Jul 23, 2009

Funding What Doesn’t Work

The Obama administration’s guidance on eliminating wasteful spending in health care apparently doesn’t apply to education.

Jun 12, 2009

Experiments with Merit Salaries Under Attack

There is no conclusive evidence as of yet that paying teachers for their performance in the classroom in fact results in better learning for students. But a number of experiments aimed at understanding whether it can are being driven by intuitive sense, and the fact that the non-experimental research available is positive.

May 28, 2009

A Clue to the Puzzle of Persistent Poverty

Two studies published this month offer some hope of understanding why the cycle of poverty is so hard to break and what philanthropists can do about it. The lack of certainty about root causes should encourage a focus on philanthropy interventions that help children with impaired working memories—and to fund research that can help understand the exact interrelation between allostatic load and poverty.

May 24, 2009

J-PAL Publishes Long Awaited Microfinance Impact Study

Some readers may think the report is fairly damning to the marketing claims of the impact of microfinance—more studies like this in other areas and over longer periods are necessary before we can reject the traditional views though. Ultimately, though, this study is very good news for microfinance because it begins to illuminate what is really happening among borrowers. That information, in turn, can be used to improve the product to make sure that the best products are offered to clients—and the impact of microfinance can improve.

Apr 21, 2009

Mounds of Data on Education Interventions

It should be no surprise that programs to improve education and schools are as poorly studied as most other philanthropic efforts. We’ve lamented the poor state of journalism on the topic before. But I’ve recently come across a number of papers documenting high quality studies of some of the most popular education interventions.

Apr 06, 2009

Moratorium on Moyo Mumbling

Both those who have praised or condemned Dambisa Moyo’s new book seem to have lost touch—as they fine-tune the language of their point-counterpoint—with an inexorable reality: there is zero chance that Western governments will cut off aid flows to Africa within five years. Is there any practical advice on offer anywhere?

Mar 12, 2009

Education Focus Blurs Lines for Philanthropy

The promise of significant public investment for education from the Obama administration should stimulate discussion and consideration of where philanthropic dollars can best be leveraged to complement, or reduce the damage from, government investments.

Mar 06, 2009

Stimulus Funding for Effectiveness Research Worth Following

One part of the Obama administration’s proposed budget provides an example worth following for private philanthropy—investing in effectiveness research. Questions abound in nearly every social area, from education to health to economic development. Behavioral economics is also at work on donors and funders as they make choices about what to invest in. The impulse—as with that cookie—is to earmark money directly for recipients, because the gain seems immediate. But absent any evidence that programs work, it is a false gain. Instead, we should remember to support the research projects that can tell us for sure whether the gain is sustaining or not, and be willing to act on the evidence, even if we don’t like it.

Mar 04, 2009

An Era of Either/Or Choices

One of the results of the global recession will be a new era in philanthropy. The last decade has been marked by philanthropic abundance. The number of foundations and foundation endowments grew rapidly. Flush with cash, many donors were able to avoid difficult choices—they had the means to fund lots of organizations and lots of different approaches to the issues they cared about.
Clearly, the era of abundance is over. With diminished resources donors will have to choose what causes matter most to them and what approaches and organizations they truly believe in. Put another way, donors are now faced with either/or choices rather than both/and options.

Dec 11, 2008

When Is A Cow Not A Cow?