Why does cash persist even when merchants and consumers are willing to pay digitally? New research from IPA and Phil Roessler finds that correcting misperceptions can change beliefs, but that alone may not change how people pay. Read the blog: bit.ly/4ggwfIR

1/6 Last week, IPA joined The BOMA Project and the IKEA Foundation in Nairobi to share new evidence from the Livelihoods and Inclusion for Transformation in Northern Kenya project and discuss what it will take to scale economic inclusion in Kenya. Four insights from the discussion!

What happens when livelihood support is designed with both people and the environment in mind? That's the question at the heart of an event IPA is hosting with The BOMA Project and the IKEA Foundation on August 4 in Nairobi.

Today is #WorldDayAgainstTraffickingInPersons. Governments invest heavily in awareness campaigns to prevent trafficking. But does information alone change outcomes? Evidence from IPA's Human Trafficking Research Initiative suggests: not usually.

Can a universal livelihoods model deliver strong results at low cost? New evidence from Uganda suggests it can. Explore key findings in the visuals below.

How do we move from successful pilot programs to sustainable, government-led solutions that help prevent violence against children in schools? That was the focus of a national workshop convened by Uganda's Ministry of Education and Sports, IPA, and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

Self-reliance is easy to endorse. Achieving it is much harder. New evidence presented at the Joint Data Center's Research Conference on Forced Displacement challenges common assumptions about aid, livelihoods, and what it really takes to support displaced populations.

What drives the cost of digital payments? Not one factor, but many. Our latest blog explores how consumer behavior, taxes, competition, payment infrastructure, and provider incentives shape the affordability of digital financial services. Read more: bit.ly/4wFz6Af

Despite widespread mobile money, Tanzanians still pay some of the highest digital transaction fees in the region. Our latest #TADFRI blog explores how competition, interoperability, and smart regulation can help make digital financial services more affordable.

As part of our Tanzania Affordable Digital Finance Research Initiative (TADFRI), we continue to explore what makes digital financial services more affordable.

Tanzania has more mobile money accounts than working-age adults. But high taxes could undo years of progress, driving people back to cash. How can the gov't raise revenue without pricing out low-income users? Our research with Fiscality offers answers. bit.ly/4pcxGdV

Making digital payments available is only part of the challenge. Making them affordable is what determines whether people and businesses use them consistently.

Last week in Abuja, IPA and Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction launched the National Poverty Intelligence Lab.

A new IPA evidence review examines how digital interventions, from online training and mentorship to job platforms and remote work, are shaping women’s skills development and labor market participation across low- and middle-income countries.

Peace is a continuous process. To celebrate the first United Nations #PeacebuildingWeek, IPA is looking back on some of our early peace-maintaining findings in Liberia, conducted in partnership with the UN Peacebuilding Fund following the Liberian civil wars between 1989 and 2003.

Publishing null results *is* hard. Thrilled to finally see this paper with @danielnposner.bsky.social and @dougparkerson.bsky.social investigating the impact of bottom-up accountability on healthcare outcomes in print in the JOP. Thread 👇 doi.org/10.1086/736577

Congratulations to CID Faculty Affiliate @piaraffler.bsky.social and co-authors @danielposner.bsky.social and @dougparkerson.bsky.social on their recent publication in @thejop.bsky.social. Read below for more details ⤵️

Pia Raffler@piaraffler.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Publishing null results *is* hard. Thrilled to finally see this paper with @danielnposner.bsky.social and @dougparkerson.bsky.social investigating the impact of bottom-up accountability on healthcare outcomes in print in the JOP. Thread 👇 doi.org/10.1086/736577

Cost-effectiveness analysis helps answer an important question: What impact are we achieving for every dollar invested? But there are underlying assumptions about costs, impact duration, spillovers, and more that can shape results.

Is your program ready for impact evaluation? Our free 10-question simple checklist helps you assess readiness in 15 minutes. Get your score and guidance on next steps, plus learn how IPA can support your evaluation journey.

IPA Rwanda is supporting the Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB) and UNICEF in the rollout of the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Module within the Teacher Management Information System (TMIS).

Uganda’s education sector does not lack data. The challenge is turning that data into better decisions and stronger education outcomes. At the 5th #EdLabUganda Retreat, IPA joined government, researchers, universities, and partners to strengthen evidence use across the sector.

Join us for the National Launch of the Philippines Socioeconomic Panel Survey (PSPS) Wave 1 Data on June 2, 2026 at the University of the Visayas, Iloilo City Campus. 📅 June 2, 2026 ⏰ 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (PHT) Learn more and register now: bit.ly/4ucJezG

We’ve spent decades building evidence on what works. And we have made real progress. But scaling what works has turned out to be a different challenge entirely. Because evidence doesn’t scale on its own. Embedding evidence into systems does.

Pakistan has the infrastructure for digital payments. Mobile wallets are widespread. So why is cash still king at the point of sale? New research has some answers in a new blog by Farah Said and IPA's @laurenperlik.bsky.social: bit.ly/4ueTQNQ #InstantPaymentSystems #DigitalFinance

Why Pakistan's Shopkeepers and Customers Keep Choosing Cash Over Digital Payments | IPA

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How can we counter organized crime, combat drug trafficking & strengthen law enforcement and criminal justice systems? What does the evidence say, and what are we still missing? Find out in IPA's new Research & Learning Agenda for the Citizen Security Research Initiative: bit.ly/4bYshBb

Rwanda’s education system is evolving, and evidence is at the center of the next phase. At #StateOfEducation2026, discussions focused on learning outcomes, foundational skills, and how data can drive real policy change.

How do we make Digital Financial Services more affordable in Tanzania? IPA and the Bank of Tanzania partnered to understand DFS affordability drivers.

How are education policy decisions made inside government and where can locally grounded researchers shape them? Join our webinar on April 28th with Ministry of Education leaders from Ghana, Rwanda, and Kenya. Time: 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM EAT or 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM GMT Register Now: bit.ly/4tOhNvn

Rwanda's Basic Education Board is building in-house capacity to manage workforce data for 100,000+ teachers through Python training, a support chatbot, and improved placement workflows. See what embedded technical assistance can look like in practice: poverty-action.org/embedded-evi...

Last month, IPA joined the Nigeria Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, including key development partners, at a national workshop in Abuja to co-create the framework for Nigeria’s One Humanitarian–One Poverty Response System.