PAIE Scholars Program Scholarship 2026 in Multiple

The program is open to resident scholars based in low- and middle-income countries in Asia and Africa as defined by the World Bank. Resident scholars must have completed a PhD and have their primary professional affiliation with a university in an eligible country. Applicants may hold additional positions at other organizations but the primary affiliation must be with a university in an eligible country.

Applicants must have completed a PhD in economics or another relevant empirical discipline and have advanced training in quantitative methods such as statistics, econometrics, causal inference, experimental methods, or machine learning. They must also have sufficient English proficiency to complete coursework, training, assessments, and prepare research outputs in English.

The training includes selected modules from J-PAL 102x: Designing and Running Randomized Evaluations, materials from the AI Evidence Playbook and AI Evaluation Playbook, live online workshops on evaluating AI-enabled interventions, and a PAIE-administered proctored assessment covering the training material.

Scholars who complete the first phase will receive a US$1,000 award after meeting training, assessment, and revised concept note requirements. Selected scholars may be awarded proposal-development and travel grants of up to US$10,000. Successful pilot proposals may receive up to US$75,000 in PAIE pilot funding; advancement to these stages is competitive and not guaranteed.

Applicants must complete an online application and submit a CV, one to three examples of research, brief statements about research experience and interest in evaluating AI-enabled interventions, and a working concept note describing the research idea and how it could lead to a randomized evaluation. The concept note need not include a fully developed intervention or implementing partner.

Applications open on September 17, 2026, and the deadline to apply is October 16, 2026 at 12 PM ET. Additional timeline details include scholar selection in early November and training beginning in November, with some dates to be confirmed for assessments and revised concept notes.

No. Applicants do not need an existing relationship with a J-PAL-affiliated professor or invited researcher, nor do they need a fully developed research project or implementing partnership at the initial application stage. Scholars may develop these during the training and concept note revision stages.

Scholars submit a working concept note at application and refine it during training. Those who complete training and pass the PAIE-administered assessment submit a revised concept note for consideration for proposal-development and travel grants and potential mentorship. Advancement between stages is competitive and selection for initial cohort does not guarantee further support.

Proposal-development and travel grants (up to US$10,000) can be used for background research, identifying or developing relationships with implementing partners, visiting potential field sites, assessing administrative or survey data suitability, conducting preliminary non-human-subjects data analysis, refining research questions and evaluation designs, and preparing pilot proposals and budgets. They cannot be used to conduct human-subjects research.

The PAIE Scholars Program is run by Project AI Evidence (PAIE), an initiative of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). More details, including program components, timelines, and contact information, are available on the official PAIE Scholars Program page and applicants can contact the PAIE team via the email provided on the program page.