CHICAGO — A delegation of senior researchers and administrative leaders from the Dominican Institute for Evaluation and Research of Educational Quality (IDEICE) has completed a working visit to Chicago, where they held targeted collaborative talks with experts from the Development Innovation Lab (DIL) as part of a landmark project to launch the Dominican Republic’s first evidence-focused public policy laboratory.
Headed by IDEICE Executive Director Jesús Andújar Avilés, the delegation traveled to the University of Chicago’s main campus to meet with DIL leadership, including DIL Faculty Director Ryan Cooper, Executive Director Emely Cupito, and a team of senior research fellows specializing in public sector innovation. Over the course of the two-day working meeting, the two groups held in-depth exchanges on three core themes: frameworks for scaling successful public innovation projects, rigorous methodological approaches to evidence-based policy evaluation, and concrete pathways for long-term partnership to adapt DIL’s proven model to the Dominican Republic’s unique policy context.
During the visit, IDEICE representatives also gained detailed insights into DIL’s ongoing global portfolio, which leverages advanced data analytics, impact evaluation, and randomized control trial methods to tackle pressing social challenges from poverty to public health access, all with the goal of helping governments craft more effective, equitable public policies. In a post-visit statement, IDEICE emphasized that the trip builds on the institution’s longstanding mission to expand domestic research, innovation, and policy evaluation capacity across the Dominican Republic. The planned public policy lab, when established, will serve as a central hub for translating rigorous applied research into actionable, high-impact policy decisions that benefit Dominican communities, the statement added.