IPA - Innovations for Poverty Action (Tanzania) Member

Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is a research and policy nonprofit that creates and shares evidence, while equipping decision-makers to use evidence to reduce poverty. With a long-term presence in 22 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, IPA leads the field of development in cutting-edge research quality, innovation, and impact.

In recent decades, trillions of dollars have been spent on programs designed to reduce global poverty, but clear evidence on which programs succeed is rare, and when evidence does exist, decision-makers often do not know about it. IPA exists to bring together leading researchers and these decision-makers to ensure that the evidence we create leads to tangible impact on the world. Since our founding in 2002, IPA has worked with over 600 leading academics to conduct over 900 evaluations in 52 countries. This research has informed hundreds of successful programs that now impact millions of individuals worldwide.

IPA began working in Tanzania in 2013 and launched its formal presence in 2017 by establishing headquarters in Dar es Salaam as well as two regional offices. Our work spans a range of sectors including health, financial inclusion, education, agriculture, gender-empowerment, and inter-personal violence. Some of IPA-Tanzania's largest policy-oriented studies have evaluated the impact of the Dar es Salaam Bus Rapid Transit System on mobility, employment, and income; and the effects of youth empowerment programming targeting at-risk populations on income and employment.