Rachna Nag Chowdhuri (Country Director, IPA Zambia), Emily Cupito (Policy Manager, J-PAL Africa), Erika Keaveney (Research Manager, IPA Zambia), and Ashleigh Morrell (Training and Policy Associate, J-PAL Africa) participated in a meeting with members of Zambia’s Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training, and Early Education.The focus of the three-day event was on assessing the performance of the Education and Skills Sector in 2014 and identifying ways to improve service delivery in the sector.

J-PAL LAC, IPA Peru and San Pablo Catholic University co-organized last May 22 in Arequipa the workshop "Evidence-based public policy: Impact Evaluation."   The workshop's objective was to contribute to promote the use and generation of evidence on the impact of social programs in the Arequipa region, in order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of public policies to the benefit of the poorest populations.   The meeting brought together policymakers, private sector, academia and civil society, to discuss the potential of scientific evidence in improving regional policies.

The first steering committee meeting governing the Urban Drinking Water and Health Outcomes study was held.Participants included representatives from the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, the Ghana Health Service, and the Ghana Standard Authority, among others.In partnership with the Ghana School of Public Health and the University of Southampton, IPA is wrapping up a small-scale pilot on the impact of subsidized sachet water on child health in urban areas, which will inform a full scale trial planned for 2016–2018.The steering committee will govern the design and implementation of that full trial.