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J-PAL and IPA Joint Research Agenda: Soft Skills for Entrepreneurship and Workforce Development

IPA and J-PAL have partnered to lay out the forefront of research examining soft skills. Key research gaps remain in understanding which soft skills matter for whom, how best to implement soft skills programs effectively and at scale, and the causal mechanisms through which these skills affect economic outcomes. For more information on our research priorities, the definition of soft skills, outcomes of interest, and sample research questions, read our research agenda.

Living Evidence Review: Soft Skills and Labor Market Outcomes

This living record of evidence is a dynamic repository for experimental research that examines how soft skills impact labor market and economic outcomes. See our living evidence review here (users are welcome to download this Google Sheet as an Excel file and apply your own filters to engage with the evidence as it supports your work).

Effective Socio-emotional Skills to Gain Economic Empowerment (ESTEEM)

Socio-emotional skills (SES) have gained attention as a promising way to improve economic empowerment in low-income countries. IPA and the World Bank’s Africa Gender Innovation Lab (GIL) are collaborating on ESTEEM, or Effective Socio-emotional Skills to Gain Economic Empowerment. Learn more here.

What Are We Learning about Effective Implementation at Scale? Soft Skills Training for Entrepreneurship and Workforce Development

Soft skills training—specifically Personal Initiative (PI) Training—has shown promising effects on business outcomes for entrepreneurs. Yet, results vary by context and gender, and implementation could significantly shape effectiveness, so a better understanding of the mechanisms behind the intervention could help implementers deploy it more successfully. Read our full implementation guide.

Best Bets Webinar Series: Entrepreneurial Mindset and Soft Skills Training for Business Growth

In November 2023, as part of IPA's Best Bets launch, IPA hosted a Best Bets Webinar focused on Entrepreneurial Mindset and Soft Skills Training Programs. Watch the webinar recording here.

Effective Socio-emotional Skills to Gain Economic Empowerment (ESTEEM) Framework and Tools

IPA and the World Bank’s Africa Gender Innovation Lab (GIL) are collaborating to unpack the black box of SES and examine whether some skills matter more for women and men’s economic empowerment, develop free SES measurement tools, and explore the relationship between SES and norms. This includes the ESTEEM framework and a roadmap for measuring soft skills and SEL, among other resources.

Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) Framework

The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) identifies five core competencies of social and emotional learning (SEL). These competencies are self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.

CASEL Assessment Tools

As the field of social and emotional learning has evolved, a variety of helpful and important ways to assess students’ social-emotional competence have emerged, including strategies for how teachers can monitor their students’ progress on social and emotional development in the classroom, and how schools can assess quality of implementation. CASEL does not yet recommend SEL measures for accountability purposes; however, states can provide support to measure the quality of implementation. The resources on their webpage can help.

EASEL Lab Visual Tools to Explore SEL

The EASEL Lab at Harvard Graduate School of Education provides visual tools to explore similarities and differences between frameworks for exploring SEL.

The Behavioral, Emotional, and Social ​Skills Inventory (BESSI)

The Behavioral, Emotional, and Social Skills Inventory (BESSI) is a comprehensive, reliable, valid, and efficient measure of social, emotional, and behavioral skills (SEB skills). It measures five major skill domains, which quickly summarize someone’s skills: Self-Management Skills, Social Engagement Skills, Cooperation Skills, Emotional Resilience Skills, and Innovation Skills.

Measures for Advancing Gender Equality (MAGNET) 

The Measures for Advancing Gender Equality (MAGNET) initiative aims to (i) broaden and deepen the measurement of women’s agency, based on the development of new tools and rigorous testing and comparison of both new and existing methods for measuring agency, and (ii) promote the adoption of these measures at scale.

The Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) Measurement Library

INEE's Measurement Library is a collection of measurement tools to assess children’s learning and holistic development and service provider quality in crisis contexts. The tools are meant to help education practitioners generate high-quality data to inform program planning and review.