Scholarship Overview
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Overview
The PAIE Scholars Program is a competitive research capacity-building initiative by Project AI Evidence (PAIE), an initiative of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). It targets resident scholars in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Africa and Asia who want to develop rigorous, policy-relevant evaluations of AI applications for social good and poverty reduction.
For scholars from Zimbabwe and the SADC region, this program offers a structured pathway from initial training through to potential pilot funding—without requiring an existing partnership with J-PAL or a fully developed research project at the application stage.
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What the Program Offers
The program operates through multiple competitive stages:
- Phase 1 Training Award: US$1,000 conditional on completing training, passing a proctored assessment, and submitting a revised concept note
- Phase 2 Proposal-Development Grant: Up to US$10,000 for selected scholars to develop full pilot proposals, plus potential research mentorship
- Phase 3 Pilot Funding: Up to US$75,000 for competitive full pilot proposals that test feasibility for future randomized evaluations
Advancement between stages is not automatic. Selection into the initial cohort does not guarantee subsequent funding.
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Training Curriculum
Selected scholars complete approximately three months of structured training (November 2026–January 2027), requiring 4–10 hours weekly. The curriculum includes:
- Selected modules from J-PAL 102x: Designing and Running Randomized Evaluations (MITx MicroMasters)
- The AI Evidence Playbook and AI Evaluation Playbook
- Live online workshops on evaluating AI-enabled interventions
- A PAIE-administered proctored assessment (separate from MITx certification)
Scholars with prior randomized evaluation experience may complete selected modules rather than the full curriculum.
Eligibility Requirements
The program is open to resident scholars based in World Bank-classified low- and middle-income countries in Africa and Asia. This includes all SADC nations: Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Applicants must:
- Hold a completed PhD in economics or another empirical discipline
- Have advanced quantitative training (statistics, econometrics, causal inference, experimental methods, or machine learning)
- Demonstrate interest in evaluating AI-enabled interventions for social or economic outcomes
- Possess sufficient English proficiency for coursework, assessment, and research outputs
- Be available to complete all program components
- Maintain primary professional affiliation with a university in an eligible country (additional positions at other organizations are permitted)
No existing relationship with J-PAL affiliates, implementing partners, or fully developed projects is required at application.
Application Requirements
Applicants submit:
- Curriculum vitae
- One to three research examples
- Brief statements on: research experience; randomized evaluation experience; interest in AI-enabled intervention evaluation; and interest in the PAIE Scholars Program
- A working concept note describing a research idea with potential for randomized evaluation (need not include fully developed intervention, evaluation design, or implementing partner)
Word limits and complete requirements are specified in the application form.
Key Dates
- Applications open: September 17, 2026
- Application deadline: October 16, 2026 at 12:00 PM ET
- Scholars selected: Early November 2026
- Training begins: November 2026
- Training period: November 2026–January 2027 (tentative)
Subsequent dates for assessment, revised concept notes, and proposal-development decisions will be shared with selected scholars.
What the Funding Covers
Training award (US$1,000): Paid after completing training requirements, passing assessment, and submitting acceptable revised concept note. This is a stipend/award, not reimbursement for specific expenses.
Proposal-development grant (up to US$10,000): Covers background research; identifying or developing implementing partnerships; field site visits; data availability assessments; preliminary non-human-subjects data analysis; research design refinement; and pilot proposal preparation. Cannot be used for human-subjects research or data collection from participants.
Pilot funding (up to US$75,000): Supports feasibility testing, measurement refinement, operational logistics, pilot data collection, and administrative data access to inform future full-scale randomized evaluations.
Research Focus and Expectations
The program seeks evaluations of AI-enabled interventions that affect social or economic outcomes. Scholars enter with a working concept note and refine it during training. The revised concept note must address:
- Policy or social problem motivation
- AI-enabled intervention description
- Research question and evidence need
- Target population and setting
- Initial evaluation design thinking
- Implementing partner status or identification plan
- Pathway to randomized evaluation and pilot study purpose
- Development needs and grant use plan
By the pilot-proposal stage, scholars must have secured an implementing partner and developed a sufficiently rigorous research design.
Contact Information
For questions: paie@povertyactionlab.org
Photo credit: Shutterstock.com
Official scholarship page: https://www.povertyactionlab.org/initiative/paie-scholars-program
You apply directly with the provider. We never charge for applications or ask for payment details. How we verify scholarships
