Researchers with MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) recently visited San Diego to lead a two-day training and workshop for County employees.
The training focused on why and when to use randomized evaluations to measure program effectiveness. It also showed how to design these evaluations for real-world use, particularly in addressing climate change.
County staff from the Office of Evaluation, Performance, and Analytics (OEPA), Planning & Development Services (PDS) and various Land Use & Environment Group (LUEG) departments joined researchers from UC San Diego (UCSD) for the training.
The sessions enhanced County staff’s understanding of evaluation concepts, with a focus on designing and implementing randomized evaluations to measure the impact of programs.
Participants learned to apply the Theory of Change framework and develop strategies to maximize policy impact. The Theory of Change framework is a tool used to design, implement, and evaluate programs or initiatives by defining the desired outcomes and mapping the steps needed to achieve them.
On the second day, the group focused on applying these concepts to the County’s Climate Action Plan.
The visit was part of an ongoing collaboration between the County and J-PAL. In July, five County employees went to MIT to attend a J-PAL course on “Evaluating Social Programs,” and OEPA Chief Evaluation Officer Ricardo Basurto-Dávila participated in a panel discussion on climate action and the County’s role in it.
In November, J-PAL announced that the County had been selected for its 2024-25 Leveraging Evaluation and Evidence for Equitable Recovery (LEVER) Evaluation Incubator. This program provides funding and technical help to create or launch randomized evaluations for government programs.
OEPA and PDS will work with J-PAL and UCSD to evaluate programs from the Climate Action Plan. During J-PAL's recent visit, the team refined plans for evaluating the Sustainable Operations in Land Stewardship (SOILS) program, which encourages climate-friendly farming practices.
The County created OEPA in 2021 to use modern analytics to study the County’s vast collection of data in new ways. In part, to look for patterns, trends and associations that can help County decision makers improve programs, services and policies. That particularly includes top priorities including homelessness, mental health, equity, racial justice and climate action.
