Staff Training

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In this image:A group photo taken at an IPA/J-PAL staff training in Kenya. © 2018 Lindsey Shaughnessy
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Registration is now open for this year's Global Research Staff Training programs!

J-PAL South Asia + IPA 
In-person training program (Goa, India) 
August 27 - September 1, 2023
(For reference: IPA 2022 in-person agenda)

J-PAL North America + IPA
Online training program (Zoom) 
October 16 - 26, 2023
(For reference: IPA 2022 online agenda)

To register staff for the South Asia training (in-person), all participants are required to complete these four mandatory forms by July 14, 2023. For those needing a visa to enter India, an additional visa form is also required.

To register staff for the North America training (online), all participants are required to complete this form by September 30, 2023.

IPA participants also require manager approval. If you are a manager and you anticipate that you’ll be hiring new staff and would like for them to attend training, you can complete the registration form as a ‘placeholder’ and later update the attendee’s registration details once the hiring process is complete.


Training is a way to share the “industry standards” and over 10 years of institutional knowledge about how to effectively manage a field project.

The Global Staff Training functions much like a job orientation, reviewing some of the basic knowledge and skills that project staff need to succeed in running RCTs, as well as orienting them to the procedures, tools, resources, and team members of the J-PAL/IPA network. Global Staff Training is required to give staff the skills and resources needed for producing high-quality IPA studies. Global Staff Training is required for all Project Management Staff unless they have already attended a training event or will leave IPA within six months.

J-PAL and IPA staff and affiliates will receive announcements when registration opens for upcoming trainings, about one to two months in advance of the training event.

Participation information: The Global Staff Training is mandatory for all IPA research staff, strongly encouraged for J-PAL research staff, and open to non-research staff outside of the network. This program is designed for staff who have been with IPA, J-PAL, and related organizations in the IPA/J-PAL network for three to six months; however, it is open to staff with tenure outside that range. We also welcome staff who work with J-PAL-affiliated projects and those from closely-related external research organizations. If we are oversubscribed, IPA and J-PAL participants may be prioritized. Participants are expected to fully participate in learning activities during the program week. They may not have the opportunity nor the strong internet connectivity to carry on their regular project workload.

Learning Gains: Participants of the Global Staff Training will become well-versed in the key conceptual underpinnings of and debates surrounding RCTs in the social sciences, including ethics and research transparency. It will build upon the knowledge gained in the RCT 101x course, which all participants are recommended to have completed in advance. (IPA staff can read the instructions for registering for RCT 101x here.) They will also learn key skills involved in managing a research project, including coding in Stata and ODK, designing and programming effective questionnaires, project management, protocols for data quality and security, field team management, and effective communication, among other topics. 

A final agenda will be circulated closer to each training. For your reference, you can download the 2022 India staff training agenda here. This year's agenda is unlikely to change significantly from 2022.

Fee: For the South Asia training (in-person), the fee is $2,000 for staff working with IPA/J-PAL/partner organizations and affiliate network staff; and $3,000 for external participants. This fee includes accommodation and all meals at the training venue, all training materials, transportation between the Goa airport and the training location at the beginning and end of the training, and all applicable taxes. This fee does not include costs associated with arriving to/departing from Goa.

For the North America training (online), the fee depends on the participant's affiliation, country of work, and date of registration as shown in the table below. This fee includes all training materials. In addition, participants can receive a discount of $100 for early registration before September 1, 2023. More information on the fees for the NA training can be found in this Global Help Desk article (IPA Salesforce login required).


We look forward to having your new staff join us. If you have any questions or comments, please email IPA's Global Research & Data Support Team.

“The sessions on RCTS and generalizability have helped me think more critically of the projects I’m on and properly evaluating the theory of change.”

“I got mind-opening exposure to how to deal better with organization and quality assurance.”

“Wonderful collegiality! Really warm engagements, open and creative.”

“Really well organized & coordinated! Thank you!”