of the World Bank producing evidence and analysis on global development, poverty, and economic policy. Comparable in mission to address poverty and development, though at vastly greater scale and embedded within a multilateral institution.
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Research: UN agency producing research and policy guidance on poverty, inequality, education, and environmental sustainability globally. Highly comparable thematic focus to EPoD's stated mission areas, though operates at multilateral-institution scale rather than as an academic program.

Regional players

• Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE): Washington-based non-profit focused on international economic policy. Shares EPoD's evidence-based approach and international-development orientation, but with a narrower focus on trade and macroeconomics rather than the broader development themes EPoD covers.

Emerging players

• MIT D-Lab: MIT-based research program focused on international development, poverty alleviation, and evidence-based interventions. Comparable in academic affiliation and development focus, though oriented toward technology and design solutions rather than EPoD's broader policy approach.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/evidence-for-policy-design

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Evidence for Policy Design (EPoD)