Innovations for Poverty Action
Innovations for Poverty Action is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that designs and runs randomized controlled evaluations to test which poverty-reduction programs work, operating 15 country offices and partnering with governments, multilateral institutions, and academic researchers across more than 60 countries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2003
- HeadquartersWashington, United States
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Innovations for Poverty Action does
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research and policy organization founded in 2002 by Dean Karlan and headquartered in Washington, DC. The organization designs, runs, and disseminates randomized controlled evaluations — the same experimental methodology used in clinical trials — to determine which poverty-reduction programs work, which do not, and why. IPA maintains 15 country offices across East Africa, West Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean, and has conducted more than 1,400 evaluations in over 60 countries since inception.
IPA's core products are its randomized evaluation methodology, its network of Embedded Evidence Labs stationed inside partner government ministries (in Ghana, Zambia, Rwanda, Côte d'Ivoire, and others), and country-specific intelligence platforms such as the National Poverty Intelligence Lab developed with the Federal Government of Nigeria. Adjacent offerings include the Poverty Index, a measurement and advisory tool published at povertyindex.org, and the Right-Fit Evidence unit, which equips partner organizations with data and evaluation capacity. The portfolio spans sectoral expertise across agriculture, climate and environment, consumer protection, education, financial inclusion, health and nutrition, human trafficking, intimate partner violence, peace and recovery, and social protection.
IPA generates revenue through charitable donations from individuals and foundations and through restricted research grants from multilateral institutions (World Bank, UNICEF, Inter-American Development Bank), bilateral government donors, and philanthropic funders. Pricing is not applicable — IPA does not sell products or services. Its go-to-market is enterprise field sales into governments and policymakers, complemented by a community-led academic network of researchers from top universities (Northwestern, MIT, Harvard, UC Berkeley, among others) who serve as principal investigators on evaluations. Distribution occurs through embedded labs, academic publications, public datasets, advisory engagements, and events. Leadership comprises Founder Dean Karlan (Northwestern professor and J-PAL Executive Committee member) and Executive Director Annie Duflo.
Innovations for Poverty Action firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Innovations for Poverty Action
- Legal name
- Innovations for Poverty Action
- Website
- https://poverty-action.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2003
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- Innovations for Poverty Action is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that designs and runs randomized controlled evaluations to test which poverty-reduction programs work, operating 15 country offices and partnering with governments, multilateral institutions, and academic researchers across more than 60 countries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Innovations for Poverty Action industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Development Research and Policy Advisory
- NAICS
- Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Research, Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Partnerships (EDADALAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Global Health Research, Evidence & Technical Assistance Organizations (HLAJAKAN), Education Policy, Research & Advocacy Organizations (Nonprofit) (BPAGADAN)
Keywords
Where Innovations for Poverty Action is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Washington
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices16 records
Markets served
Innovations for Poverty Action business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, IPA receives donations from individuals, foundations, and organizations. They offer multiple giving options including one-time donations, monthly recurring donations, and legacy giving.
- Research Funding and Grants: IPA receives funding from government agencies, international organizations (World Bank, UNICEF), foundations, and bilateral donors to conduct research and evaluations. They manage open and closed funding opportunities for researchers.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
Innovations for Poverty Action product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Innovations for Poverty Action designs and conducts randomized evaluations of anti-poverty programs in partnership with governments, academic researchers, and implementing organizations. It embeds research teams inside government ministries through its Embedded Evidence Labs to generate and use evidence for policy in real time, and complements this with advisory tools such as the Poverty Index and the National Poverty Intelligence Lab for poverty measurement and program targeting.
Product overview
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) operates as a research and policy nonprofit offering a platform of evidence-generation and advisory services rather than a singular commercial product. Its core offerings include conducting randomized evaluations (over 1,400 evaluations in more than 60 countries) and providing embedded research capacity to governments through Embedded Evidence Labs. The organization complements its research operations with advisory services including the Poverty Index for poverty measurement and the Right-Fit Evidence unit for equipping partners with data skills. IPA also partners with governments to build specialized intelligence infrastructure such as the National Poverty Intelligence Lab, which represents a distinct data platform offering. The portfolio spans sectoral expertise across agriculture, climate, education, financial inclusion, health, and social protection.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Embedded Evidence Labs Government partnership model in which IPA embeds research and evidence-generation teams directly inside ministries and government agencies to produce and use evidence for policy decisions in real time, enabling evidence-based policy formulation, coordinated resource allocation, and measurable outcomes. Designed for national and local government partners seeking to institutionalize evidence use.
- Poverty Index A poverty measurement tool and advisory service that equips decision-makers with data and methodology to identify, measure, and track poverty. Available publicly through povertyindex.org and used to support government and partner decision-making.
- National Poverty Intelligence Lab A data-driven platform developed in partnership with governments to serve as the central intelligence hub for anti-poverty interventions, enabling evidence-based policy formulation, coordinated resource allocation, monitoring, evaluation, and performance assessment of poverty reduction programs.
- Right-Fit Evidence An advisory service line that equips IPA's government and implementing partners with the skills, tools, and methodologies needed to use data and evidence in their own decision-making, supporting scaling of what works.
Quantifiable outcome
- 5.9 percentage point increase in STEM course enrollment among low-income students in Costa Rica through targeted text messages (Deciding My Future campaign)
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Innovations for Poverty Action
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Innovations for Poverty Action technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Innovations for Poverty Action partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.
- Federal Government of NigeriacoreIPA partnered with the Federal Government of Nigeria to develop the National Poverty Intelligence Lab, a data-driven platform designed to strengthen targeting, monitoring, and evaluation of poverty reduction programmes targeting approximately 140 million Nigerians. The lab serves as the central intelligence hub for anti-poverty interventions, supporting policy formulation, resource allocation, and performance assessment.
- World BankcoreWorld Bank is a technical partner supporting the Early Childhood Education Harmonised Scale Programme in Ghana, which aims to retrain over 32,000 kindergarten teachers in play-based pedagogy to serve 1.2 million young learners.
- UNICEFcoreUNICEF is a technical partner supporting the Early Childhood Education Harmonised Scale Programme in Ghana, contributing to the nationwide initiative for early childhood education reform.
- Ministry of Education GhanacoreThe Ghana Ministry of Education leads the Early Childhood Education Harmonised Scale Programme, with IPA and other partners providing technical support for training over 32,000 kindergarten teachers.
- Sabre EducationsecondarySabre Education is a technical partner in the Ghana Early Childhood Education Harmonised Scale Programme, contributing expertise to the teacher training initiative.
- Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)coreIDB partnered with IPA on the 'Deciding My Future' campaign in Costa Rica, which used targeted text messages to increase STEM enrollment among low-income students by 5.9 percentage points. IDB also published research on gender and STEM participation in Latin America.
- Federal University of PernambucosecondaryPartnered with IDB on research studying gender pay gaps and STEM participation in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Ministry of Public Education Costa RicacoreIPA partnered with the Costa Rica Ministry of Public Education and IDB to implement the 'Deciding My Future' campaign, which used targeted text messages over 12 weeks to influence career aspirations and increase STEM enrollment.
- UC Berkeley Haas School of BusinesssecondaryCo-hosted a conference on financial inclusion and innovation in Latin America, bringing together academics, industry leaders, regulators, and policymakers.
- CEGA (Center for Effective Global Action)secondaryCo-hosted a conference on financial inclusion and innovation in Latin America with UC Berkeley Haas and Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez.
- Universidad Adolfo IbanezsecondaryCo-hosted a conference on financial inclusion and innovation in Latin America with UC Berkeley Haas and CEGA.
- Government of BrazilsecondaryIPA is conducting a randomized controlled trial in Brazil to study whether open finance adoption can help close the $593 billion MSME credit gap, with results expected in early 2026.
- Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL)coreIPA Founder Dean Karlan serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of J-PAL. Both organizations share the mission of using randomized evaluations to generate evidence on what works in poverty reduction.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Innovations for Poverty Action competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- CEGA (Center for Effective Global Action): UC Berkeley-based research network running RCTs and field experiments on global poverty. Co-hosts conferences with IPA, shares the academic RCT-for-development model, and competes for the same researcher pipeline.
- GiveDirectly: Cash transfer organization that has been the subject of major IPA/J-PAL randomized evaluations. Comparable in the evidence-driven-development conversation, but functions as an implementer whose work IPA often studies.
- BRAC: Massive international development NGO that both implements and studies anti-poverty programs at scale. Frequently an IPA study counterpart and partial competitor for donor mindshare on what works in poverty reduction.
Broad incumbents
- Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Research: Multilateral lender that both funds and produces rigorous development research in Latin America; active IPA partner (Costa Rica STEM campaign, gender pay-gap work) and broad incumbent in the same evaluation ecosystem.
- RAND Corporation: Large, established research organization applying rigorous methods (including RCTs) to social policy and global development; shares IPA's evidence-to-policy mission at a broader, more diversified scale.
- World Bank Development Research Group: Large multilateral research arm producing policy-relevant development economics evidence; IPA frequently partners with World Bank, but the Bank's broader scale and budget make it a broad incumbent in the same evidence-for-policy niche.
- Center for Global Development: Think tank producing rigorous research on development policy, including rigorous impact evaluations; comparable audience of policymakers and donors and overlapping thematic coverage (financial inclusion, social protection).
- UNICEF Office of Research: Multilateral research arm focused on child wellbeing and social policy. IPA's Ghana ECE program is jointly supported with UNICEF, making it a peer partner with overlapping research priorities in health, nutrition, and education.
Direct peers
- Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL): Closest peer: sister MIT-rooted organization using randomized evaluations to study poverty. Shares methodology, overlapping academic network (Dean Karlan sits on J-PAL's Executive Committee), and competes for the same donor and policy-maker mindshare.
- International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie): Direct peer in the impact-evaluation-for-development space: funds, produces, and synthesizes rigorous impact evaluations of development programs, with similar funders and methodological standards as IPA.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Innovations for Poverty Action social profiles
Digital presenceInnovations for Poverty Action financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Innovations for Poverty Action leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Innovations for Poverty Action funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
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Innovations for Poverty Action M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
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Frequently asked questions about Innovations for Poverty Action
What does Innovations for Poverty Action do?
Innovations for Poverty Action designs and conducts randomized evaluations of anti-poverty programs in partnership with governments, academic researchers, and implementing organizations. It embeds research teams inside government ministries through its Embedded Evidence Labs to generate and use evidence for policy in real time, and complements this with advisory tools such as the Poverty Index and the National Poverty Intelligence Lab for poverty measurement and program targeting.
Is Innovations for Poverty Action a public or private company?
Innovations for Poverty Action is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Innovations for Poverty Action founded?
Innovations for Poverty Action was founded in 2003. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Innovations for Poverty Action based?
Innovations for Poverty Action is headquartered in Washington, United States, in the North America region.
How does Innovations for Poverty Action make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Donations and Charitable Contributions are the primary driver. The others are research Funding and Grants.
Who are Innovations for Poverty Action's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are CEGA (Center for Effective Global Action), GiveDirectly and BRAC. Broad incumbents are Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Research, RAND Corporation, World Bank Development Research Group, Center for Global Development and UNICEF Office of Research. Direct peers are Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie).
Does Innovations for Poverty Action have an API?
No public API is recorded for Innovations for Poverty Action.
What industry is Innovations for Poverty Action in?
Innovations for Poverty Action's product category is Development Research and Policy Advisory. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDADALAK, Research, Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Partnerships, with a secondary code of HLAJAKAN, Global Health Research, Evidence & Technical Assistance Organizations. Its NAICS code is 54172 and its SIC code is 8731.