The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) was established in 2003 as a research centre at the Economics Department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Since then, it has grown into a global network of researchers who use randomized evaluations to answer critical policy questions in the fight against poverty. J-PAL's mission is to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. This is done by conducting rigorous impact evaluations and through policy outreach and capacity building.